Sweet and Savory Gifts in Jars

This shop for a Sweet and Savory Gifts in Jars creation family night has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #FamilyPizzaCombo #CollectiveBias

Thanksgiving is over and now it’s time to get into the holiday spirit by creating some homemade gifts. I need everyone in a good mood when we create, plus I need a fast dinner because we don’t have a lot of time to squeeze in gift making.

Gifts in jars help me with some fun, quick gifts that are easy to transport. Today I’ll be sharing recipes for Chocolate Cookies in a Jar and Easy Chili in a Jar. Plus, I’ll give you those cute instructional gift tags up there free in printable form to make your gift jar creation party even easier. Just print them out on cardstock, cut them out and you’re ready to go!

But first, dinner. Sam’s Club helps me out with the Sam’s Club Coca-Cola & Pizza Bundle. I can shop for my ingredients in bigger quantities at member prices, plus I can pick up an affordable dinner that everyone loves! I can pick it up to take home, I don’t have to cook anything, everyone eats and they are happy and ready to help me with gift jars!

Check this out, the Sam’s Club Coca-Cola & Pizza Bundle has a 16in pizza of your choice in toppings, a liter of Coca-Cola, cheesy breadsticks and cookies all for $13.98! I knew I wanted a fast and easy dinner, but I didn’t realize the price would be so great. Score!

This was an excellent easy dinner night and I was able to keep getting the table set up and ready to make gifts in jars while everyone else finished eating. I made sure they could see their upcoming task, and honestly, they were kind of excited to help. No twisting of arms needed.

When you’re setting up for gifts in jars I suggest putting all of the ingredients in bigger bowls for easy access. It helps with measuring out layers quickly as well as making it quick to grab the bowls you need.

You’ll also want to grab measuring spoons, measuring cups, spoons and a canning funnel (wide mouthed) is also helpful. Speaking of wide mouthed, make sure your jars are wide mouthed as well. You can fit these in the regular or narrow mouthed jars, but it’s harder. These jars will be packed to the top!

Let’s get started.

Chocolate Cookies in a Jar

To make Chocolate Cookies in a Jar first gather up all of your supplies and ingredients. You’ll need quart sized jars, all of the measuring devices I listed above as well as flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chopped pecans, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips.

Don’t forget to grab that wide mouthed funnel I told you about. Seriously, they come in handy for this and make the work a lot faster.

For each jar you’ll need:

• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup pecans
• 1 cup chocolate chips

First grab a bowl and combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Next, layer your ingredients in the jar making sure to pack things down well. I used the edge of a measuring cup to really pack things in. I put the flour in last, but you can layer things in any order you want, it’s up to you.

Now that your jar is filled and looks so pretty, it’s time to get it ready for gift giving. Add on your lid and ring, then you’ll want to put an instructional tag on it. Remember, I promised you printables, so here they are! Click on the picture below and it will take you to the pdf. Print it out on cardstock and you’re ready to go.

I decorated my jar with a bit of raffia to keep it simple, but you could use ribbons, fabric to cover the lid, stickers or anything else you want to spruce it up. Also, get creative with how you give this gift. You can turn this into a bigger gift by presenting it in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon set, and maybe even a cookie cookbook.

That was our sweet gift in a jar, let’s move on to the savory with some chili!

Easy Chili Cookie in a Jar

If you need a fast gift jar to put together, this is it. I can whip out several of these in no time! But again, it’s a tight fit, so pay attention to packing things down well.

For Easy Chili in a Jar you’ll need dried red kidney beans, dried navy beans, dried black beans, dried onion flakes, dried minced garlic, salt, chili powder, cumin and parsley.

For the Easy Chili gifts in jars you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup dried red kidney beans
• 1/2 cup dried black beans
• 1/2 cup dried navy beans
• 1/3 cup minced onion
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp dried minced garlic

You’ll need pint sized jars for this gift. To make it look pretty I layered each of the beans in first, then added the other ingredients on top. Experiment with what works best for you. You may find it easier to put the herbs and spices in first.

As with the cookies, I have printable tags for the Easy Chili too. Just click on the image to find the pdf to print.

I spruced up this jar with raffia and the tags as well, however you can decorate it however you’d like. If you want to turn this into a gift basket, include the 3 cans of tomato juice the recipient will need to make the chili, a wooden spoon and maybe some crackers.

And that is how you have a fun gift making night with your family. Everyone can have fun measuring ingredients into the jars and seeing who can pack them down the best. Plus, you can have that awesome Sam’s Club Coca-Cola & Pizza Bundle at Sam’s Club. Grab your ingredients and your dinner all in one stop. It really is a time saver.

What will you make this holiday season with the time you’re saving by picking up the Sam’s Club Coca-Cola & Pizza Bundle? Share your ideas in the comments below.