Layered Cocoa Gift in a Jar

It finally got wintery here! Time for hot cocoa and gifts in a jar! Mine are not meticulously layered.  You know me--no perfection here.  I was chattering away while I made these and then they got tossed around a little on the way out to their snowy photo shoot.  I couldn't resist (the snow--not the tossing)!

I'm not going to provide a long list of all the layered gift in a jar ideas.  Instead I'm sharing my two favorites from this year (or maybe ever). 

My favorite gift in a jar cookie recipe is Bakerella's Cowgirl Cookies. Quite frankly, it might just be the colors and the cute packaging that make them my favorite. Great packaging and presentation always get me! How can you resist these?  They're not in Christmas colors but easily could be.

Cowgirl Cookies from Bakerella

 Debbie over at Me and My DIY has the BEST post ever about layering a bread recipe from Sunset.

Bread in a Bottle from MeandMyDIY

It is a must read--entirely helpful in that she addresses all Sunset's missing info, but is also hilarious.

Here are some tips for making layered gifts in a jar.  Truth be told, I did not use them.  I just layered and was lucky it worked.

I buy packets of Swiss Miss but since it's Christmas time I thought I'd give this recipe a try.  I was excited because my grandma made a cocoa recipe that included powdered milk with cocoa and sugar.  I thought this might be like hers.  Maybe it is but I don't remember it tasting so Sweet as a kid!  I probably liked it that way but this is a very rich hot cocoa recipe.  It calls for 1/3 cup of mix with hot water but that was too much for my family.  I reduced it to 2 Tablespoons.  It is pretty yummy! Enjoy~

Peppermint Cocoa Recipe - Originally from Sunset 2004

Ingredients (per quart jar):
1 cup powdered milk
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips
1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy

Prep:
Layer powdered milk, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, chocolate chips, and peppermint candy.

Note:  This mix will fill a 1 quart jar perfectly, but if your containers are different sizes, keep the ratio of ingredients constant.

On the tag write:  Mix contents together completely in a large bowl.  For each serving, scoop 2-3 Tablespoons cocoa mix into a mug and stir in 1 cup of boiling hot water.  Stir well to dissolve all the ingredients.  Store remaining mixture in an airtight container.  Putting it back into the original jar will do.

 Happy hot cocoa sipping!