Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut Cookies in a Jar - Holiday Spiced and Everything Nice

Holiday Spiced Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut Cookies, easily made vegan - recipe in post

Is there anything better than a homemade gift? I mean, really... what are the holidays all about? Family, love, togetherness, smiles... and if you ask me, that doesn't have to be expensive, or difficult, or full of gifting-guesswork.

Even as a kid, I would get so excited about the things I was making for people it was hardly ever a surprise to the recipient. In fact, the giving was always more exciting than the getting! I was a strange child, I know.


This year I'm making some of my favorite treats as gifts (you snooping family members, look away!) and wanted to share them with anyone looking for some great last-minute goodies. To kick things off, cookies!

These are some of my favorite oatmeal cookies - they're a little more rustic looking than your average cookie, but they're crazy tasty. Just a touch of holiday spice goes a long way to make these extra-special. To complete the holiday feel I like to add cranberries and walnuts, but these can be swapped with other nuts, fruit, or chocolate chips - mmm!


The recipe took a little tweaking to make it jar-able, but after a few test batches I had things working perfectly. I've provided the ingredients in the order in which I layered them in the jars, and for consistency I've measured each ingredient by weight as well as volume.

Recipe Notes: The idea for this gift was inspired by Bakerella's Cowgirl Cookies - her recipe would be another great jar-able gift! She used smooth-sided mason jars, available at craft stores, but since the ones I found were quite a bit more expensive than regular mason jars I opted not to use them here.
This recipe is easily made vegan (simply use your favorite substitutes for butter and milk). I tried making a batch gluten-free, with not-so-good results. If you'd like to play around with making them gluten-free, I suggest adding another 2-3 TBSP liquid to the recipe.

Oatmeal Cranberry Walnut Cookies - Holiday Spiced and Everything Nice
Makes about 16 cookies - easily made vegan

Dry:
1 cup all-purpose flour (140g.)

1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8th tsp. ginger
1/8th tsp. cloves

2 cups rolled oats (160g.)
1/3rd cup dark brown sugar, packed (about 65g.)
1/3rd cup sugar (about 65g.)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (about 60g.), or other dried fruit
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (about 50g.), or other nut, more dried fruit, chocolate chips, m&m's, etc....

Wet:
6 TBSP unsalted butter, or dairy-free substitute, melted
1/3rd cup milk, or dairy-free substitute
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Method
Preheat oven to 350f.
In a bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Stir in the butter, milk, and vanilla extract. Scoop 1 1/2 - 2 TBSP sized balls onto a lined cookie sheet, and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until just barely set on top. Let cool 5 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.


To Layer In Jars:

One recipe fills one quart-sized mason jar. I layered the ingredients into the jar in this order:

Flour (with the baking powder, baking soda, and spices whisked in)
1/2 the oats
Brown sugar
White sugar
1/2 the oats
Cranberries
Walnuts

I then labeled each jar with baking direction on top:

Directions: In a bowl, stir cookie mix. Add 1/3rd cup milk or milk substitute, 6 TBSP melted butter or dairy-free margarine, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract.
Mix well, and scoop into 1 1/2-2 TBSP sized balls onto a lined cookie sheet. bake at 350f. for 10-12 minutes, or until just barely set on top. Let cool 5 minutes before devouring!