The combination of tight budgets and the festive season is bringing out the inner Kirstie Allsopp in all of us.

While Brits are cutting back on every superfluous bauble, we’re also planning to make and bake more presents than ever.

In a bid to cut back on spending, a third of us (33%) are planning to make gifts for friends and relatives this year, up from just 8% in 2010, according to a recent Good Food magazine survey.

So save yourself some cash this year and get baking!

Coffee lover’s kit

(Makes 25 biscuits)

140g unsalted butter

100g dark muscovado sugar

4tbsp golden syrup

300g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

2tsp ground ginger

3 balls stem ginger, finely chopped

To complete the kit:

Airtight box, bag or jar

Gift box, ribbon and label

2 espresso cups (optional)

Pack or tin of ground coffee

Heat oven to 170C/Gas mark 3-4. Line two baking trays with baking parchment.

Melt butter, sugar and syrup in a pan, stirring until the sugar melts. Take off the heat.

Sieve the flour, bicarb and ground ginger into a bowl, pour in the wet ingredients and add the stem ginger. Stir to make a stiff dough.

Roll the warm dough out on a surface dusted with flour until about ½cm thick. Stamp out biscuits using a cutter, lift onto the baking trays and cook for 10 minutes or until golden. Cool completely, then lift off parchment.

These will keep for up to two weeks in an airtight container.

Pack the biscuits in an airtight box, bag or jar, then put in a gift box with the cups and coffee and tie with a ribbon.

Baked Camembert kit

(Serves 2)

100g sultanas

5tbsp Calvados, sherry, rum or brandy

1 boxed Camembert

To complete the kit:

Small jar

String or ribbon

Label

Heat sultanas and alcohol together until just simmering, then turn off the heat and cool completely. Spoon into a small jar and seal. Put the jar on top of the cheese and tie together with string or ribbon.

Keep in the fridge for up to a week until you are ready to give them away, then add a label with these instructions: ‘Heat oven to 200C/Gas mark 6. Unwrap the Camembert, take off the wax wrapper and any other packaging. Put it back in the box but leave the lid off. Cook for 10 minutes or until the centre of the cheese feels very soft. Cut a slashed cross in the centre of the cheese, then tip in and over as many of the sultanas as you like. Serve with chunks of crusty bread.’

Triple chocolate cupcake kit

(Makes 12 cupcakes)

100g caster sugar

100g self-raising flour

2tbsp cocoa powder

To complete the kit:

Large glass jar with a clip or screw lid

200g white chocolate drops

100g bar milk chocolate or drops

Cellophane, ribbon, gift bag or box and large label

New spatula or wooden spoon

Sprinkles, or other decorations

12 cupcake cases

Tip the caster sugar into the jar, followed by the flour, then finally the cocoa, so the ingredients sit in layers. Seal the jar.

Wrap the chocolate drops in cellophane. Tie the spatula or spoon onto the jar with ribbon and pack in a gift bag or box with the chocolate, sprinkles and cupcake cases.

Hand-write a label with the following instructions and attach it to the gift: ‘Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas mark 4. Put 100g very soft butter in a bowl with two eggs, add the contents of the jar and beat well. Add a drop of milk to the mix if it’s too stiff. Stir in the white chocolate drops. Divide between the cake cases. Bake for 15 minutes. Leave to cool. Melt the milk chocolate, spoon a little over each cake and then decorate with sprinkles.’

Turkish delight vodka

1 litre bottle vodka

1tsp rose water

1tsp caster sugar

100g Turkish delight, chopped, plus a little extra for packaging

Pour 100ml out of the vodka bottle – you can keep this in the freezer for Christmas cocktails. Mix the rose water and caster sugar together until the sugar dissolves, then pour into the vodka bottle using a funnel.

Wash any sugar off the Turkish delight, then put it in the bottle. Screw on the lid and leave to stand for up to a month, swirling occasionally until the Turkish delight dissolves.

To give as a gift, sieve out any remaining bits of Turkish delight, and decant into smaller bottles, adding fresh chunks. Recommend that friends serve with soda water and ice, or drizzle neat over vanilla ice cream for a boozy treat. It will keep for up to a year.

Caramel & whisky sauce

(Makes 3 x 330ml jars)

200g butter

140g soft brown sugar

397g can condensed milk

397g can caramel (try Carnation)

1tsp ground ginger

150ml whisky

Put the butter, sugar, condensed milk, caramel and ginger in a pan. Heat gently until the butter melts – making sure you don’t boil the sauce. Remove from the heat, then stir in the whisky until smooth.

Pour into sterilised jars (washed in hot soapy water, rinsed well and dried in the oven at 180C/Gas mark 4 for 10 minutes) and allow to cool before sealing.

Store in the fridge or freeze for up to a month and serve drizzled over ice cream, or Christmas pud if you like.

Sweet & spicy nuts

(Serves 6)

1tbsp sunflower oil

1tsp ground cinnamon

½tsp mixed spice

400g mixed nuts – try almonds, Brazil nuts and cashews

2tbsp honey

To complete the gift:

Cellophane bags or small jars

Ribbon

Heat oven to 140C/Gas mark 1. Mix the oil with the spices, then stir in the nuts and drizzle over half the honey. Spread over a baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and drizzle over the remaining honey, then return to the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes. Allow to cool completely.

Pack in clean jars or little cellophane bags tied with ribbon. The nuts will keep for up to two months.

• Recipes taken from Good Food magazine. The January edition is on sale now