19 bush food inspired recipe gift ideas

Here's how to inject some bush food ingredients into your gift-giving.

Bushfood brittle made easy. Source: Warndu Mai (Good Food)

One of the best feelings during the festive season has got to be rocking up to a mate's place carefully balancing jars of home baked gifts. The gift handover moment feels like a delicious combination of love, pride and smugness that never gets old.

If you want to send all three of those emotions through the roof, opt to give a gift featuring bush food. Firstly because the more people baking with Australian natural food sources, the better. Secondly, because bush food tastes amazing. And thirdly because the more Aussie we can inject into Christmas, the better; enough with the cosy snow scenes and overheating Santas, thanks!

So whip up any or all of these bush food treats to give to a particularly special friend this season. Be sure to give your gift when you first see them, don't wait until you're leaving. That way you might get offered a bite yourself!

River mint, coffee high

Dark, milk and white chocolate all pair perfectly with Australia's native herbs. Source: On Country Kitchen

Chocolate-coated coffee beans are always high on the gift list, especially when they're flavoured with river mint and lemon myrtle. Ideal for munching with your friend's Christmas morning cuppa.

Minty and nutty

A box of chocolate river mint fudge brownies meets all gift giving obligations nicely. Source: On Country Kitchen

Keep the river mint handy because it also makes fudge brownies extra-special. Throw in a handful of macadamia nuts for added bush food kudos.

Olive for boozin'

No one needs to know your gift took only 15 minutes to put together. Source: On Country Kitchen

Of course, not everyone likes chocolate, but everyone loves olives. At least, those who love olives, really, really love olives. They'll be particularly enamoured this jar of olives infused with lemon myrtle, lemon aspen and shiraz. Cheers!

Bush infusion

A pretty bottle of bush extracts gifted with a pretty bottle of gin or vodka is genius. Source: Peter Kuruvita's Coastal Kitchen

Infuse your own bush spirits with this easy guide. It will take you more time to find a pretty bottle than it will to put together the infusion.

Dukkah tucker

A jar of native dukkah makes a unique and welcome gift. Source: Danielle Abou Karam

Rae Johnston makes a native dukkah using macadamias, wattleseed, lemon myrtle, pepperberry and sesame seeds. If you've ever tasted each of these spices, you'll know what a treat this is.

Aspen for lemons

And so begins your mate's new love affair with lemon aspen. Source: On Country Kitchen

Australia's 'native lemon' tastes like a cross between a lemon and a grapefruit with added honey. That's definitely a flavour worth concentrating into a curd, dropping into a pastry cup and gifting to a friend.

Baklava says g'day

Rock up with a tray of baklava and you'll win the Gift Giver of the Year award. (Doesn't everyone rank their gifts? Anyone?) Source: On Country Kitchen

The only way to make baklava better is to mix it with Aussie bush foods like lemon myrtle, lemon aspen and macadamias. It's the Mark Olive twist we're happy to dance to all night.

Short and sweet

Store your shortbread dough in the freezer, then slice and bake as many biscuits as you need. Source: Danielle Abou Karam

Package up some macadamia and lemon myrtle shortbread for teachers, shop keepers, bank tellers and the postie. Everyone deserves a home-baked thank you treat this year.

Shacked up

A bush shack we'd all like to escape to this year. Source: China Squirrel

Picture this: a bunch of your very besties around your table making gingerbread bush shacks. Or utes. Or tents. Now that's nailing the love/pride/smug trifecta for sure.

Don't mind if we ladoos

A jar of ladoos and you're welcome back any time. Source: Danielle Abou Karam

The popular Indian sweet ladoos makes a fine gift, especially when it's been infused with wattleseed and macadamia. Now there's a flavour combination that's, fortunately, becoming as popular as chocolate and caramel.

Never so brittle

Now that's some good crackling! Source: Warndu Mai (Good Food)

Christmas just isn't Christmas without a giant slab of brittle. Here finger limes deliver the sour, sandalwood nuts the sweet.

Gift topper

Forget Gift Giver of the Year, this pretty offering will secure you the coveted Friend of the Year award - and so deserved, of course. Source: The Great Australian Cookbook

For extra-special special friends, bring along a bush fruit Christmas cake. It's a true declaration of love. And pride. And smugness.