If you’re looking for an easy Christmas gift this holiday season, then be sure to check out this easy mason jar cookie recipe that you could easily use for Christmas presents too. I am all about easy Christmas cookie recipes, since I love to bake during the Christmas season. But, sometimes, I don’t feel like spending too much time in the kitchen. So I thought I would share this easy Christmas cookie gift idea that uses very few ingredients.
And I’m willing to be that you have all or most of these basic ingredients inside your pantry already! You can easily make these festive treats for yourself, or gift them like I am planning to do.
To gift them, I am using a 32 oz (quart sized) mason jar. If you don’t have any laying around, any kind of airtight container would work too. I pack in all the dry ingredients and then add in some cute details like ribbon and custom stickers. I also make a cute little recipe card to include in the gift as well.
If easy Christmas cookies and gifts are your jam too, then your definitely going to want to check this recipe out. I will share the full recipe below as well as detailed steps into creating the mason jar filled with the simple ingredients as well.
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Ingredients Needed for Easy Christmas Cookie Gift Idea:
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup of brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1- 1 1/2 cups of Christmas M&M’s (or Christmas sprinkles, chocolate chips, crushed candy canes, etc.)
How to Assemble the Mason Jar:
First, you need to mix together the flour, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl until it is well combined. Then, you’re going to want to pour this mixture into the mason jar. You may want to use a funnel for this process. I didn’t and things got a little messy!
You will notice once you add the flour in, it takes up most of the mason jar. So, you need to use the back of a spoon and press down firmly until you have compacted it thoroughly. Also, try to create nice clean lines and scrape down any excess flour along the sides.You want each single layer to be nice and defined in the jar.
Next up, is the brown sugar. Again, use the spoon to firmly press down the brown sugar into a clean, even line.
Top with the granulated sugar. And then add in the Christmas M&M’s (or whatever mix-in you are using) on top.
Seal the lid and add in a bow to make it festive! These would be so cute for a Christmas party or cookie exchange as a sweet little hostess gift too!
I even took it a step further and created a custom sticker on top of the mason jar lid too. Using my Cricut Explore Air 2 machine, I just searched for Christmas cookie labels in Cricut design space. Once I found one I liked, I changed it to red (again, to make it more festive!) and then printed it out Cricut sticker paper.
I stuck it on the lid before screwing the top on, and it fit just like a glove! You could totally customize them too and make them say whatever you wanted.
Creating the Recipe Card:
Now that you have your easy Christmas cookie gift idea ready to go, now we need to create the recipe card! Because, how is the gift recipient going to know how to bake them without an easy holiday cookie recipe attached?!
The person you are gifting this to will need to add in a few things of course. Especially since we can’t add in the butter already to the mason jar too. So they will need to add in: 12 tablespoons unsalted butter- melted and cooled to room temperature, 1 large egg, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Which, if you wanted to go all out for a Christmas cookie gift, you could totally make your own vanilla extract too. I shared that great recipe last year and it was a huge hit too! It would be a good idea to gift them together along with a cute cookie cutter too!
To create the recipe card, I again used Cricut sticker paper and typed it out in Cricut design space before printing. Here are the typed instructions I used for the card:
Other Ingredients to be Added:
12 T Unsalted butter, melted
1 Large Egg
1 t Vanilla Extract
Instructions for Baking:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Add cooled butter, egg, and vanilla extract to a mixing bowl and stir.
Then, add all the ingredients from the jar and mix well!
Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake cookies for 9-11 minutes. Cool and enjoy the cookies!
After printing out the instructions on the sticker paper, I then attached them to pretty Christmas card stock. I will then add the recipe card in with the mason jar full of cookie mix when I am ready to gift them.
Gifting Your Easy Cookie Recipes
I am sure whoever you gift this to will love these easy cookies and appreciate the thoughtfulness behind it. I always love when I receive homemade cookies as a gift and this is a great way to do it without actually having to bake anything.
Plus, these cute and festive jars will definitely put you in the holiday spirit for sure! You could also make these for chocolate chip cookies, cake mix cookies, soft molasses cookies, or the classic sugar cookie too. Basically the possibilities are endless and you could make whatever you favorite Christmas cookie recipes are.
And since you can easily change the recipe card to go along with this easy Christmas cookie gift idea, that makes it totally customizable. I tried to share one that had fewer ingredients to it, that way you didn’t have to put as much into the mason jar. I also tried to keep it easy with the simple steps and instructions too.
But, if you wanted to go all out, feel free to do so! Any kind of cookie is perfect for a holiday party in my opinion. Or it’s perfect for a fun, family night in too. I think one of the best things about actually baking cookies is sneaking a few bites of cookie dough out before actually baking them. But, don’t tell anyone that!
