Christmas Cookies in a Jar – ready for gift giving

    

     Last weekend the Zion Brethren in Christ Church hosted a Christmas craft afternoon. Their multi-purpose room was set up with craft stations, including one on assembling Christmas Cookies in a Jar, led by Emily Jackson.

     She provided the instructions for assembling the festive jars and had the ingredients organized for assembly-line production. She also mentioned that she uses different colors of M&Ms to create cookie jars for the various seasons. Of course, you could leave out the nuts or use walnuts instead of pecans, etc.

Emily Jackson demonstrated how to assemble ingredients for
Christmas Cookies in a Jar.

Her recipe follows . . . 

Christmas Cookies in a Jar

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup quick-cooking oats

¾ cup red and green M&Ms

¾ cup semi=sweet chocolate chips

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1/3 to ½ cup chopped pecans

Start with a 1-quart canning jar, wide-mouth preferable

Layer the ingredients in this order: (It is important to pack down each layer TIGHTLY so all ingredients will fit in the jar.)

1.  Flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir to mix. Use your fist to pack this down as much as possible.
2.  Oats – Again, use your fist to pack this down as much as possible.
3.  M&Ms – Pack.
4. Chocolate chips – Pack.
5. Brown sugar  – Pack.
6. Granulated sugar – Pack.
7. Chopped pecans — Pack; these can even be pushed down into the sugar layer. The ingredients will be flush to the top of the lid when you finish.
8. Add lid, decorative cover if you wish, and tie on the instructions for mixing up and baking the Christmas Cookies in a Jar.

Instructions for mixing up and baking Christmas Cookies in a Jar . . .

Christmas Cookies

1 slightly beaten egg

½ cup butter, melted slightly

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 quart-jar Christmas Cookie mix

Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Form dough into 1½” balls and place on a parchment covered baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes in a 350° oven. Enjoy!

It was a fun-filled afternoon with cookies, hot cocoa or tea and lots of interaction and visiting. They also invited me to do a short presentation on seasonal tablescaping.