Bake It Yourself: Santa's Christmas Cookies In A Jar

This is a great, fun project!  These cookies don't just taste great and very simple to make, but also makes for great Edible Gifts.  Kids and adults alike love baking - so these can be baked by kids in less than half an hour, under adult supervision.  

The 2 additional ingredients that will be needed to bake cookies, apart from the ingredients in the jar are: 1/2 cup butter and 2 tablespoons of milk.  

Ingredients to put together for Jar:

16 Oz. mason jar - 1

All purpose flour - 1 cup + 2 tablespoons

Sugar (white) - 1/4 cup

Sugar (dark brown) - 1/4 cup 

Baking soda - 1/2 teaspoon

Salt - a pinch

Chocolate chips - 1/2 cup - I used Ghirardelli baking chocolate chips

M&Ms - a handful

• Sieve the all purpose flour, baking soda and salt.  Put this mix in the jar. Using a pestle, spoon, or some such tool, gently press the flour in the jar such that it tightly stays in place.  
• This step is optional, but recommended. Cut 3-4 jar pieces of butter/parchment/any other paper in jar sized circles.  Place one such paper after each layer such that the ingredients stay in it's place without getting mixed up.  This is purely for the layered look.
• Add the dark brown sugar on top of it.  Press gently.  Add another paper.
• Add white sugar. Press gently.
• Add M&Ms.
• Top it with chocolate chips.
• You may add a label on the mason jar lid - between the ring and the circular lid.
• Tie a ribbon along the neck of the jar.  Can add a message, and don't forget to add the recipe either inside the jar or tied it with the ribbon.

Enjoy gifting these to your loved ones!!

Recipe for the cookies:

Makes a dozen cookies. And if you are lucky, it makes a baker's dozen :) 

Note:  Apart from the ingredients in the jar you will need 1/2 cup of butter and 2 tablespoons of milk. You do not need to add anything else other than butter and milk to the jar mix, as it has all the needed ingredients.

• Remove the chocolate chips and M&Ms from the jar and keep it aside.
• Take 1/2 cup butter at room temperature.  Whisk it.
• Add both sugars, 2 tablespoons of milk. Whisk till light and fluffy. [In case you are not able to separate the sugar from flour in the jar, it's ok to gradually add everything except chocolate chips and m&ms]
• Add the flour.  Mix well.
• Fold in chocolate chips, keeping a few aside. Mix.
• Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees. Line 1 or 2 cookie sheets / baking trays with parchment paper.
• Roll the dough into 12 balls. No need to flatten the dough.  Place these on the lined cookie sheet, very far apart from each other.  These will need a lot of space as the mixture will spread into cookie shape as it bakes.  Bake it for about 5 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and gently press the m&ms and rest of the chocolate chips on these cookies. Bake it again for about 5-7 minutes.  The sides will start browning and that is when you know the cookies are baked.

Remove from oven - enjoy it warm or cold - making sure to leave some aside for Santa!

Cheers!