Mason Jar Cookie Delights

Delightful Christmas Mason Jar Sugar Cookies: The Perfect Holiday Gift

The festive season brings with it a wonderful opportunity to share joy and warmth, and what better way to do so than with a homemade gift? These enchanting Christmas Mason Jar Sugar Cookies, complete with a complimentary printable recipe tag, are designed to be the ultimate holiday present. Imagine the delight on your loved ones’ faces as they receive a beautifully packaged jar, filled with all the dry ingredients needed to bake a batch of delicious, sprinkle-covered sugar cookies. It’s more than just a gift; it’s an experience, a memory waiting to be baked, and a perfect gesture to show you care during the most wonderful time of the year.

Beautifully layered Christmas Mason Jar Sugar Cookie mix with festive decorations, ready for gifting.

Crafting Memories: Mason Jar Sugar Cookies

This delightful Mason Jar Sugar Cookie recipe concludes our special Christmas Mason Jar dessert series, and it’s arguably the most iconic holiday treat of them all! If you’ve been following along, you’ve already seen our festive creations like the M&M Christmas Cookies, the indulgent Peppermint Bark Brownie Cookies, and the rich Christmas Brownies. Each of these recipes offers a unique way to share edible cheer, but the sugar cookie holds a special place in holiday traditions, especially when it comes to decorating with festive sprinkles and charming cookie cutters.

For many, Christmas simply isn’t complete without the delightful aroma of freshly baked sugar cookies wafting through the house. It’s a tradition that evokes warmth, family, and pure holiday spirit. This sugar cookie mix, thoughtfully layered in a mason jar, is not only incredibly convenient for your own holiday baking but has also become a beloved choice for gifting. It simplifies the baking process for the recipient, turning what might seem like a daunting task into an enjoyable and easy holiday activity.

With just a few affordable ingredients and some readily available tools from your local grocery or craft store, you can effortlessly assemble these charming mason jar gifts. They are perfect for showing appreciation to neighbors, expressing affection to friends, or surprising coworkers with a thoughtful, handmade token. The beauty of this gift lies in its simplicity and the joy it brings, offering a personal touch that store-bought items often lack. It’s an invitation to bake, decorate, and create festive memories.

Close-up of a decorated Mason Jar Sugar Cookie gift, showing ribbon, whisk, and cookie cutter.

Everything You Need to Assemble Your Mason Jar Gifts

Creating these beautiful Mason Jar Sugar Cookie gifts is a delightful process that requires just a few key items. Gathering these supplies beforehand will ensure a smooth and enjoyable assembly experience. Here’s a detailed list of what you’ll need to make your gift jars both functional and aesthetically pleasing:

  • Mason Jars (Set of 12): Wide-mouth, quart-sized mason jars are ideal for layering ingredients beautifully and making it easy for the recipient to empty the contents. A set ensures you have enough for multiple gifts!
  • Food Scale: While not strictly essential, a food scale helps ensure precise measurements for ingredients like sprinkles and flour, ensuring a consistent and appealing layered look in your jar.
  • Wide Mouth Funnel: This tool is an absolute game-changer! It makes pouring the dry ingredients into the narrow opening of the mason jar incredibly easy and mess-free, preventing spills and ensuring neat layers.
  • Red Holiday Ribbon: A festive ribbon adds a touch of holiday elegance and helps secure the recipe tag and any small adornments. Red is classic, but feel free to choose colors that match your holiday theme.
  • Miniature Clothespins: These tiny clips are perfect for attaching the recipe tag or a small decorative element to the ribbon, adding a charming, rustic touch to your gift.
  • Mini Wire Kitchen Whisks (Set of 12): Including a miniature whisk is a thoughtful addition that makes the gift even more complete and useful for the recipient. It’s a sweet, practical touch.
  • Holiday Metal Cookie Cutter Set: A small, festive cookie cutter is essential for making shaped cookies and elevates the gift from just a mix to a complete cookie-baking experience. Think stars, trees, or gingerbread men!
  • Clear Plastic Bulb Shape Ornaments: These small, clear ornaments can be filled with sprinkles, adding a whimsical and colorful element directly to your mason jar gift.
  • Wilton Holiday Sprinkles 4-Pack: High-quality holiday sprinkles are crucial for decorating the finished cookies. Choosing nonpareils or sanding sugar varieties helps prevent color bleeding during baking, ensuring your cookies look as festive as they taste.
  • FREE Printable Recipe Attachment: Don’t forget this! It provides clear baking instructions for the recipient, ensuring their cookies turn out perfectly and saving you the effort of writing them out for each gift.

