Chai Spice Oatmeal Cookies (In a Jar!)

I decided to make cookie mix for Christmas gifts this year!  I have seen these adorable treats both around the Internet and in grocery stores for a while, and thought it would be fun to try them for a personal, DIY gift.

To give these oatmeal cookies a unique twist, I added chai spices and black tea to the mix for yummy, warm, chai spice oatmeal cookies.

I had two goals in mind while creating these cookie mixes:

1. Warm, chewy, chai-spice flavor.
2. Very, very easy for the recipient to make.

I wanted to be able to give these to people who don't bake often (or ever) so that they could enjoy homemade cookies any time.  So, outside of the mix, there are only two required ingredients: an egg, and a stick of butter.

Because I'm giving these as gifts, I decided to decorate them a bit.  I used some fabric and ribbon I had around the apartment to make a pretty lid for the jars.  Then, I cut out large tags on which to write the simple recipe to go along with the jars.  This turned out to be as much a craft project as a baking project!  Finally, to tie it together, I sewed on some cute red heart buttons.

I didn't actually make the cookies pictured in this post!  To test if these were easy enough for people who never bake, I handed my husband a jar of mix and the directions, and told him to make me some cookies!  This was truly the ultimate test - he's never made cookies on his own before (not even from a mix or pre-made dough).  He struggled in several places:

1. He didn't know how to melt the butter - he eventually settled on microwaving it.
2. He didn't know what I meant by "greased cookie sheet".  After asking me many times (I refused to answer since I wanted a good test), he used some vegetable oil.  Yay!
3. He did not understand what was meant by "walnut-sized".  I'd love to hear in the comments if anyone has a better description for that size.

Despite the confusion, he figured everything out and successfully made a batch of tasty, beautiful cookies!  These are nice and soft (especially right out of the oven) and have a strong chai spice flavor.  Yum.  Good job, Mr. Buttercream!

Chai Spice Oatmeal Cookies (In a Jar)
Makes approximately 22 cookies.

Ingredients (In the Jar)
1 cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1¼ cup quick-cooking oats
1½ teaspoons cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cardamom
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
3 black teabags
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup vanilla sugar*
*If you don't have vanilla sugar, add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to the ingredients not in the jar.

Ingredients (Not In the Jar)
1 egg
½ cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted

Method (For the Jar)

1. Sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl until well combined.  Add to the bottom of a quart-sized, wide-mouth canning jar.
2. Measure out your oats and place in the jar on top of the flour.
3. Add the spices to the jar, one at a time.
4. Cut open your teabags, and add the content to the jar.
5. Measure out the brown sugar and pack into the jar.
6. Add the vanilla sugar to the jar.
7. Screw on the jar lid, and decorate however you like.

Method (To Be Included with the Jar)

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
2. Empty jar contents into a medium bowl and mix.
3. Add 1 egg and 1 stick melted butter, and mix until everything is moist.
4. Roll dough into walnut-sized balls and place on a greased cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between cookies.
5. Flatten each cookie with a fork or the palm of your hand.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the cookies start to brown.