The Perfect Gift From the Kitchen Is Southern, Says Kim Severson Raymond McCrea Jones for The New York Times TO HOARD OR SHARE Kim Severson's sweet spiced pecans, cheese straws and hot fudge sauce. HOLIDAY food gifts can sometimes bring more punishment than pleasure. You might recall that bag of hand-assembled bean soup mix or the jar of gingerbread-scented hot cocoa powder that sat in the pantry unused until the guilt subsided and you found the courage to toss it into the garbage. Odd jars of pickles, mail-order jam and parades of questionable fudge all arrive this time of year. The sentiment, of course, is lovely. The eating is not. Then there are the true gifts, those treats with lovely back stories that were made with skill, good ingredients and a bit of heart. They are the pretty, delicious treats you stash away for yourself or bring out to share with those closest to you. And these are the food gifts Julia Moskin and I decided to go to war over. Moskin and I have been engaging in cook fights as long as we have known each other. We both write about food for The New York Times, and for years we sat near each other. Talking about food was what we did all day. We have chronicled some of these battles in the pages of the Dining section. Though we really are the best of friends, sometimes being right (especially about what's on one's plate) matters a little more than the feelings of a thin-skinned newspaper writer and cook. So when the boss suggested we go head-to-head to develop ideas for the perfect holiday food gift, I said (once again): Bring it, Moskin! I moved to Atlanta a couple of years ago to write for the National desk, so my gifts are inspired largely by the Southern kitchen. Luckily, America has fallen in love with the broad and delicious culinary canon down here, so these gifts will make you seem current. I also wanted to offer recipes that were easy to make in large quantities, sturdy enough to deliver in handsome packages and, mostly, wonderful to eat. First up is that Southern standard, the cheese straw. These are not the Eurocentric puff pastry versions thrust upon party guests all over the Upper West Side. No, friends, these are the real deal: crispy bites of sharp Cheddar, butter and flour punched up with cayenne and a hit of smoked paprika. Show up with a box of these nestled in colorful tissue paper, and even those with extreme cases of holiday gift fatigue will be delighted. Batting second is my homage to that gem of the South, the pecan. Walk into the home of a gracious Southern host and likely some version of a tricked-out pecan will be on the table. Some of the best I've had are simply freshly shelled nuts that have been warmed in the oven with salt and butter. My version uses plenty of butter to help coat pecan halves with salt, cayenne and black pepper, brown sugar, cinnamon and ginger. Rounding out my roster is something that is not particularly Southern but is simply from the heart. Doris Muramatsu, a neighbor who is a musician with the band Girlyman, gifted me with the recipe for a salty hot fudge sauce that is simply the best version I have ever tasted. She got her first jar from a friend when she lived in Brooklyn and suffered through a Christmas that coincided with what she calls the worst breakup of her life. Now, she has a habit of making little jars of it and setting it on the porch for anybody who wants one, just to be kind, or bringing it over when a day has turned out badly. It's particularly great over ice cream with some of those spicy pecans chopped on top. So if you have someone on your list you really like, give them both. It is a gift of true friendship and holiday cheer, which is why I will be sending jars of both to Moskin . It will make her feel better when she loses this contest.