Ingredients for Your Mason Jar Sugar Cookies

The beauty of this gift lies in its simplicity. We’re using a pre-made sugar cookie mix as the base, which streamlines the process for both you and the lucky recipient. Here’s a closer look at the key components:

  • Sugar Cookie Mix: For best results, opt for a reliable brand with a 17.5 oz package, such as Betty Crocker. These mixes are designed for consistent results and a classic sugar cookie flavor.
  • All-Purpose Flour: Adding a few tablespoons of all-purpose flour to the mix is a small but mighty trick. It helps the cookie dough become more pliable and stable, ensuring your beautifully cut cookie shapes hold their form perfectly when rolled out and baked, preventing them from spreading too much.
  • Holiday Sprinkles: These are the festive stars of the show! When choosing sprinkles, select nonpareils or sanding sugar. These types of sprinkles are less likely to bleed their color into the cookie dough during baking, ensuring your holiday designs remain vibrant and crisp.

Ingredients the Recipient Will Add Later

To keep the mason jar gift purely dry, the wet ingredients are added by the recipient when they’re ready to bake. Make sure these are clearly listed on your printable recipe tag!

  • Unsalted Butter: The recipe calls for melted unsalted butter. It’s important for the recipient to allow it to cool slightly after melting before mixing it into the dry ingredients. This prevents the butter from “cooking” the egg or affecting the dough’s texture.
  • Large Egg: A single large egg is crucial for providing structure to the cookies and acting as a binder, holding all the dry ingredients together to form a cohesive dough.
  • Vanilla Extract: For that quintessential sugar cookie aroma and flavor, pure vanilla extract is key. Its rich, warm notes truly elevate the taste of the cookies. Avoid imitation vanilla for the best results.
Various Christmas cookie cutters and holiday sprinkles arranged on a festive background.

Download your FREE Santa’s Sugar Cookies Printable Here to attach to your jars. This tag will guide your recipients through the simple baking process.

Storage Tips for Your Cookie Mix and Baked Delights

The beauty of these mason jar gifts is their excellent shelf life. The dry cookie mix, when properly sealed in the jar, will stay fresh and ready for baking for up to 2 months. Once baked, the sugar cookies can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. For longer preservation, baked cookies freeze beautifully for up to 2 months in a sealed container, making them perfect for enjoying long after the holidays are over.

Explore More Festive Holiday Cookie Recipes

The holiday season is a prime time for baking, and if you’re looking for more ways to spread cheer through delicious treats, we’ve got you covered! Expand your holiday baking repertoire with these delightful cookie recipes, perfect for gifting, sharing, or simply enjoying with a warm cup of cocoa:

  • Peppermint Cookies: Indulge in these incredibly simple yet sensational peppermint cookies, requiring only 4 ingredients for a burst of refreshing minty flavor.
  • Santa Cookies: Bring Santa’s cheer to your table with these adorable cookies, generously adorned with festive holiday M&M’s for a colorful and chocolatey treat.
  • Chewy Gingersnap Cookies: Spice up your holidays with these perfectly chewy gingersnap cookies, boasting a warm and inviting blend of classic holiday spices.
  • Reindeer Cookies: Get creative with these charming reindeer cookies, expertly decorated to resemble everyone’s favorite red-nosed reindeer, Rudolph!
  • Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies: For the ultimate chocolate lover, these decadent cookies feature gooey marshmallows and are finished with an irresistible chocolate topping.
Finished Mason Jar Sugar Cookies on a cooling rack.
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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars from 2 votes

Mason Jar Sugar Cookies Recipe

By
Chelsea Lords

This mason jar sugar cookie mix is the perfect holiday gift! It includes everything you need to make miniature, sprinkle-covered, Christmas-shaped sugar cookies.

Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
7 minutes
Total Time:
17 minutes
Servings:
1 mason jar sugar cookie mix

Equipment

  • Wide-mouth Mason Jar
  • Wide Mouth Funnel (recommended for easy assembly)
  • Baking sheets
  • Parchment paper
  • Mixing bowl

Ingredients

For the Mason Jar (Dry Ingredients):
  • 1 (17.5-ounce) package sugar cookie mix (Betty Crocker recommended)
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • Miniature ornaments (for decoration, optional)
  • Holiday sprinkles (nonpareils or sanding sugar recommended)
  • Miniature holiday cookie cutters (if desired, for recipient)
Add in Later (by Recipient):
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 cup, melted and slightly cooled)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract (pure vanilla for best flavor)

Instructions (for assembling the gift jar)

  1. Prepare the sprinkle-filled ornament: If including, use a food-safe or thoroughly cleaned and completely dried clear miniature ornament. Carefully pour holiday sprinkles onto a small paper plate, then use a funnel to guide them into the top of the ornament. Secure the ornament’s cap.
  2. Assemble the Mason Jar: Using a wide-mouth funnel, carefully pour the entire sugar cookie mix into the mason jar. There’s no need to compress it. Next, gently add the 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour on top, creating a distinct layer. Seal the jar tightly with its lid.
  3. Decorate and Attach: Tie a festive holiday ribbon around the neck of the jar. If desired, thread a miniature whisk and/or a miniature cookie cutter onto the ribbon. Use a miniature clothespin or simply tie on the small sprinkle-filled ornament. Finally, attach the free printable recipe tag (or a neatly handwritten card with the following baking directions) to complete your thoughtful gift.

Baking Instructions (for the recipient, to be attached with the gift)

  1. Preheat Oven & Combine Ingredients: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large mixing bowl, empty the entire contents of the mason jar mix. Add the 8 tablespoons of melted (and slightly cooled) unsalted butter, 1 large egg, and 1/2 tablespoon of vanilla extract.
  2. Form the Dough: Stir the ingredients until just combined, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently until a soft, uniform dough forms. Avoid overworking the dough to keep the cookies tender.
  3. Cut & Bake: Roll the dough to your desired thickness (about 1/4 inch is ideal). Use cookie cutters to create festive shapes and carefully place them about one inch apart on a parchment-lined sheet pan. If desired, sprinkle extra holiday sprinkles on top of the cookies before baking for added sparkle.
  4. Bake & Cool: Bake for 5–7 minutes, or until the edges are just lightly golden. Watch them closely, as baking times can vary slightly depending on your oven and cookie thickness. Let the cookies cool on the sheet pan for 2 minutes before carefully transferring them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Recipe Notes

Storage: The dry cookie mix in a sealed mason jar remains fresh for up to 2 months. Once baked, store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Decorating Ideas: Beyond sprinkles, consider including small tubes of colored icing or edible glitter for extra fun once the cookies are baked. This turns the baking process into a full-fledged decorating party!

Gift Presentation: For an even more charming presentation, nestle the decorated mason jar in a small gift basket with a cozy mug and a packet of hot cocoa mix. It’s the ultimate winter warm-up kit!

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1 serving | Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 25.3g | Protein: 1.8g | Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 28.1mg | Sodium: 5.9mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 13.8g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an approximation. Actual values may vary based on specific ingredients and preparation methods.






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