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Home » Holiday Recipes » Cookie Mix in a Jar

Cookie Mix in a Jar

Published: Nov 21, 2023 by Allison · 171 Comments

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This Cookie Mix in a Jar is the perfect way 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.

Christmas M&M cookie mix in a jar topped with red fabric and ribbon.
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.

Chocolate chip cookie mix in a jar.

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 is measure 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.

Assembling M&M cookie mix in a jar.

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 M&M Cookies or Chocolate Chip Cookies.

More holiday treats

  • Graham cracker toffee topped with chopped almonds on a white plate next to a red and white striped napkin.
    Easy Graham Cracker Toffee
  • Christmas cookies on a plate with red and green sprinkles and candies
    Christmas Cookies
  • Frosted sugar cookies with pink frosting and colored sprinkles.
    Frosted Sugar Cookies
  • Closeup of M&M Brownies on brown parchment paper.
    M&M Brownies

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Recipe

Two jars of cookie mix, one with holiday M&M's the other with chocolate chips.

Cookie Mix In A Jar

This Cookie Mix in a Jar is the perfect way to give someone a shortcut to homemade cookies. A delicious and festive gift!
4.87 from 37 votes
Print Pin SaveSaved!
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 cooled unsalted 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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Comments

  1. Sue

    December 06, 2022 at 12:58 pm

    Is it possible to create a cookie jar gift from any cookie recipe?

    Reply
    • Allison

      December 11, 2022 at 8:23 am

      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

      December 21, 2022 at 7:52 am

      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
  2. Rachel

    December 10, 2022 at 5:45 pm

    What happens if you skip the step of refrigerating before baking?

    Reply
    • Allison

      December 11, 2022 at 8:20 am

      The cookies will spread too much while baking.

      Reply
  3. Jess P

    December 17, 2022 at 2:59 pm

    5 stars
    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

      December 19, 2022 at 10:37 am

      I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Kelli

    November 03, 2023 at 10:36 am

    How long does this stay good before baking? When would it expire after assembling all the ingredients in the jar? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Allison

      November 16, 2023 at 8:55 am

      Hi! It depends how fresh the ingredients in the jar are. I would recommend using within two months.

      Reply
  5. immy

    November 15, 2023 at 4:15 am

    5 stars
    Amazing

    Reply
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aboutHi, 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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