CCCS of Orange County Est. 1966 · A Non-Profit Organization NFCC
Tasty Holiday Gift Ideas Bring Holiday Cheer

Here are a couple tasty ways to create inexpensive gifts for neighbors, kids' teachers, service providers, church family friends and others. Plus, they're homemade and show the recipient you cared enough to spend some time on their gift. It's a good idea to make extras to have on hand for someone who surprises you with a gift. All in all, they are a great way to be thoughtful, generous and frugal.

You can dress up the jars with some scrap cloth, cut in a square with pinking shears for a nice edge, about 2 inches larger than the diameter of the jar lid. Place it over the lid and tie with ribbon, raffia or twine. Include a tag if you like saying "Sweet holiday greetings from..." (for the brownies) or "Warm holiday wishes from..." (for the soup). On the back, you can include simple preparation directions.

Rocky Road Brownies in a jar

Layer in a quart mason jar as follows:
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup flour
  • 2/3 cup plus 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2/3 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup marshmallows (or enough to fill the jar)
  • 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans (if allergies are a concern, replace with more marshmallows)
Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x9 baking pan (preferably metal). Pour chips, nuts and marshmallows in a separate bowl. Mix 2/3 cup oil, 2 eggs and 1 tsp vanilla together until blended, then mix in remaining ingredients in jar until just moistened and combined (about 50 strokes). Spread brownie batter in prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes. Spread chips, nuts and marshmallows over the batter. Bake for another 5-10 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE! Check with a toothpick every 5 minutes and remove from oven as soon as batter portion is set and comes out clean. Mixture will continue to set after removal from oven.

Country Soup in a Jar

Layer in a quart mason jar as follows:
  • 1/2 cup barley
  • 1/2 cup dried split peas
  • 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
  • 1/2 cup dry lentils
    (place the following ingredients around the edges in layers, then fill the rest of the jar with macaroni)
  • 2 tbsp dried minced onion
  • 2 tbsp dried parsley
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp lemon pepper
  • 2 tsp beef bouillon granules
  • 1/2 cup uncooked alphabet pasta
  • 1 cup uncooked twist macaroni
Add contents of jar to 3 quarts of water, 2 stalks of chopped celery, 2 sliced carrots, 1 cup of shredded cabbage (optional) and 2 cups canned diced tomatoes. Over medium low heat, cover and simmer about 1 hour or until vegetables are tender.


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