Packing 'em In!
Most of the cookie and brownie varieties of mix-in-a-jar recipes will fit into a 1-quart or 1-liter wide-mouth canning jar, as long as you pack the ingredients in as tightly as possible. One quart equals 4 cups; one liter equals just over 4 cups. Some of the mix-in-a-jar recipes may be a bit confusing: if you add up all the cups it equals more than the maximum amount of four! This is because the ingredients, if packed down properly in the jar, will lose volume and thus be able to fit. Careful packing is the key.
After placing one ingredient in the jar, press it down with a utensil with a fairly wide flat bottom (a long-handled tart tamper works especially well). Do this after each and every ingredient, especially after adding ingredients like brown sugar, flour, oats, nuts, confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, shredded coconut and dried fruits.
- White sugar will seep down into layered items like colored candies, chocolate chips, nuts, etc. It's better to put white sugar below these ingredients.
- All-purpose flour and confectioners' sugar also have the same seeping problem, so follow the guidelines for white sugar.
- The layers will stand out most if you pack the highly contrasting items next to each other.
