Published: by Allison · 178 Comments
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This Cookie Mix in a Jar isthe perfectway to give someone a shortcut to homemade cookies. A delicious and festive gift!
Simply fill a jar with pre-measured dry ingredients and give the jar as a gift along with instructions for baking. Choose from M&M cookies or chocolate chip cookies.
Jump to:
- Why make cookie mix in a jar
- Ingredients needed
- How to Make Cookies in a Jar
- Assembly tips
- Prefer to bake cookies?
- More holiday treats
- Recipe
Why make cookie mix in a jar
This is a thoughtful and affordable gift that is perfect any time of year. Who doesn’t love freshly baked cookies? These jars are made with pantry staples, making them cost a fraction of what you’d pay for store bought cookie jars.
I especially love this gift for kids! Kids can assemble them and give them as gifts, or you can gift them to kids and they can make homemade cookies with minimal effort.
Ingredients needed
- Flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- M&M’s and/or chocolate chips
How to Make Cookies in a Jar
To assemble the jars, all you do ismeasure the dry ingredients and layer them in a jar. It couldn’t be simpler!
You can layer them in any order you choose. I like the flour, leavening, and salt on the bottom. I put some chocolate chips/M&M’s in the middle and some on top.
Assembly tips
- It is important that your ingredients are layered into the jars carefully so that the layers don’t mix too much; this makes for a prettier presentation.
- Roll up a paper plate to use as a funnel to cleanly add the bottom layer into the jar.
- Use a spoon to carefully add the M&M’s and chocolate chips. Don’t dump them in too quickly or they’ll sink.
- Use fresh ingredients to ensure the best quality cookies.
- Attach the printable recipe card with the jar for easy baking.
- Decorate the jar with fabric and/or ribbon. I use a 6.5 inch circle of fabric.
Prefer to bake cookies?
Skip the jars and make our or Chocolate Chip Cookies.
More holiday treats
- Easy Graham Cracker Toffee
- Christmas Cookies
- Frosted Sugar Cookies
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Recipe
Cookie Mix In A Jar
This Cookie Mix in a Jar isthe perfectway to give someone a shortcut to homemade cookies. A delicious and festive gift!
4.90 from 46 votes
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Course: Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine: Dessert
Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
Servings: 1 Mason jar which makes approximately 20 cookies
Calories: 119kcal
Author: Allison – Celebrating Sweets
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cups all purpose flour, spooned into the measuring cup and leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1⅓ cups M&M's and/or chocolate chips, see note
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1-quart Mason jar
Instructions
Assembling jars:
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Pour into the bottom of a 1-quart mason jar (I roll up a paper plate to use as a funnel). After this you can layer the remaining ingredients however you'd like. I usually top the flour mixture with granulated sugar, followed by 1 cup of M&M's/chocolate chips, brown sugar, and remaining ⅓ cup M&M's/chocolate chips. Be sure to spoon the ingredients in gently so they stay layered. Seal with the lid and decorate with ribbon and/or fabric (see note).
Recipe to include with the jar (printable version in notes):
In a large bowl, whisk ½ cup of melted and cooledunsalted butter, 1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Add the contents of the jar and gently stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until combined. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Scoop 2-tablespoon portions of dough. Place the dough balls onto parchment lined baking sheets and bake at 350°F for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers of the cookies are slightly underdone. Place baking sheets on racks and cool completely. Tip: For prettier cookies, use the back of a spoon to shape the edges of the cookies when they come out of the oven.
Notes
You can make this recipe with all M&M’s, all chocolate chips, or half of each. The color of the M&M’s will bleed slightly into the cookie dough (once prepared). For this reason I prefer using half M&M’s and half chocolate chips.
You can hand write the recipe instructions or you can print this recipe card to include with the jar.
RECIPE UPDATED NOV 2023: After a few complaints about the ingredients not fully filling the jar I increased (and retested) the ingredient quantities. Original recipe here.
Nutrition
Calories: 119kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 64mg | Potassium: 35mg | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 0.6mg
Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
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4.90 from 46 votes (28 ratings without comment)
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Comments
Sue
Is it possible to create a cookie jar gift from any cookie recipe?
Reply
Allison
Not necessarily. The recipe has to be written for everything in the jar to be added at once and most cookie recipes require the ingredients to be added through different steps (butter creamed with sugar, then eggs, then flour, then “mix-ins”, etc).
Reply
Bella
I find that this recipe us too small to adequately fill a quart-size jar. There’s still a good 3 inches of space at the top of the jar which doesn’t look good for presentation. I’ll have to go with a different recipe next time.
Reply
sandra novello
Any recipe that is a melt and mix cookie recipe is suitable. One that makes around 24 cookies. If the recipe doesn’t fill to the top, you can place 1/3 to 1/2 cup nuts to the jar, leave this ingredient for the top so that you can adjust the quantity need. Rolled oats is also a common ingredient that is added to cookies. Look for a recipe with similar quantities to this one. I have an old cookie recipe almost identical to this one that works. You can also just scrunch up coloured tissue paper to fill the gap. Choose a colour to suit the occasion
Rachel
What happens if you skip the step of refrigerating before baking?
Reply
Allison
The cookies will spread too much while baking.
Reply
Jess P
I made these as little Christmas gifts for my family and everyone loved them! And the cookies are delicious, I’ve been using this recipe for a few years now and everyone always raves about them!!Reply
Allison
I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂
Reply
Kelli
How long does this stay good before baking? When would it expire after assembling all the ingredients in the jar? Thanks!
Reply
Allison
Hi! It depends how fresh the ingredients in the jar are. I would recommend using within two months.
Reply
immy
AmazingReply
DM
How long will ingredients stay fresh in the jar?
Reply
Allison
Hi! It depends how fresh the ingredients in the jar are. I recommend using within two months.
Reply
Darren MacDonald
I’ve made this recipe every year for the last 5 years… it’s become my Christmas tradition.. for my nephew who loves the cookies I know make up the jar for him… thanks for sharing this with me, and my family..Reply
Allison
You’re welcome! 🙂
Reply
Shana
How long does the mix last in the jar?
Reply
Allison
Hi! It depends how fresh the ingredients in the jar are. I would recommend using within two months.
Reply
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Hi, I'm Allison! I'm a busy wife and mom with a passion for cooking and baking. This is where you'll find my favorite homemade recipes, designed to help you make every day delicious! Read more....
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