Last Minute Gifts

Here's what I just made for some local nieces and nephews... a jar full of beer bread mix with the baking instructions tied on it...
I put the jars in some fruit baskets along with a beer and a couple jars of jelly I made. I also added a crocheted dishcloth (this year's obsession) and a Christmas bandana (for the yee-haw in all of us).

The Beer Bread Mix is from the Joy of Cooking Cook Book - it's my favorite, and because I love you, here it is:

QUICK BEER BREAD

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Add:

1 1/2 cups light or dark beer (but not stout), cold or at room temperature, but not flat.

Fold just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Scrape the batter into a greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan and spread evenly. Bake at 400 degrees F until a toothpick inserted in teh center and all the way to the bottom comes out clean, 35-40 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 5-10 minutes before unmolding to cool completely on the rack.