Valentine M&M Cookies in a Jar

Jars packed with the ingredients needed to prepare a homemade recipe is a great gift idea! Show how much you care with Valentine M&M Cookies in a Jar!

A few months back, I was talking to John.e about Lord Byron’s Kitchen and my desire to branch out into some other food-related categories. We discussed a few things, but the one that took hold was writing recipes that can be given as a gift.

I firmly believe that giving or receiving a gift that has been made in someone’s home is the purest and most loving gift. Take for instance these Valentine M&M Cookies in a Jar.

Buying and measuring the ingredients, packing them into sterile jars, and making them look pretty and presentable, is a beautiful thing. I think it tells a story – a story that shows how much the gift giver cares for you. And even though we should show people how we care every day, Valentine’s Day is a great time to start!

Preparing the ingredients:

The first thing you should do is to determine how many jars you need; how many people are you going to gift with a jar of cookie mix? Once you’ve done that, you should multiply the ingredients in the recipe card below by that number.

If I wanted to make 4 jars, I would need 2 cups of sugar instead of just 1/2 cup. And, I would need a lot of chocolate chips and M&Ms, because they are the stars of this recipe, aren’t they? (If you can’t find pink M&Ms in stores, you can order them online here!)

Working in a clean kitchen and making sure your hands are clean too, are a given. But, we should be even more careful when preparing food items to give away. So, wipe everything down, make sure your jars are really, really clean, and let the fun begin!

Substitutions are allowed!

If you plan to make any substitutions at all, do not change the ratio of flour, baking powder and baking soda, or salt. You can decrease the sugars by half if you want a less sweet cookie, but don’t increase the sugar!

The chocolate chips and M&Ms can be switched out changed up if you prefer. Use milk or dark chocolate; use red or yellow M&Ms instead of pink, etc. You can even leave them out completely!

Another great substitution is to cut the oats back by 1/4 cup and substitute in some shredded coconut – so good! Even with substitutions, Valentine’s M&M Cookies in a Jar are still delicious!

Preparing the jar for gift giving:

You will want to carefully layer the ingredients to keep them separate and in their own layer. It just looks prettier that way! Once you get the flour mixture into the jar, tap the jar firmly on a wooden cutting board. This will help to “settle” the flour and give you more room to pack in the other ingredients.

I opted to separate the oats into 1/2 cup layers just to break it up a bit. I thought that the flour layer was large and I didn’t want the oats to look the same way. Truly speaking, you can layer it whichever way you want!

Once all the ingredients are in the jar, place the lid on and screw it on tightly. I opted to place a cut out piece of fabric over the mason jar seal before screwing on the ring – just to make it look a little more festive.

Lastly, be sure to write up the recipe instructions and tie them to the jar. You can print it on card stock and attach it to the jar.

Conclusion:

In the photographs, you can see what the jar will look like when filled. I also baked a batch so you could see what they look like when the recipe is followed exactly as it is written out below.

Normally, I would press extra M&Ms or chocolate chips into the top of the cookie batter before baking – just for presentation. But, I skipped that this time, because it was important for the cookies to look just as they would without any extra candy or chocolate on hand.

When it comes to presenting food or recipes to family and friends in a mason jar, they’re always appreciated. And, like I said previously, homemade gifts are always the best! Happy Valentine’s Day!

• 

• 

•