I’m fully aware that it seems like I’ve been kidnapped by vampires (I just had to put in a Twilight reference!), but really, I’ve just been gone because I’ve been held hostage by work. I’ve been channeling Cousteau by trekking from place to place, except that I don’t didn’t do much exploring because I was busy working. I’ve been in a different hotel for the past six weekends (including Thanksgiving)—how crazy is that?

I know I made a promise to blog about holiday goodies, but I only got the chance to do one kind. If I wasn’t busy working, I was busy being sick and exhausted. It hasn’t been the cheeriest month because I’d gotten used to writing posts several times each week and was starting to experience blog withdrawal from “quitting” cold-turkey. I’m just glad and finally writing again!

I’ve decided to stick with this set of edible gifts, because I think it’s novel, and especially because these are fun to make. I first heard about the Cake-In-A-Jar idea while trolling the web for Valentine’s Day gifts.

The concept is fairly simple.

Take sterilized canning jars used for making homemade jams and jellies…

Grease and fill halfway with your favorite cake batter…

Bake as you would any cake/cupcake recipe…

And package in yuletide fabric, ribbon and labels for individual, spoonable/sliceable (they pop right out if you want to slice them up) versions of your baked goodies!

Genius, eh? Thanks to Angry Chicken for this awesome idea!

(I made two versions—one with the fabric tucked under the jar’s outer lid, and another with the fabric covering the entire top of the jar and tied with some ribbon. I prefer the one where you can see the lid because it looks neater.)

You’ll see that I tested this with gingerbread, because nothing quite spells the holidays as this treat. I’m thinking, however, that I may make some with red velvet cake, topped with cream cheese icing (once the cakes have cooled) and sprinkles, for a colorful, festive way to celebrate the season.

Canning jars, by the way, are also called mason jars, available here in the US in grocery stores like Ralph’s and Albertson’s. A popular manufacturer of these jars is the Ball Corporation.

I’ve read that putting the lids on the jars as the cakes cool creates a vacuum seal as the heat dissipates, rendering a treat that will keep and travel well. This way, though, means you can’t top your gift with frosting, so I’m thinking a rich cake like chocolate chip pound cake would be great. One studded with cranberries would be even more apt for the holidays.

And so, I’m back with a post on letting your friends and family eat cake this Christmas. I’m now slowly going to make my way to everyone’s blogs to catch up. I bet everyone’s been busy!

I hope to post pictures of my actual gifts, as I’m devoting a whole day to making these. It’s going to be a curly Christmas, indeed.

I’m glad to be back, and hope everyone is well!