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.
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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 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.
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
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Recipe
Cookie Mix In A Jar
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
Nutrition
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!
Sofia
What size jar do i use?
Celebrating Sweets
1-quart jar.
Bett P.
could you do a recipe using pint-sized jars?
Celebrating Sweets
I believe that half a recipe would fill a pint sized jar.
Laura
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
I’d guess a couple weeks, as long as they’re tightly sealed.
Kimber
I decided to bake recipe before giving as a gift. This recipe is a colossal disaster, with cookie dough resembling couscous!! Beware!
Celebrating Sweets
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
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
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
I accidentally used a tbsp of baking powder by mistake. Will this ruin my cookies?
Celebrating Sweets
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
How much space do you leave between the balls before baking?
Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Celebrating Sweets
A couple inches should be fine. I usually place 8 dough balls on a standard size baking sheet. Enjoy!
Taylor
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
Hi, Taylor. You can layer the ingredient however you like. There will be a some mixing of ingredients, it’s inevitable. Enjoy!
Celebrating Sweets
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
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
Sure, you can add that to the top of the instructions. Happy holidays!
Amanda Crow
Is there a different measurement for altitude?
Celebrating Sweets
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