Gingerbread Cookie Mix Jars for Gifting

We are huge fans of homemade food Christmas gifts here at Wholefully. They are affordable, easy to make, universally loved, and maybe most importantly, consumable! Which means you aren’t adding any clutter to your loved ones’ homes—just gifting them with something delicious to enjoy.

This Gingerbread Cookie Mix takes the idea of edible gifts to the next level! Not only are you giving something delicious, but you’re also gifting the experience of baking cookies. This cookie mix has all the dry ingredients you need to make soft, tender cut-out gingerbread cookies.

We packed our mix in classic Ball® Wide Mouth Quart jars and tied a cute cookie cutter on the outside along with baking instructions (you can download the printable tags in the recipe below). Gift these jars to neighbors, teachers, or delivery people, or hand them out as host and hostess gifts at your holiday parties this year. Let’s make some gifts!

What ingredients do you need to make gingerbread cookie mix?

You probably have most of the ingredients you need to make this cookie mix in your pantry already—which makes these cookie mix jars great last minute gifts. You’ll need:

• All-purpose flour—we’ve also tried these with a good gluten-free all-purpose flour with good results
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Ground ginger
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground allspice
• Ground cloves
• Dark brown sugar—we really like the added flavor and softness from dark brown sugar, but if all you have kicking around is light brown sugar, that’ll work, too.

What kind of jar should I use?

We recommend the Ball® Wide Mouth Quart Jars. You can also use Ball® Regular Mouth Quart Jars (the volume is the same), but we found that getting the layers nice and neat was a little easier with the wide mouth jars. You can use the metal lid and rings that come with the jars for closure, or you can use the Ball® Leakproof Storage Lids.

How can I make this cookie mix look good for gifting?

You can use your imagination to make your gingerbread cookie recipe mix your own, but here’s what we did with ours:

1. Fit a Ball® Wide Mouth Quart Jar with a funnel. Follow the layer order listed in the recipe for nice, clean layers of ingredients.
2. Close the jar with the lid.
3. Cut an 8” circle of holiday fabric with pinking shears. Secure over the top of the jar lid with a thin rubber band.
4. Wrap ribbon or baker’s twine around to cover the rubber band. You can also tie on a cookie cutter, if you’re including one.
5. Add on one of our printable instruction tags, and tie it on. It’s ready to gift!

How long does this cookie mix last?

Because all the ingredients are shelf-stable, sealed up in a jar, these cookie mixes will easily last three months or more in the pantry. The brown sugar might get a bit clumpy, but nothing a little elbow grease (or an electric mixer) can’t handle. You can get by even longer if you store the mix in the freezer—up to a year.

How do you bake the cookies from the mix?

The full instructions are included in our printable instruction tags, but here’s how you make the cookies:

1. Using an electric mixer, combine 2/3 cup softened butter, 1 large egg, 2/3 cup molasses, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
2. Add in the jar of cookie mix and mix on low until combined. The dough will be quite thick.
3. Divide the dough in half, and wrap each half in plastic wrap and form into a disc. Chill for at least 2 hours.
4. After chill time, heat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
5. Remove one disc of the raw cookie dough from the fridge and let warm on the counter for 10 minutes, then unwrap and roll on a floured surface until 1/4-inch thick.
6. Cut out cookies using cookie cutters, and place 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Gather scraps, reroll, and cut more cookies.
7. Bake for 7-10 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a baking rack to cool completely before decorating.

Are these soft cookies or crunchy cookies?

These cookies are designed to be soft-baked cookies, but it’s an easy change to make them crisp, crunchy cookies—just add an extra minute or two to the baking time for a crunchy cookie.

Do you really have to refrigerate gingerbread dough before baking?

Sorry Charlie, this is a non-negotiable with this recipe! The chill time allows the flour to absorb some of the moisture in the dough. This helps the dough to relax and soften enough to roll and work with well.

What’s the best way to decorate these gingerbread cookies?

These cookies are tender and delicious on their own, but if you want to give them some flair, you can use royal icing, buttercream icing, or our beloved sugar cookie icing. Just make sure the cookies are completely cool before icing.