September 20, 2011

Gifts and Cookies


Back in high school and university, I used to spend a lot of time customizing gifts for my friends and family.  I would carefully plan out the gifts by creating detailed shopping lists that listed gift ideas and wrapping for each individual.  Yes, I spent more time planning gifts than studying...my Managerial Accounting mark can attest to this!! heh.

Sadly, I no longer spend that much time on picking out the perfect gift. Nowadays, I have to bounce ideas off of other people, give cash, or resort to gift cards. This Eid I really struggled to find things for family members and ended up getting some gift cards. I did however, try to add a personal touch by adding a homemade cookie mix to the gifts.  This idea stemmed from Bakerella's post on Mixing things up!

This is probably the simplest gift you can make. It's not too expensive and you can customize it by using different coloured Smarties or M & M's, or using different nuts.  Get a mason jar and slap on two printable labels- one for the name and the other for directions and voila! You have a great hostess or holiday gift.

*Note that the label in the picture has wrinkles in it...to avoid this, use smaller labels

Chocolate Oatmeal Cowboy Cookies


1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and levelled
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup Smarties (you can use M & M's if you are celebrating a holiday)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3-1/2 cup chopped pecans


Before you start the layers, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl together.

The layers will be as follows:
1.The flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt mixture.  .
2.The oats.
3.The Smarties.
4.The chocolate chips.
5.The brown sugar.
6.The white sugar.
7.The chopped pecans

Pack each layer down tightly so that you can fit all of the ingredients in.  If a plastic seal is missing from the mouth of the jar, take a small piece of plastic wrap and cover it up, before closing the lid.
Using printable labels, you can print out two labels- one label for the cookie name, and the other for the instructions.  I put the name of the cookie at the front of the jar, and put the instructions on the back.  Here are the instructions I used on the label:

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Stir dry ingredients in a large bowl and add:
1/2 cup butter, (almost melted), 1 slightly beaten egg & 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine thoroughly. Roll into 1 1/2 inch balls & bake on a lined cookie sheet for 10 minutes.

If you want to make the cookies for yourself, the recipe is as follows:

1 1/3 cup all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and levelled
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cooking oats
3/4 cup Smarties (you can use M & M's if you are celebrating a holiday)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3-1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all of the dry ingredients in a large glass bowl.  Add in the wet ingredients and mix well.  Roll the dough into small balls, and place them, evenly spaced, on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are golden. Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack.

6 comments:

  1. I love doing these for Christmas! Always looking for new ones! Thanks!!!

    craftyzoowithmonkeys.blogspot.com

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  2. Hinna, the recipe sounds delicious and the mix looks so pretty layered in the jar! A lot of time jarred mixes don't look that pretty. I make a similar recipe with dried cranberries and white chocolate chips :)

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  3. Cheese With Noodles (heh love your name!), the combination of dried cranberries and white chocolate chips sounds divine! I think I'll have to try it out.

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  4. A wonderful gift idea, for a nice hostess gift or with Christmas fast approaching, thanks for the idea.

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  5. Medifast, if you add some decorations to the jar, it can look quite pretty!

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  6. Hi! I am over from Tatertots and Jello! This would make a nice gift!I love how the layers look!

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