Is it December 23rd, and you’ve just remembered you still need gifts for your kid’s teacher, your neighbor, and that coworker who drew your name in the gift exchange?
Friend, allow me to introduce you to the humble mason jar.
It costs about two bucks. It’s already adorable. And with a few pantry staples and a scrap of ribbon, it transforms into the kind of gift that makes people gasp, “Wait, you made this?!” You don’t need to tell them it took 10 minutes and you did it in your pajamas. That can be our little secret.
I’ve been making mason jar gifts for years, through crafting triumphs and at least one incident involving an entire bag of powdered sugar. These five are the ones I keep coming back to, because they’re cheap, they’re nearly impossible to mess up, and people actually want them. (Seriously, I get requests by Thanksgiving.)
So grab a stack of jars, cue up the Mariah Carey, and let’s knock out your entire Christmas list before your cocoa gets cold.
Why Each Jar is Worth Gifting
Every jar I picked is food, and under each one you get the full ingredient list and the recipe link, so you can shop from it. Look for one thing as you read: some jars need the person who gets them to add a few things and bake or heat a pot, and some need almost nothing.
Chocolate Candy Cane Cookie Mix in a Jar
Chocolate candy cane cookie mix makes a chocolate chip cookie with bits of candy cane, and the red and white layer on top makes the jar look like Christmas. I tried this mix because of the comments under the video for it on YouTube. People who made these for gifts said the jars went over really well. I gave jars like this to five people one Christmas, and they were a hit.
This mix is dry and goes in a 32 oz jar with a card tied on. The person who gets the jar stirs the mix with melted butter, an egg and vanilla, then bakes for under 15 minutes. Brown sugar can go hard as a rock in the jar, and stirring a little of the flour into it stopped that for me. Made as written, my cookies came out flat and ran together. With 6 tablespoons of butter instead of the recipe’s 1/2 cup, and smaller spoonfuls, they came out much better, and my card tells people to do it that way.
One person in the comments under that video had never made a cookie and got these cookies right, so I save this jar for a nervous baker. Kids like scooping the layers in, but nobody tastes the mix, since raw flour isn’t safe until it’s baked. The card gets a use-by date one month after I fill the jar.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2/3 cup chocolate chips
- 2/3 cup crushed candy cane
SavePeppermint Hot Chocolate Mix in a Jar
Peppermint hot chocolate mix has real chocolate chips in it, and filling the jar takes no cooking. You just shake up a few things from the pantry and some crushed candy cane. It’s that easy, which is why I keep making this jar.
I make this jar for someone who doesn’t want to do more than warm some milk. They shake the jar, then whisk about a quarter cup of the mix into 1 1/4 cups of warm milk in a small pan. One jar makes about 8 mugs. I like this hot chocolate better than the kind from a packet, but that’s just my own taste. I’d make it for coworkers or grandkids, or set a jar out on a family cabin trip, where a group can help themselves.
The mix comes to about 2 cups and needs room to shake, so I go bigger than a pint jar. This mix has no baking powder that can get weak with time, and I can’t say for sure how long it keeps. I write a use-by date one month out on my tag, but that’s just my own habit. The fun part is the lid. The toppers that go on it get the most love in the comments under the video for this mix on YouTube, and I agree that a cute topper is half the gift. My favorite topper is the one with whipped cream and a straw.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup powdered milk
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup sugar
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup candy cane, crushed
SaveTaco Soup Mix in a Jar
Taco soup mix is a dry soup that gives someone a whole dinner with only water and a pot. Everything goes into a quart jar in layers, in whatever order looks best. The label says to add 2 quarts of water, and the soup heats in one pot and goes on the table with tortilla chips.
The catch is the beans. They have to be beans that were already cooked and dried, so they get done at the same time as the vegetables. Plain dry beans from a bag would take hours. To save money, you can cook dry beans and dry them yourself.
On paper the ingredients add up to more than a quart, about 5 1/2 cups, so I pack them in tight. If it won’t all fit, use a bigger jar. Because of the dried hamburger, I make this jar close to the day I give it and keep it in the fridge or freezer until then. The tag says to keep the jar in the fridge or freezer until the mix goes in the pot. I don’t treat it as a pantry jar, and I don’t promise how long it lasts.
