DIY Gift Idea: Sand Art Brownie Mix

Do you remember making sand art designs at the carnival as a kid? That was always one of my favorite activities.

I loved making patterns with the colored sand, though after a few weeks (or even days!) of bumping the bottle around, the colors would all mix together and I'd end up with a bottle filled with ugly purple-brown sand that my mom would

That's why I love this project so much. You get the fun of the pretty layered ingredients, which can then be mixed up into a delicious batch of brownies!

This makes for a wonderful homemade gift and can be personalized with any of your favorite ingredients. Substitute the nuts with mini marshmallows, dried fruit, crushed candy canes or flavored chips (think white chocolate, butterscotch or peanut butter!).

This Sand Art Brownie Mix was one of the recipes that I featured in a super fun DIY holiday gifts demo I hosted at The Container Store here in NY this weekend. It comes together in minutes and makes a super fun holiday present or hostess gift.

Disclaimer: I was compensated by The Container Store to host and share about this holiday event. The recipes and opinions are all my own. I had so much fun working with TCS for this event, and have been using their products for years to organize my kitchen. I feel so lucky to be working with such a cool company!

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Loved this post? Here are a few other DIY gift ideas you might like:

• DIY Gingerbread Pancake Mix
• DIY Gift Basket Ideas
• Boozy Rum Cake Truffles 

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Thanks so much for reading!

DIY Gift Idea: Sand Art Brownie Mix
Makes 1 quart

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar (or raw sugar)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (either Dutch or regular works!)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Chopped nuts, marshmallows, dried fruit, etc.

1 clear glass 1 quart jar with lid (I used this pretty gingham lidded jar)

Tutorial
Layer each ingredient in the jar, tapping down between each layer. Add the nuts, marshmallows all the way up to the top (or you can just add extra chocolate chips!).

Cover and attach a tag with these instructions:
"Whisk together 3 large eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla, and 2/3 cup oil or melted butter. Add dry ingredients to wet & stir until combined. Bake in 9” square pan at 325 for 25 minutes."