This weekend I was blessed to celebrate the 1st birthday of my wonderful godson, Jake! I will always remember where I was when his parents asked me to be his godmother, the honor and excitement was overwhelming. The thought that an amazing friendship that was formed in college during an adventurous semester in Florence, Italy had evolved into a lifelong friendship and an inseparable bond is incredibly special! From hiking the hills of Cinque Terre to graduating college, a wedding and the birth of a baby, I can't wait to see what the next 60 or so years have in store for "Lucy and Ethel"!
Our years of friendship led us to Friday at 9p.m., after Jake had gone to sleep for the night, and the troops were rallied to put the finishing touches on the next day's event (Yes, even Justin participated)! Jake's 1st Birthday was themed around John Deere and around 11p.m. we may have been second guessing the ease of creating Mason Jar Cookie Mixes, but they turned out amazing, so the blood, sweat and tears were definitely worth it (disclaimer: no blood or sweat made it into the cookie mix, so no worries)!! If you've ever wondered how to create one of those cookie mixes you see on Pinterest, here's how:
Gather all of your ingredients:
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup old fashioned cooking oats
3/4 cup m&ms
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup white sugar
Start with a 1 quart mason jar. Layer the ingredients into the jar like this:
1st: Flour, baking power, baking soda, and salt
2nd: oats
3rd: m&ms
4th: chocolate chips
5th: brown sugar
6th: white sugar
Make sure that you pack each level down very tightly. If you don't pack each individual layer down, it won't fit in the jar (trust us, we learned the hard way)! The ingredients should be flush to the top of the lid when it is time to seal it up, like so:
When you are ready to use the cookie mix, all you will need to add is 1 egg, 1/2 cup of butter (melted slightly in the microwave) and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Roll the cookie dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, place on a parchment covered baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees.
To decorate the top of the mason jar, we had stickers with the recipe to seal on the top of the lid, twine, fabric and little "thank you" hang tags. Cut the fabric into 6" squares. The length of the twine is your preference, depending on how far you'd like the tags to hang down. Our finished product wound up like so:
And with the favors completed at 11:30p.m. on the dot, we went to bed, ready to celebrate in the morning! Jake's "John Deere" party was a hit, from the themed food to the green and yellow decorations, it's a day we will always remember!! Happy 1st Birthday, Jake! I wish that every year is as carefree as the first, filled with health, happiness and adventure. Xoxo Auntie Alexa
