DIY Christmas-Homemade Mason Jar Cookie and Brownie Recipes

Everyone loves sweets for Christmas.  It's a time of indulgence.  I love to make gifts that can be dumped into a bowl with a few fresh ingredients.   Simple yet people know how much time and effort went into making them.

I am going to include three variations in this one post.  Remember if you are one of my loved ones I expect you to be happily surprised when you see them if you continue reading :)

Last year was my first year making these and I knew some changes had to made this year and I changed all the recipes as not to gift the same ones, too.  So round up your supplies first.  I save pasta jars all year long as I make these gifts for Easter and other holidays so they always get used.  But you can just buy mason jars or canning jars at the store, too.  I just take the labels off and clean them very well.  The same method that goes behind cleaning my old used candle jars for my vanity gets used here.  Slowly take the label off and then take equal parts baking soda and vegetable oil to make a paste and let it sit on the glue for about 10 minutes until you can wipe it off with a paper towel.  You can also use Goo Gone if you don't want to make your own :)

Last  year I tediously cut out scrapbook paper and glued it to each lid.....this made for a very long project but also I was told the lids were hard to get off since the modge podge had really stuck on there. So this year I got some scraps of Christmas fabric and once the goodies were in the jar I laid them on top and then tied them on with some string.

Let's get to the ingredients used to make these homemade cookie and brownie jars.

Recipe used from TheFrugalGirls.com

First one is Butterscotch Cake Cookies in a mason jar.  You just need a box of white or yellow cake mix and a bag of butterscotch chips (try not to eat them all while making these because it requires a lot of self control).

You might want to get a funnel (I just used a piece of paper) to get all of the ingredients in the jars.

Take the entire cake mix and pour it in the jar.  I use my pestle from my mortar and pestle to really pack them in so the entire box fits.

Yes that is a picture from the next recipe :)

Once your white cake mix is in your jar then take about a cup of butterscotch chips and add them to the top.  If there is more space in the jar then add more chips to it.  Done!

You can hand write your recipe card or print it out and attach it with a string to the jar.  I still have to do that part but I wanted to get this up here for ya'll :)  Oh, I also am attaching a Christmas spatula to each jar this year.

Directions:
Beat together 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil.  Add contents of jar.  Stir well and form dough into a ball.  Let chill in the fridge for 15 minutes prior to baking.  Drop into rounded spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until golden.  

Next recipe I literally had to pry the bags of Reese's away from my husbands hands :)

Chocolate Reese Cake Cookies in a mason jar.

You will need a box of chocolate cake mix and 1 1/3 cups of Reese's pieces.

Recipe used from TheFrugalGirls.com

Pour the cake mix in the jar and push it all the way down.  Add the Reese's pieces on top! Done!

Directions:
Beat together 2 eggs and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil.  Add contents of jar.  Stir well and form dough into a ball.  Let chill in the fridge for 15 minutes prior to baking.  Drop into rounded spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8 minutes or until golden. 

Last recipe is a big one and this one takes some time but it looks oh so pretty!  I recommend making more than one jar of this at a time since you will have all the ingredients out to make your life a little bit easier.

Christmas Fudgy Brownies in a mason jar....mmmmmm........

I will list out the ingredients in the order they should go in jar and this is an actual recipe so measurements are important in this one or else your giftee will think they did something wrong :)

1 cup and 2 tablespoons of flour
2/3 cup of brown sugar (packed)
2/3 cup of white sugar
3/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup of cocoa
1/2 cup of your choice of sprinkles (or use more chocolate chips)
1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

You will need to pack each layer down as you go to get the desired layered look but it is all worth it, it looks so nice!!

Directions:
Mix contents of jar with 2 eggs, 1/4 cup of water, 2/3 cup of vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour into a greased 9x9 baking pan and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

And there ya go!! I hope I covered it all and if you have any questions please let me know in the comments below!

Have fun with this and get creative in decorating them :)  These are always a huge hit.  People love the simplicity behind them and the fact that they don't have to do much.  If you have kids, this is also something they can help create with you as it really is a lot of fun.

Have a great day!! xo