Sometimes It’s Not About Cute – Part 3
Have you ever made a layered baking mix in a canning jar for gift giving? I’ve made several over the years, as well as having received them too. They’re handy to have around and are easy to put together too. But once in a while I put together a mix like this in a canning jar without paying too much attention to whether I have nice looking layers or not and just keep it in the pantry for my own use.
I did this recently with my chocolate chip cookie recipe (which is just the Nestle Toll House cookie recipe). I put the flour, baking powder, and salt in first, followed by the brown sugar and the white sugar. It still turns out looking kind of layered, but if it isn’t perfect, that’s OK. Then when it comes time to make the cookies, I have my dry ingredients measured and ready to go.
In the last two posts we looked at making mixes ahead of time in a functional way, without putting the emphasis on the presentation or the “cute” factor. This is one more idea on that thought. You can use this strategy of layering the dry ingredients in a canning jar with other types of cookie or bar recipes too so take a look in your recipe box and give some consideration to how you could adapt some of your favorites. If you need some more ideas for jar mixes to make ahead of time, whether for your own practical use or for gifts, you can check out the Budget101 website which has lots and lots of jar mix ideas.
So to wrap it up, don’t let the Cute Factor hold you back when creating your own make ahead mixes. Ziploc bags, dollar store containers, and jars with “kinda sorta” layers all work great and handwritten labels on post-it notes do the trick too!
You might also like to read:
Sometimes It’s Not About Cute – Part 1
Make Ahead Mixes – It’s Not About Cute – Part 2
Thank you for the reminder that it doesn’t have to be cute or fancy looking. That isn’t the reason for the mixes anyway. I really needed this. Thanks again.
P.S.
I found your blog on Pinterest. 🙂
I’m glad you were encouraged. We do need to remember that its OK for things to be practical and functional, and not always compare ourselves to everybody else.
Instead of using jars or plastic containers I often use zip lock bags. They come in a variety of sizes and are also good for gift giving..especially for those who don’t/can’t cook…just slip a little note with the wet ingredients and cooking times etc, inside….also not cute…but they work…don’t take up so much room either as the pack kinda flat! And, you can also recycle the bags until they get a hole or whatever!
Yes! Ziploc bags are another great multi purpose item that isn’t cute, but always gets the job done.