If you’re looking for a thoughtful gift idea that won’t break the bank, then why not make a homemade cookie dough gift?
After all, who doesn’t love the smell (and taste!) of delicious cookies straight from the oven?
To start with, you’ll need to make the cookie dough. You’ll find my go-to recipe below, or you can skip straight ahead to the next section for my cookie dough packaging ideas.
Psst! These cookies go perfectly with a mug of hot chocolate, so why not make a gift of that too? Here’s how >>
Easy Homemade Cookie Dough Recipe
This is my go-to cookie dough recipe. The cookies are full of flavour even before you add any toppings and they’re a perfect balance of chewy on the outside and soft on the inside.
You can use almost any topping you want with this simple cookie dough recipe.
I’ve used it for classic chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cup cookies, M&M cookies, white chocolate and raspberry cookies, chocolate orange cookies, and my husband’s personal favourite, white chocolate and pecan cookies.
And the best bit? They take less than 30 minutes to make!
Here’s how to make this homemade cookie dough…
Ingredients
- 225g baking butter, softened (I usually use Stork or a similar supermarket-own brand)
- 170g condensed milk
- 225g caster sugar
- 350g self-raising flour, sifted
- (Optional) 100g of additional toppings
Method
1. Cream the butter, condensed milk and sugar together in a large bowl.
2. Mix in the sifted flour to make a soft dough.
3. Mix in your chosen flavours and toppings.
If you’re adding chocolate chips then 100g is enough for this mixture, while a couple of handfuls of nuts also works.
My husband says white chocolate chips and pecans are a particularly good combination!
If you’re baking the cookies at this point rather than gifting the cookie dough, then you’ll need to bake them in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F), (160°C / 320°F for fan ovens), or Gas Mark 4 for 12-15 minutes, or until they’re golden brown.
This homemade cookie dough recipe makes 30 cookies.
I usually divide the dough into two when it’s ready, so I can bake half of it fresh and then freeze the other half for up to three months.
Alternatively, you could make two cookie dough gifts at the same time! Read on for my cookie dough gift ideas.
Cookie Dough Packaging Ideas
There are a few different ways you can gift cookie dough. I hope the following ideas help you get started.
Gift Wrapped Cookie Dough Log
My favourite way to package cookie dough into a gift is to roll it up into a log shape ready for covering with posh wrapping paper.
Fancy giving this a go? Here’s how to do it.
Step 1: Make a cookie dough log.
Once you’ve made your cookie dough according to my previous recipe instructions, roll it into a log shape and wrap it up with saran wrap/cling film.
This keeps the cookie dough fresh and also helps to smooth out any lumps and bumps you might have in your cookie dough.
Step 2: Wrap your cookie dough log.
Now, wrap your log with thick wrapping paper. You could wrap it up like a Christmas cracker, or tape it on all sides.
Step 3: Attach the baking instructions.
Print your baking instructions out onto white paper and tape this around the wrapped cookie dough log.
Here are the instructions for the above cookie dough recipe:
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F), (160°C / 320°F for fan ovens), or Gas Mark 4.
Slice the dough and bake your cookies for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Enjoy with a glass of milk or deluxe hot chocolate. Merry Christmas!
Step 4: Add your finishing touches!
Finish with ribbon and any other finishing touches you want to add.
Notes:
If you want to gift this cookie dough with a deluxe hot chocolate, then check out my tutorial on how to make a hot chocolate mug gift.
I’ve also seen cookie dough gifts wrapped up in festive tea towels or napkins, which also look fantastic and are like two gifts in one. I wanted to try this myself but I struggled with finding inexpensive tea towels in the shops. Maybe next year? Stay tuned!
There’s also no reason why this has to be a Christmas gift either. It could just as easily be a DIY gift for Valentine’s Day or someone’s birthday. Simply change the wrapping paper to suit any occasion.
You could even make your own wrapping paper out of fun and quirky book pages!
Cookie Dough Balls
Alternatively, you could roll your cookie dough up into individual walnut-sized balls.
You can then wrap them up inside saran wrap/cling film and place them inside a pretty tin.
Finish your cookie dough gift with some ribbon, a gift tag and any other additional trimmings.
I hope you enjoy making this homemade cookie dough gift for someone special! While you’re here, why don’t you take a peek at my other DIY gift ideas and tutorials?
If you make anything inspired by this tutorial then I’d love to see it, so tag me on Instagram @houseofmahalo!
And if you liked this cookie dough gift tutorial, then why not pin or bookmark it now, so you can read it again later?
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