The question quickly arose: how exactly do you make biscuits look pretty, festive, and gift-ish?

I spent quite a while figuring it out. While these tips are about biscuits, they could easily be used for any baked gifts.

1. Think about the color of the biscuits.  I made pumpkin biscuits, but you could easily use sweet potatoes or cheddar cheese or even beets or orange, to lend a lovely tint and flavor. Also think about adding fresh herbs or fruit or chocolate chips to add a bit of texture and additional color.
2. Add some sort of spread, like the maple cinnamon butter I made to go with these. You could make a simple honey butter or get more fancy and use a strawberry butter, herb infused butter, or homemade jam.
3. Carefully choose the containers. I decided it would be nice to have a baking dish that could go right into the oven for reheating, so I got some of these paper baking pans. They look elegant and are also practical. I could bake the biscuits and wrap them in place. I did find that the biscuits stuck to the bottom when I did a test run so I put a layer of parchment into the bottom. I also made a special trip to The Container Store (love that place!) for little containers for the butter.
4. Go bold with tags, stickers, and wrap. The “tags” that I used were actually cardboard coasters that I found at Target. So festive and bright! I just made a hole in them and pasted the note onto the back. I also found some round stickers that I used on the containers of butter. That added to the color and graphics of the package. The wrap was large cellophane bags from Michael’s. The bags were big, but I think the extra wrap at the top looked really pretty, tied with a bit of ribbon.
5. Add more information. Tell your giftees exactly what you have given them and what to do with them. People don’t always know the best way to reheat or serve something homemade. Give them some directions. Tell them that these were homemade by you. You want them to look pretty and professional, but you also want people to know that you made them!

Are there things I would do differently next time? I suppose. I think the sides of the baking pans were pretty high. I would get lower ones or just add more biscuits. I would probably brush the tops of the biscuits with an egg wash and sprinkle with salt and pepper or sugar and cinnamon to make them a little prettier. I would make a different flavor, mainly because I like to give different things each year.

I believe the most important thing to remember, though, is that people really do love biscuits and they will be thrilled to get a package of homemade ones that they can just pop into the oven for a treat.

What about you? Do you like to give baked goods as gifts? What are your tips for making them look festive and pretty?