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.
Recipe 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.
Sofia says
What size jar do i use?
Celebrating Sweets says
1-quart jar.
Bett P. says
could you do a recipe using pint-sized jars?
Celebrating Sweets says
I believe that half a recipe would fill a pint sized jar.
Laura says
Do you know how long these cookies will stay fresh in the jars? Wondering how early I can prep these for my Xmas gifts. Thanks
Celebrating Sweets says
I’d guess a couple weeks, as long as they’re tightly sealed.
Kimber says
I decided to bake recipe before giving as a gift. This recipe is a colossal disaster, with cookie dough resembling couscous!! Beware!
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Kimber. I appreciate your review and upon reading it I immediately re-tested this recipe, worried that I might have made an error. It came out just fine for me, exactly the same as every other time that I’ve made it. Yes, the dough is a bit dry and crumbly (that’s because we’re not creaming butter and sugar like most cookie recipes), but the dough ABSOLUTELY comes together when you form it into balls to bake it. These portions of ingredients produce the best end-result cookie, so although the dough is a bit dry, once pressed into a ball and baked they come out perfectly. I will update the recipe with a couple of tips, since you had some trouble. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Fiona says
What a fantastic idea!! The cookies in your photo appear as though you have placed the m+ms on top of the cookie after rolling out your dough, is this how you achieved such a neat result?
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Fiona. Yes, strategically placing a few M&M’s on top of each cookie dough ball (before going into the oven) gives it that look. It doesn’t change the flavor at all, just makes for a prettier appearance. It’s easier to do it with a traditional cookie recipe. You can see this post for more on that technique.
Barb says
I accidentally used a tbsp of baking powder by mistake. Will this ruin my cookies?
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Barb. Unfortunately, I do think that will negatively affect the cookies. I found this article informative: https://www.thespruceeats.com/too-much-baking-soda-1388008
Ashley says
How much space do you leave between the balls before baking?
Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Celebrating Sweets says
A couple inches should be fine. I usually place 8 dough balls on a standard size baking sheet. Enjoy!
Taylor says
I’m concerned my flour and sugars will mix into the flour like it has on past attempts/recipes. Would putting the m&ms on top be a bad idea? Thanks for the wonderful idea, I’m about to make a half batch to test the dough:)
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Taylor. You can layer the ingredient however you like. There will be a some mixing of ingredients, it’s inevitable. Enjoy!
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Taylor. One more quick thing – you mentioned testing the dough. If you’re looking to just make M&M Cookies this recipe is the best. The Cookie Mix in a Jar is more of a shortcut recipe. Either way, enjoy!
Elena says
On the recipe card, should I write to preheat the oven to 350 degrees or should I keep it in the order it’s in? I just don’t want to confuse the people I’m giving this to.
Celebrating Sweets says
Sure, you can add that to the top of the instructions. Happy holidays!
Amanda Crow says
Is there a different measurement for altitude?
Celebrating Sweets says
Hi, Amanda. Yes, probably. I live in the Arizona desert, and I have never baked in high elevation. I found this guide quite helpful (link below). You can try adapting my recipe with some of the changes suggested. Best of luck!
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html