My mother never ever liked getting a gift for Christmas that had anything to do with cooking, cleaning or eating . . .well except for chocolates that is. I never saw her turn down a nice box of choccies. She just didn't want to get the other stuff, like mixers or blenders, or jars of jam, etc.
Me on the other hand, I just love, Love, LOVE to get any gift that has anything to do with the kitchen or eating! I have had a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer on my wish list for years now, to no avail, but . . . I live in hope.
Candy Apple Red or Powder Blue or even yellow would do me fine. Actually who am I trying to kid, I'll take it in any colour I can get it! But I digress . . .
Food gifts. I just adore receiving them and I love putting them together for friends. I especially love the mix in a jar things, or goodies in a mug, or Mug-ems as they are also called. We did an activity in RS Society in August and I did a presentation on Gifts in a jar and it was quite popular so today I am going to show you two of my favourite Gift Mixes in a Jar, and in the spirit of giving, I am including my artwork Gift Tags for you to print out and tie on to your own gift jars. All you need to do is right click and save and then you can print them out 4 or 6 to a page via your own printer. Merry Christmas! (And there are two versions, one with American measures and one with British measures.)
The first one is the Oatmeal and Raisin Cookie Mix in a Jar, and let me tell you they are fabulous cookies. Very delicious. These mixes are so easy to make, and such fun to give and to receive. I really love decorating the jars up and making them pretty with ribbons and bows, etc.
You can decorate the up with Cute little Christmas Ornaments, or whatever. Little cloth caps, ribbons . . . let your imagination and creativity carry you away!
And if you aren't into cookie mixes in a jar, you can just make some for yourself. These cookies are fabulous. Very, very tasty indeed!
*Oatmeal and Raisin Cookie Mix In a Jar*
Makes 1 1-litre jar
Printable Recipe
100g of plain flour (1 cup)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
150g of soft light brown sugar (3/4 cup)
110g of granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
100g of raisins (3/4 cup)
160g of old fashioned oats
Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, soda and salt. Layer the ingredients in the jar as follows, tamping each layer down well before adding another layer. Half the flour mixture. Half the brown sugar. The raisins. The white sugar. The remaining half of the brown sugar and the oats. You may think it won't all fit, but it will. Just persevere. Screw on the lid tightly. Decorate as you wish and attach a label with the baking directions.
You might think when you look at each recipe . . . all that would never fit in a jar, but don't worry! It absolutely does! I use my Pampered Chef tamper tool and it packs everything in very nicely.
These Cranberry White Chocolate and Oat Cookies are my favourites. Oh my . . . but I could just eat them all up myself. Quite dangerous to have around once baked. I bet I ate three right away. I am such a naughty pup.
I bet even YOU couldn't eat just one though . . . but who's eating?? These are for gifts right? Yah, of course they are!! But really . . . I don't think anyone would begrudge you making a jar of the mix, or just baking yourself up a recipe of these for your own family. In fact, that might just be one way where you could guarantee a sweet surprise for yourself under the tree on Christmas morning! After all, as they say . . . Charity begins at home! Ho Ho Ho!!
*Cranberry White Chocolate Cookie Mix In a Jar*
Makes 1 1-litre jar
Printable Recipe
50g of plain flour (1/2 cup plus 2 TBS allpurpose)
40g old fashioned oats (1/2 cup)
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
66g soft light brown sugar (1/3 cup)
63g of white sugar (1/3 cup)
75g dried cranberries (1/2 cup)
90g white chocolate chips (1/2 cup)
60g of chopped pecan nuts (1/2 cup)
Layer the ingredients in a clean canning jar in the order given, tamping each layer down into place before adding the next one. (I use my pampered chef tamper for this, but you could use the end of a rolling pin as well.) Screw on the lid tightly. Attach a gift tag with the mixing and baking directions and decorate the jar as desire
Hi Marie, nice to see some new jar mix ideas. I love dividing my recipes up into jars so I can grab them off the shelf and make it up quick. I have 4 jars of my Grandma Judge's (family famous!) Oatmeal Cookies, and I always do up several jars of my wheat soda bread recipe that I make all the time for my bread!
ReplyDeleteDid you ever see the little cookbooks from Gooseberry Patch on mixes in jars? Let me know I can get you the titles if you need them.
I have a Kitchen Aid Mixer...and it's not been put up for sale yet, I hate to part with it but will have to when I move! :-( :-( double bummer!
I love my Kitchen Aid Mixer (which was in fact a Christmas gift from my hubby a few years back). I love it even more since he got me an extra mixer bowl. It makes it so nice when making cakes where you have to have beaten egg whites as well as the flour, sugar, egg, etc. batter (like the orange sponge cake I made this week). We got a Kitchen Aid for our daughter the first year she was married, and she loves hers too. Perhaps you need to drop a hint to the Todster that one would make the best Christmas gift you could think of for you.
ReplyDeleteI love jarred mixes, though I didn't know it was done on this scale. Prior to this I knew about Alton Brown's jarred mix recipes for hot cocoa, pancakes and another one for a spice snake cake. This is a brilliant idea for holiday gift giving. In fact, I think I'll whip some jars of this up for nieces who are at that age when they want to start cooking (10 -12), and perhaps include a few little aprons or their own cute measuring spoons, cups or a neat mixing bowl all of their own or some such.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently without an electric stand mixer. I had a Viking 5 qt mixer, but it finally wore out in 2011, and I've been a bit too strapped for cash to purchase another one. I hope you get your KitchenAid, Marie.
I love mixes in a jar, Marie! To make and receive. Even though I cook and bake, I still enjoy when a friend gives me these because they always come in handy in a pinch. She's given me California Cornbread and a bean soup mix that had the beans layered in the jar. Those two made an instant meal!
ReplyDeleteHmmm.... I might need to try this this year! I've never made many homemade gifts for people other than my family, this may be the year to start! I especially love your beautifully illustrated recipe pictures!
ReplyDeleteLove, April