Sand Art Bars (Brownie Mix in a Jar: Holiday Gift Idea!) Recipe
This is one of the “bars in jars” recipes so popular a few years ago, and every so often during the holidays I resurrect it because it makes such a nice handmade gift, with WOW factor. The layered ingredients vary by color and texture and remind me of Native American sand painting and Arizona. Get an assembly line going and make several at a time measuring flour-flour-flour, salt-salt-salt and so on. If you have no need to make the recipe as a gift, make it just for the brownies - they are remarkable. The double chocolate brownie is dark, rich and flavorful. Coconut might put some people off in a brownie but you’ll be surprised how good it goes over, and if eliminated you’ll lose that white “sand” layer between the cocoa and chocolate chips.
Ingredients
- INGREDIENTS FOR SAND ART JAR:
- 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa
- 1/2 cup coconut
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts
- INGREDIENTS TO MAKE BROWNIES:
- 3 eggs
- 2/3 cup cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
- DIRECTIONS FOR SAND ART BARS JAR:
- Layer ingredients into a quart canning jar in the order listed, starting with the flour.
- Apply lid. Add a decorative cloth "cap" and tie with ribbon or raffia.
- ATTACH THESE INSTRUCTIONS: "Sand Art Bars: Set oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan (the brownies tend to stick so THOROUGHLY GREASE pan.) In large mixing bowl beat together 3 eggs, 2/3 cup cooking oil, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add contents of Sand Art Bars jar and stir together just until well blended. Spread in prepared pan and bake 20-25 minutes. Cool pan on wire rack for 10 minutes and then score or mark brownies and loosen around edges as needed. Finish cooling. Yield: 18 bars.
- SEVERAL TIPS:
- I like the regular mouth jars rather than wide neck for this; don't sub smaller volume jars or ingredient amounts won't come out precisely.
- Using a canning funnel helps when you start out.
- Go ahead and cheat ~ tip the jar a little initially to get the first layers purposely uneven.
- Don't shake or rap the jar to settle ingredients. When you get to the final addition at the top, you can tamp the chocolate chips down a little to make room for the nuts, but try to make the nuts fill the jar right to the lid rim with no space leftover.
- Tying a ribbon on the lid ring alone can be tricky cause you try not to tip the jar and disturb the layers. I use a rubber band to hold the decorative cloth cap on first, then tie a ribbon over that and snip the rubber band free.
- If you mess a jar up, just shake the mixture into a zipper bag, label and store for your own future use.
Adding to Planner
Nutrition Facts
| Amount Per Serving | %DV |
|---|---|
| Serving Size 50g | |
| Recipe makes 18 servings | |
| Calories 228 | |
| Calories from Fat 112 | 49% |
| Total Fat 12.76g | 16% |
| Saturated Fat 2.31g | 9% |
| Trans Fat 0.21g | |
| Cholesterol 32mg | 11% |
| Sodium 142mg | 6% |
| Potassium 74mg | 2% |
| Total Carbs 26.25g | 7% |
| Dietary Fiber 1.1g | 4% |
| Sugars 18.07g | 12% |
| Protein 3.09g | 5% |