Anyone who eats soup all fall and winter would be glad to get this jar, and a comment under the video for this soup on YouTube says just that. The finished soup looked so good that I wanted to try a pot myself before I filled any jars.
Ingredients
- 2 cups dehydrated red chili beans
- 1/2 cup dehydrated onion
- 1/2 cup dehydrated bell pepper
- 3/4 cup dehydrated corn, or mixed vegetables
- 1/2 cup tomato powder
- 3 tbs taco seasoning
- 1 cup dehydrated hamburger meat
- 1 tbs dehydrated cilantro
SaveBeer Bread Mix in a Jar
Beer bread mix turns a few things from the pantry into fresh bread, and it has the shortest ingredient list of these jars. What made me look was the number of views. The recipe shares a YouTube video with a few other jar gifts, and that video has over 600,000 views, so those views aren’t all for the bread.
You can stir the mix right in the quart jar, with room to spare, in a couple of minutes. The person who gets it adds a 12 oz beer, and melted butter if they like, then bakes one loaf in a 9×5 pan. The tag has to say what to add. Self-rising flour gets weak over time, which is why the tag also gets a use-by date one month after I fill the jar. Nobody tastes the mix, since raw flour isn’t safe until it’s baked.
When I make several jars, I mix it all in a big bowl and scoop it into the jars, which goes faster. I like to give a loaf pan with this jar, since not everyone has one. The bread mix also goes well next to a soup jar for a soup and bread gift. A little garlic powder or Italian seasoning works in the mix if you want to change it.
Ingredients
- 3 cups self-rising flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 quart size mason jar
SaveQuick Pickled Red Onions
Quick pickled red onions are sliced red onions in a sweet and sour brine, a savory gift for someone who doesn’t want more sweets. The jar costs next to nothing and takes minutes to make. I have stopped buying pickled onions, since the store kind costs a lot.
These onions are a cold pickle, with no canning. The sugar and salt dissolve in vinegar and water, the brine cools, and it goes over the onions in the jar. The jar sits overnight in the fridge and the onions turn a bright pink-red, so you have to plan one night ahead. Apple cider vinegar works if you have no white.
This jar has to stay cold. It goes in the fridge, not on a shelf, and I keep it there until I hand it over in person. The tag says to keep it in the fridge and use it within two weeks of the date I made it. Thrift stores are good for jars, and a tag cut from last year’s Christmas card is a nice free touch.
Ingredients
- 1/3 Cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups white vinegar (use apple cider if you don’t have white)
- Sliced red onions
SaveAnswers About These Jars
These questions come up every time I fill a batch of jars.
How Long Do These Jars Keep?
On cookie and bread mixes, I write a use-by date one month after I fill the jar. The baking powder and self-rising flour get weak over time, so the date is about how well they rise, not about getting sick. The hot chocolate gets the same month, but that’s just my own habit. The pickled onions get two weeks in the fridge. The taco soup gets no use-by date from me, and it stays in the fridge or freezer until it’s cooked.
Do The Pickled Onions Have To Stay In The Fridge?
Yes. These onions are not canned or sealed for the shelf, so they have to stay cold the whole time. I keep the jar in the fridge until I hand it over, I hand it over in person, and I never put it under the tree or in the mail. On the tag I write: keep in the fridge and use within two weeks of the date made.
What Goes On The Tag?
On the tag I put the name of the gift, what to add, how to make it, the date I made it and the use-by date if it has one. That way the person who gets the jar knows what to buy and when to use it. The onions and the taco soup also get a line about where to keep them. I list what is in the jar too, for anyone with an allergy to check before they cook or eat it.
Can Kids Help Fill The Jars?
Yes, kids can scoop the mix and fill the jars, and they enjoy it. Nobody tastes the raw mix or the dough, though. Raw flour is not safe to eat until it is fully baked, so everyone waits until the cookies or bread are done.
What Size Jar Do I Need?
The cookie, soup and bread jars on this page use a quart, which is 32 oz. The hot chocolate comes to about 2 cups of mix and needs room to shake, so go bigger than a pint. The onions fit any jar with a tight lid. Pick what looks right and closes well.
I match each jar to the person. A mix leaves them a small job, and that doesn’t suit everyone on my list, like someone older who may not have the energy to bake. When I want a gift that is ready with almost no work left, I go with the hot chocolate or the onions.
