Simmer Pot Gift
For those on your gift list…
DIY Simmer Pot bags are the perfect gift around the holiday season. Simply add to a pot full of water and simmer all day long for wonderful holiday aromas.
This gift is perfect to those who are sensitive to fragrances. Where fragrances such as candles can often cause side effects such as headaches, these natural elements will not. I love the non-toxic element to these sweet gift bags.
Simmer Pot bags are also a wonderful alternative to food gifts for those who suffer from food allergies. Skipping the food-gift item so you can gift friends with allergies knowing they can enjoy using this as well.
I started gifting these to family and friends during the pandemic when gifting food items wasn’t popular with most.
The tradition carries on!
Simmer Pot Recipe:
4 pinecones (see instructions below for prep)
3 cinnamon sticks
3 whole star anice
1 tablespoon whole cloves
5-6 slices dried oranges (see instructions below for prep)
1-2 tablespoons dried cranberries (see instructions below for prep)
2 sprigs of fresh pine or rosemary
Include instructions to add mixture to a pot of water and simmer low. Use your own gift tags or head to the Silvertooth Store to print these Simmer Pot Gift Tags to attach to each gift.
*A few of these elements need some preparation before added to the Simmer Pot bags. See instructions below for how to preserve pinecones and dry citrus and cranberries to be used in your Simmer Pot gifts.
Ingredient Prep:
Collect & Dry Pinecones
Bake pinecones to remove any tiny critters, dry up the sticky sap, and give the pinecone a beautiful glossy finish.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees fahrenheit.
Line a baking sheet with foil and lay pinecones in rows allowing space as they expand when baked.
Place in the oven for about 30 mins. If pinecones were gathered on a damp day, it might take longer.
Keep a close eye and pull them out of the oven when the house smells of pine trees and your pinecones go from a matte to glossy finish.
Before & After Baking…
As the pinecones will grow as they dry out in the oven. The image on the left are pinecones before baking and the image on the right are after coming out of the oven. Make sure you allow enough space on the cookie sheet to allow pinecones to expand as they dry.
Ingredient Prep:
Dry Oranges & Cranberries
Preheat the oven to 200° fahrenheit.
Using a sharp knife, thinly slice citrus.
Arrange orange slices onto a cookie sheet. If you have a wire rack, that is even better for even drying circulation.
Arrange cranberries onto another cookie sheet making sure they lay evenly and are not piled onto each other.
Bake oranges until they are mostly dried (3-4hrs), occasionally flipping for an even bake. Orange slices are done when the rinds are hard and centers still tacky. The slices will continue to dry out after being removed from the oven so “under done” is okay.
Bake cranberries until they look like raisins (up to 7hrs), mostly dried out but still tacky. Similar to orange slices, the cranberries will continue to dry out after being removed from the oven.
Gift Bag Assembly:
Once you have prepared all of your ingredients for the Simmer Pot bags then the assembly can begin… my favorite part!
Add each item to a cellophane bag or jar (refer to the Simmer Pot Recipe found above).
Tie bag closed using either twine or ribbon.
Attach a gift tag with instructions. Handwrite your own or grab the one you see here from the Silvertooth Home store.
Simmer Pot in a Jar…
You can even skip the bag idea and add your simmer pot mixture to a jar if that is what you have on hand.
For additional ideas and inspiration, this is an article on gift-jars that I wrote and was featured in Leawood Lifestyle Magainze, December 2022.
Whatever you choose, those on your list will love the thoughtful gift this holiday season.
LeAnn can’t wait to see what you create and give to your family and friends. Tag her on IG @silvertoothhome and #silvertoothhome so she can share. Happy Holidays!
