A couple of weekends ago I lined up quart jars on my kitchen island and enjoyed assembling these attractive cookie mixes for Christmas presents for friends. Of course, I had to bake a batch as well. I am really glad I did — the cookies are not only delicious but they come together so easily once the jars are created. These little gems, the third recipe in the Cranberry Collection, will be on my Christmas cookie baking list for years to come.
Christmas Cranberry Gift Jar Cookies
Ingredients for jars:
5/8 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Layer the dry ingredients in a 1-quart jar, in the order listed.
Attach a colorful ribbon with the instructions below:
Christmas Cranberry Cookies
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, beat together 1/2 cup softened butter, 1 egg and 1 tsp. vanilla until fluffy.
Add the entire jar of ingredients and mix together by hand until well blended.
Roll dough into one-inch balls and gently flatten onto the baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges start to brown.
Remove cookies to wire rack to cool.
Yield: About 24 small cookies
If baking for yourself, you will need:
1/2 cup softened butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Follow the directions above.
A note from Carol: This recipe is adapted from “Cranberry Hootycreeks” on christmas-cookies.com. The flour is divided in the recipe for the jar to make two separate layers but, if you are making the cookies, combine the two flour measurements. The original recipe suggested dropping the dough by heaping spoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. This didn’t work well for me — the “rolling and gently flattening method” worked better.
The shelf life for mixes in a jar is about three months. You may want to add the date to the back of the tag and encourage the recipient to store the jar in a cool, dark place and to bake them soon.