Cookie Mix in a Jar – A Mason jar filled with pre-measured dry ingredients for M&M cookies. Give the jar as a gift, and all the recipient has to do is add the wet ingredients and bake.
We’re in the thick of the holiday baking and gift giving season. I always think that sweets are the way to go when gifting something edible. This Cookie Mix in a Jar is the perfect way to give someone a shortcut to homemade cookies. And who doesn’t love freshly baked cookies?
My Soft and Chewy M&M Cookies are one of my most popular recipes, so I decided to make a few adjustments to turn them into this delicious and festive holiday gift.
How to Make Cookies in a Jar
To assemble the jars, all you do is measure the dry ingredients and layer them in a jar. It couldn’t be simpler!
Flour, Sugars, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt and M&M’s – that’s it! Feel free to swap out some of the M&M’s for chocolate chips.
Don’t have M&M’s? Just use chocolate chips instead!
Tips for Making Cookie Mix in a Jar
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 place the M&M’s on top of the flour. Don’t dump them in too quickly or they’ll sink into the flour.
- Make sure you have a nice even base of brown sugar (lightly packed in) so that the granulated sugar doesn’t sink down into it.
- The cookie mix will be a couple inches shy of the top of the jar. You can increase the M&M’s by 1/4 cup or add some tissue paper to the very top if you want the mix to reach all the way. Note: If you’re decorating with fabric (like I did) it will cover the top of the jar.
- Decorate the jar with fabric and/or ribbon. I use a 6.5 inch circle of fabric.
Be sure to include instructions on how to turn the contents of the jar into a batch of cookies (see my recipe for details). The recipient will love having this jar on hand to whip up a batch of homemade M&M cookies with minimal effort.
↓LOOKING FOR REGULAR M&M COOKIES? THIS RECIPE IS MY FAVORITE!↓
More holiday treats:
Pecan Praline Graham Cracker Toffee
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M&M Cookie Mix In A Jar
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup Holiday M&M's or chocolate chips see note
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 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 rolled up a paper plate to use as a funnel). Top the flour mixture with M&M's, dropping them in lightly, so that they don't sink into the flour. Top the M&M's with brown sugar, and then granulated sugar (use a spoon to carefully scoop the sugars into the jar). Seal with the lid and decorate with ribbon and fabric (see note).
Recipe to include with the jar:
- In a large bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of melted and cooled unsalted butter, 1 large egg, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Add the contents of the jar and gently stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until combined (dough will be crumbly). Chill for 30 minutes.
- Form golf ball sized portions of dough, pressing firmly as you form the ball. Place the dough balls onto lined baking sheets. Bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes, until the edges are set and the centers of the cookies are still slightly underdone. Place baking sheets on a rack to cool.
Notes
- I used a 6.5 inch circle of fabric to decorate each Mason jar.
- This cookie mix comes just short of reaching the top of a 1-quart Mason jar. I decorate the top of the jar with fabric which covers the inch of open space at the top of the jar. If you would prefer to fill the jar all the way, you can increase the amount of M&M's to 1 1/4 cup.
- The color of the M&M's will bleed slightly into the cookie dough (once prepared). It is inevitable with this type of recipe. If this is concerning, you can swap the M&M's for an equal amount of chocolate chips.
Shannon says
To fill my quart jars, I used 1 1/2 times the recipe, since there was A LOT of room at the top when using just one. I am shipping the jars, so I wanted them to be packed tight. However that means it would call for 1 1/2 eggs (Didn’t realize this before I added the extra dry ingredients). Since some people are complaining about the dryness of the mix do you think saying to use 2 eggs would be a colossal disaster? Maybe leave the butter at 1/2 cup and use two eggs? I’m just trying to make the directions as simple as possible for the kids I am giving this to. Thanks!
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi Shannon. I would recommend that you stick with 1 1/2 of the wet ingredients: 3/4 cup butter, 3 teaspoons vanilla and for the egg, I recommend 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk (I find that’s the easiest way to get 1 1/2 eggs). Yes, the dough is dry (as others have commented), but the final baked cookie comes out thick and soft with the portions of the ingredients I have written. Increasing the liquid to get a moe “wet” dough will lead to a cookie that spreads really thin (I’ve tried it). I hope they come out well. Happy holidays!
Jess says
Hi there,
This is such a great idea 🙂 My jars only held half the dry ingredients. What would you suggest for the egg instruction as saying half a large egg sounds tricky. Would one small egg be okay?
Celebrating Sweets says
Yes, you can suggest one small egg. The final product might be slightly different than my original recipe, but it should taste fine.
Barbara says
Hello,
this is a really cool idea! I am a middle school student from New Zealand that is doing these jars for a fundraiser.
I was wondering where i could find these jars in bulk, these can be quite expensive when buying in bulk plus adding the cost of postage to NZ.
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Barbara. I typically buy them at craft stores (like Michaels in the US) or at Target or Walmart. I’m not sure what the equivalent would be in New Zealand. You could try Amazon, too.
Jocelyn says
How far in advance can you make these or how long is there shelf life?
Celebrating Sweets says
I would guess that you could make them a couple weeks in advance. My main concern would be the brown sugar staying moist and soft, so I wouldn’t recommend longer than a couple weeks. Enjoy!