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One of the finest treats in the entire world is a fresh baked cookie. Keeping that in mind, it is no wonder that you are looking for great cookie gift ideas. Here is an idea that will bring your recipient fresh baked warm cookies for the special occasion and even on the hottest summer day, will not heat up your kitchen.

Jar cookie gifts are made by placing all the dry ingredients for your favorite cookies in a canning jar. Typically, a quart jar is required for gift cookies.

To choose a suitable recipe, you will need to add the total volume of the dry ingredients. Ingredients such as salt, spices or baking soda, which are usually measured in fractions of a teaspoon, can be ignored. You will want to select a recipe with dry ingredients that add up to four cups or one quart.

The best recipes for this type of gift cookies have ingredients that are of various colors. Sugar cookies do not work well since all the ingredients are white. Chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies are good examples.

Now layer the ingredients into the jar. Start with brown sugar, then flour, then chocolate chips or oatmeal. Continue with each ingredient, packing well into the jar. The idea is for the dry ingredients layers to make an interesting pattern when viewed from outside the jar, like a sand sculpture.

Spices could also be drawn along the glass surface on the inside of the jar to make interesting designs.

After adding all the dry ingredients, cap the jar with a canning lid. Decorative cloth can be held in place over the lid with a canning ring. Raffia can then be tied around the jar to attach any cooking directions and additional ingredients that will be needed.

Since a canning jar is essentially air tight, the dry ingredients will remain fresh for several months. You may wish to make these gifts ahead of time and store in a cool place to send at the appropriate time. These make great gifts to send home with an unexpected guest.

By the way, since all the ingredients are already out on the counter, why not bake up a fresh batch right now. Someone else in the house is sure to enjoy a cookie, and this is the perfect time to try something new or an old family favorite.