Do it yourself: Christmas Cookies in a jar

If you need some last minute gift inspiration this Christmas for those hard to buy for family or friends, how about Cookies in a Jar for a simple, yet good-looking idea? And who doesn't love home baked cookies? You'll probably find most of the ingredients in your cupboard at home too which is a bonus too!

Take a 900ml-1 litre glass jar (I made two gifts and used two different types of jars - a preserving jar from Moore Wilsons and a clip-down from The Warehouse)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup oats
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup white or dark chocolate chips

Start with the white sugar layer and tamp down firmly afterwards before pouring in the brown sugar. Tamp down again.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl before pouring in and tamping down again. Tamp gently on this layer as otherwise the flour will fly everywhere!

Then add oats, cranberries, and lastly chocolate chips, tamping down between each layer.

If you find you still have a little room in top of the jar, put something in to fill up the gap (I put a little bit of bubble wrap in). This is so if the jar is not vertical when being stored under the Christmas tree (or transported), the layers won't move around.

Add instructions for baking on a Christmassy template as follows:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees.  Pour cookie jar contents into large bowl and mix to combine. Beat in 100g melted butter, 1 egg and 1 tsp vanilla essence. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls 5 cm apart on baking paper on a baking tray. Bake for 8-10 minutes until browned. Cool on a wire rack.

Or you could use the one I created just by downloading this picture and re-sizing to your own tastes.

Happy creating and baking!

For other great gift ideas, check out my other Christmas crafts and DIY Gifts.