And if you’re looking for easy gingerbread cookies or the perfect sugar cookie, then be sure to check out my other post on the best Christmas cookies that I bake every single year! If you can’t already tell, we make lots of cookies around here during this time of year. I hope you all enjoyed this and have a very Merry Christmas my friends!
Easy Christmas Cookie Gift
Equipment
- 1 32 oz (quart sized) Mason Jar
Ingredients
For the Mason Jar Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour plus the 2 tablespoons below as well
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1- 1 1/2 cups Christmas M&M's or Christmas sprinkles, chocolate chips, crushed candy canes, etc.
To Be Added By The Gift Recipient:
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
For the Mason Jars:
- First, you need to mix together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl until it is well combined. Then, you're going to want to pour this mixture into the mason jar.
- Press the flour down firmly into the jar using the back of a spoon. Try to create a nice clean and even line here.
- Add in the cup of brown sugar and again press down firmly into jar.
- Top with granulated sugar and then the Christmas M&M's.
- Seal up jar and create the recipe card for the gift recipient.
Instructions For Gift Recipient:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Melt the butter and let cool until it is room temperature.
- Stir together melted butter, egg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Then, add the mixture from the mason jar. Mix until throughly combined.
- Drop 1 1/2 tablespoon sized rounds onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes and enjoy!
Be sure to check out more ideas on what to cook here too!
Jodie says
What a wonderful idea! The packaging looks pretty and who doesn’t like to bake fresh cookies?
Charity Gentry says
Thank you. I know right, I always love fresh cookies myself! Lol
Marie says
This is a cute idea and give such a cozy home vibe! I love it, we need more gifts like this. Very cute and festive idea, thank you for sharing!
Charity Gentry says
Thank you so much. I am so glad you enjoyed it as well!
claire chircop says
These look fantastic! I’ve never thought to make my own. I don’t know why. They look really easy and super effective! Thanks for sharing this. Such amazing inspiration for Christmas. X
Charity Gentry says
Thank you. It really is a quick and easy Christmas gift to make!
Lauren says
This sounds like a great recipe. I want to bake more and try different recipes in 2023 and these sound great for Christmas. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Lauren
Charity Gentry says
Thank you. You should definitely try it out, it’s super simple to make!
Eleanor Jones says
Aw I love this gift idea, it’s such a special and unique gift for someone to enjoy. Thank you for sharing x
Charity Gentry says
Thank you! I am so glad you enjoyed it too!!
Sam | SamBam in Mamaland says
So cute! I love this idea 🙂
Charity Gentry says
Thank you, I appreciate it!
Alexandra says
Love this idea, how cute! And love the little recipe cards, what a cute addition!
Charity Gentry says
Thank you so much! I am so glad you think so too!
Jenny Marston (Jenny in Neverland) says
Ahh this is such a lovely idea for a gift! Such a sweet gesture xxx
Charity Gentry says
Thank you Jenny. I am glad you think so too!
Nyxie says
This is a great idea. I’ve just said to my husband that this could be something we could do for our nieces as we don’t know what else to get them. They have everything and always get a house full of stuff for Christmas.
Charity Gentry says
Oh yes! This would be a perfect gift idea for someone like that!
Benny says
This is such an original and interesting gift idea. You’ll get a nice jar and ready to bake cookies. I’d like a jar like that under the tree. And all these ingredients can be held quite long I think. But knowing I had this in the cupboard I’d probably bake them on the first possible time. Thanks for sharing.
Lisa says
This Christmas cookie mix in a jar gift is such a cute idea! I love that you included tips for creating the recipe card and decorating with a sticker as well. What fun to make and give!
Charity Gentry says
Thank you so much Lisa. I am so glad you enjoyed it too!
Debbie says
This DIY Christmas cookie gift idea is so cute. I’m definitely going to use this for coworker gifts this year. Thank you for the great tips!
Charity Gentry says
Awe thank you! I am so glad you enjoyed them as well!
Toni says
So awesome I love the idea of a gift with food but make it new!! Excellent idea!
Charity Gentry says
Thank you, I am glad you think so too!
Angel Lewis says
Great gift idea for our neighbors.
Charity Gentry says
Yes, it would make the perfect neighbor gift too!
Carolyn says
Oh, I LOVE the idea of this Christmas cookie gift!! So festive! 🎄
Charity Gentry says
Thank you! I love it too!
Becky says
I LOVE food gifts in a jar! These cookies will be so yummy and would pair beautifully with a unique cookie cutter to add a special touch. Thank you so much for sharing!
Charity Gentry says
Thank you, I am gifting them with a cookie cutter too!
Meredith says
What an adorable idea for a gift, Charity! Your projects are always so cute!
Charity Gentry says
Thank you Meredith! You are too sweet!