DIY Holiday Gifts: Cookies in a Jar!

DIY Holiday Gifts: Cookies in a Jar!

There are just a few days left until Christmas, and I've finally wrapped up all of the gifts. I shopped for a few people, but money is pretty tight this year, so we put most of our efforts into making hand-filled jars of cookie and baking mixes for our friends and family. Its the perfect gift for a foodie, that practical person who only wants things they'll use, and anyone who likes delicious treats. Plus, you probably have most of the ingredients on hand already, anyway.

We picked up Vegan Food Gifts by Joni Marie Newman earlier in the year and totally loved all of her cute packaging ideas. Plus, she puts awesome stuff in jars I never would've thought of like TVP taco 'meat', flavored simple syrups, and popcorn toppings. The book was great inspiration and is highly recommended. But since we write our own recipes, we filled our jars with recipes we had tried and tested. Some friends got coconut bacon, some cornbread or pancakes mixes. But our favorite jars to fill were with our Dark Chocolate Rosemary Cookie Mix. They're the perfect, flavorful Holiday cookie- ultra chewy and filled with chocolate! We hand-made our jars cards with the recipe name on the front and instructions on the back. We hand-wrote it all because it was fun and we like coloring, but you could always type up and print out a tag too. We'll include a PDF at the bottom where you can print the tutorial and copy and paste your tags from there, if you wish. 

You'll need:
1 quart sized glass jar (per cookie mix)2 cups all purpose gluten free flour mix
(We used 1 cup teff flour+1 cup almond flour- our favorite blend. Whole wheat works here, too!)
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground flax seeds
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xantham gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons dried, chopped rosemary
(if using fresh rosemary, substitute 2 tablespoons) 
3/4 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped bar chocolate

Layer items in a quart sized jar in the order listed, beginning with the flour and finishing with the chocolate chips.Once the jar is filled, cover with a lid and close tightly. Decorate with string, ribbon, bows, and anything else you have on hand. We used leftover card stock to make tags, but you can use pre-made labels, stickers, or print your own if you prefer. Cookie Jar mixes last indefinitely, but are best used within a few months of gifting. This recipe is vegan, and when made with GF fours, gluten-free as well.

On an included tag, write the instructions as follows:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine jar of cookie mix 1/2 cup softened coconut or vegetable oil, 1/2 cup non-dairy milk, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. Mix well, until a soft dough forms. Scoop 1 inch balls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, until edges crisp and tops being to crack. Makes 20 cookies. Happy Holidays!

print tutorial & instructions