Gingerbread Cookie Mix in a Jar
Need a simple homemade Christmas gift? Use this Gingerbread Cookie Mix in a Jar recipe and your recipient can mix up delicious cookies whenever the mood strikes. This is Cookie in a Jar mix the perfect holiday gift for teachers, neighbors, and Co-workers.
I became really obsessed with homemade gifts last year, at first, it was simply a money-saving endeavor. But as I started crafting different gifts with the kids I realized the time spent together making handcrafted gifts was just as special as the gifts themselves.
This fun gift idea that is a perfect family craft that will entertain the kids on a snowy afternoon and give you’re a head start on holiday gifts. I think Gingerbread Cookie Mix in a Jar is a great gift idea that is just as fun to give as to receive.
Gingerbread Cookie Mix in a Jar
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
Additional items:
- Cardstock for printing label and instruction tag
- tubes of decorating gel
- sprinkles
- baker's twine
- cookie cutter
- 1 quart-sized glass jar with a lid
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together 13/4 cups flour and the ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, cloves and nutmeg. Add in an even layer to the jar. Layer the brown sugar, followed by the remaining 13/4 cups flour. Top the jar with the lid, attach directions, and decorate.
Notes
Directions to include on gift tag:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup molasses
Mix together butter, eggs and molasses. Stir in the contents of the jar until well combined. Chill the dough for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350º F. Roll out gingerbread dough and cut into shapes and then place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes until edges just start to brown. Allow to cool completely.
Putting together a Gingerbread Cookie Mix in a Jar is really easy and the recipient only needs a few pantry staples (butter, eggs, and molasses) to bake the cookies. I found some really cute cookie cutters at Wegman’s for .69¢ each and bought a bunch to tie onto the jars, but a packet of sprinkles or cinnamon stick would be just as cute.
Making Cookie Mixes in jars is pretty simple, but it can get a little messy, especially if you have little hands helping. If you are a canner and have a canning funnel handy, I found using it makes the process of constructing the gift jars a lot less messy. Adding the layers of ingredients is easier with a funnel, but a flexible cutting board or wax paper are just as good at getting your dry ingredients into to jars.
Now I know handwritten notes are awesome, but I am going to be making a few of these and decided a printable instruction tag was the way to go for me. If you are in the same boat as me I am sharing the gift tags I will be using, these are PDF printables and are perfect for cardstock. Click on the picture or link to get to the printable.
Gingerbread Labels PDF Printable
Other homemade gifts you might like:
I used a wide mouth quart size canning jar and the dry ingredients fit into the jar by pressing down each layer at a time. I also pressed down the jar on the counter to have the flour settle down which helped. I was able to get the remaining 1 3/4 c flour by pressing down with spoon gently until evenly at the top of the jar. Great gift idea!!
Getting all of the ingredients to fit into a quart size jar is still an issue for me, I was hoping to give the jars as Christmas gifts.
3 1/2 cups flour plus 3/4 cup brown sugar equals 4 1/4 cups and then all of the spices too = 36 ounces!! A quart jar is 32 ounces! No wonder it won’t all fit.
Im going to make a batch using less flour to see how the cookies turn out…fingers crossed. If making the recipe for yourself there’s no issue but if like me you want to fit it in a quart size jar as a gift then there’s an issue.
@Melo, I had to pack it tightly but it did fit!
Hi, this is a great idea!!
I bought gingerbread men cookie cutters to tie on each jar.
However, I’m not able to fit all of the flour into the jar. (???)
I used 1 3/4 cups flour with spices for the bottom, then layered 3/4 cup brown sugar and then tried to fit the last 1 3/4 cups of flour but it was too much!
It’s about 3 ounces too much for my quart size jars.
Some of my jars I bought at the 99 cent store…wonder if they’re not really quart size. I’ll try the next batch in my ball canning jars and see if that works.
Also contemplating baking a batch with the lesser amount of flour to see if that’ll work.
Any suggestions??
Thank you
Melo
Wonderful recipe?? Thanks for sharing I will certainly do it again next year and as often as I can
I just made the cookies and they were delicious, I put 1 cup brown sugar instead of 3/4 and used melted shortening that had cooled off