Holiday DIY – Cookie Jar Gift Giving
In these roller-coaster economic times, we find that people are always looking for ways to give thoughtful, creative gifts without spending a fortune. We love to give sweets-related gifts. They are fun projects and the end result always brings a smile.
One of our favorites is the Do-It-Yourself Cookie Jar. All you have to do is layer the dry ingredients in the jar (we suggest an order below), and cover with decorative paper and a ribbon. Tie on the additional ingredient list and instructions on a handmade card and you’re done!
Get creative with the jars you use as they can double as a cookie jar for the finished product when your recipient pulls their fresh baked, homemade cookies out of the oven.
You will need:
A 24 oz. glass jar (we prefer clear so you can see the ingredients layered inside)
Cookie ingredients -
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 (12 oz.) bag semi sweet chocolate chips*
Instructions to prepare cookies (see below)
Gift wrap, ribbon, colored paper, etc. for decorating
Step 1:
Blend flour, baking soda, and salt with a whisk. Place this blended “dry” layer in the bottom of your gift jar. Make sure it is relatively level in the jar before adding next layer.
Step 2:
Measure your brown sugar and place that in the jar on top of the flour layer.
Step 3:
Pour the granulated sugar on top of your brown sugar layer.
Step 4:
Top with chocolate chips (or whatever inclusions you’d like). Seal the jar tightly and decorate with gift wrap and instructions provided below.
To make the cookies, you will also need:
1/2 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions
Step 1
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray non-stick release spray and set aside.
Step 2
Place the butter egg and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, and blend. Pour in the contents of the jar and mix until the dry ingredients are moistened. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to fold in any additional inclusions (see Sass it Up! below).
Step 3
Use a teaspoon or a small ice cream scooper to extract a mound of dough in the shape of a ball. Place the balls on the parchment-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove when cookies are slightly browned on the edges. Soft centers are quite delightful. Move to a cooling rack. Eat as soon as you can stand the temperature.
SASS IT UP!
Why stop at chocolate chips? We suggest trying different variations according to your preference for a unique cookie concoction.
Chips: Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch, or peanut butter.
Fruit: Dried cranberries, cherries, apricots or raisins.
Other: Caramel bits, Heath bar bits
Cookbook Photos - You've Come to the Right Place!
We don't know about you, but one of our biggest gripes with most cookbooks is that there are not enough photos, or that the instructions aren't exactly as clear as we would like them to be. As cookbook lovers, we kept this in mind while we were working on our cookbook and we documented the process...a lot. We selected photos in many cases based on those recipes we knew it would be more helpful to visualize. We like to scribble in our cookbooks so we put space for notes with every recipe (not at the end of the book where they won't do you any good). We encourage you to make each one your own. We know that each home baker has their own "sugar speak" and a pinch to you might be a smidge to your neighbor. That's why we will continue to update our website with more video demonstrations of the actual recipes from the book.
We learned through the experience of getting our book published that professional photos are expensive. Most authors don't have the sales levels to justify the publishers spending as much as it would cost to put every dessert in the book. Even if we did (hey, we're first timers here - so we never expected it), that book would be so thick and heavy, you wouldn't have room for it on your cookbook shelf. So while we tested recipes, we made sure to snap photos along the way. When making recipes from our book, if there is no photo, do not fear! We've got them here for you. Momma Reiner became quite the fab food photographer throughout this process (Momma Jenna, not so much - ask me to sing you a song, but not to draw you a picture, or photograph one). But even if they were snapped on Momma J's cell phone, at least we're able to bring them to you as an example of "what is that darn thing supposed to look like?"
If the photo doesn't appear here, it's in the book! Let's start with CAKES TO DIET FOR:
And now some TARTS AND PIES WORTH THE LIE:
An abundance of BETTER THANK NOOKY COOKIES:
Some of our favorite COOL BARS AND SUMMER STARS:
And finally CREATIVE CONFECTIONS:
We'll find a higher tech way to give you even better copies in the coming weeks but we wanted to get this up so when your book was in hand you could start baking straight away. We don't claim to be perfect, but we work really, really hard. We are so looking forward to hearing if you are enjoying the fruits of our labor. And if you have a photo of something you made from our book that you would like to post on our site, PLEASE send it to us. And send us your recipes for consideration in book two. We want to continue our Recipe Revolution and it starts with you!
Happy Baking!
The Sugar Mommas
The Sugar Swap
Years ago I started a Recipe Swap. A group of gals would get together once a month to have pot luck lunch and swap recipes. We would always have a theme: quick and easy dinners, appetizers, a favorite dessert, etc. Due to everyone’s crazy schedules, the recipe swap fell apart.
Eventually, my recipe swap morphed into the Sugar Swap. Surprise, surprise, I know! My girlfriend Joanna and I both love to make sugar things. (I can’t say “dessert” because that signifies the end of a meal and my sugar is being consumed all day, at any random moment). As Joanna has been pregnant with baby #5, we have lunch when we are lucky enough to steal 15 minutes (Joanna had her baby girl on July 15th!) and we sit there eating salads; discussing cookies, cakes and pies.
Because 15 minutes are getting harder to find, Joanna and I have taken up meeting in clandestine places to swap the sugar concoctions we baked. She’ll e-mail at 9:00 pm saying…can I drive by? Or we meet in a school parking lot, a side street, a driveway. Sometimes words aren’t even spoken. We just drive past each other and swap, secretly, in silence. There is one golden rule….if don’t bring a fork or a spoon for an immediate mouthful…you are OUT! Game over!
Everyone needs a Sugar Swap! It’s a way us gals communicate & express friendship. It maintains sanity and keeps your sugar levels regulated. And you can’t get arrested for secretly swapping sugar. Worst case scenario – a few extra laps around the track.
Joanna’s thoughts on our Sugar Swap:
These swaps truly bring joy and serve as a reminder that our gal friendships are invaluable. It is these friendships we count on when all of our best laid hectic plans fail, when life simply intervenes and when things are just plain hard. These sugar swaps keep us remembering that the people in our lives matter infinitely more than our schedules, our errands, and our latest bargain basement finds. They make us smile. We are reminded that we are valuable and our sugar creations just simply taste really good.