Xmas Eve place settings - Gifts in Jars

Okay, I was going to do the cocoa in a jar and the christmas cookie in a jar for alternate place settings, but I went hunting for a recipe for someone and have decided that this would look nicer :)


Soooooooooo, (from HERE)
 

Brownies in a Jar

Ingredients:

1 litre sized jar
2⁄3 tsp salt
1 1⁄8 cup flour, divided
1⁄3 cup cocoa powder
2⁄3 cup brown sugar
2⁄3 cup white sugar
1⁄2 cup chocolate chips
1⁄2 cup white chocolate chips
1⁄2 cup walnuts or pecans

To assemble the Brownie Jars:

Wash, rinse and dry canning jars then layer ingredients as follows:
2/3 tsp salt

5/8 cup flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup walnuts

Make sure you also print out a set of cooking instructions for your recipient.

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease a baking pan. Pour the contents of the jar into a large bowl and mix well.
Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2/3 cup vegetable oil and 3 eggs. Beat until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Christmas Cookies in a Jar  (from HERE)

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup & leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup M&Ms
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans

To assemble the Cookie Jars:

Start with a 1 quart smooth, glass, canning jar. Layer the ingredients in this order:
1. Flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt (stir these all up before pouring in the jar so they are well distributed)
2. Oats
3. M&Ms
4. Chocolate chips
5. Brown sugar
6. White sugar
7. Chopped pecans
Pack each level down *really* tightly or else it won't all fit. You can get the most packing power after the oats layer and the brown sugar layer. I used that top piece from the lid of my food processor (the thing you use to push veggies in through the hole in the lid) to really jam it all down.

Add the chopped pecans last, because depending on how well you pack the layers, you can add more or less pecans to adjust. As Bakerella notes, better to sacrifice nuts than chocolate. But also, for practical reasons, it helps keep the white sugar from spilling out all over the place when the recipient opens the jar.

The ingredients will be flush to the top of the lid when you seal it up. To decorate the top of the jars, wrap 16 inches of decorative wire tinsel around the top. Print the Preparation instructions on little cards made from wrapping paper, and punch a hole in the corner so you can attach it to the tinsel.

Print off instructions as the gift tag
1. Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced).
2. Stir all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add 1 slightly beaten egg, 1/2 cup melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
4. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients thoroughly.
5. Roll the cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, place on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.
6. Enjoy while warm and gooey!