When I was a kid, we had a clear glass jar with a loose fitting lid. From anywhere she was in the house my Mum could hear the lid rattle and ask ”who’s taking a cookie?”

I often store baked treats in the microwave, like it’s a bread box. I often forget about them until I open the door to microwave my dishcloth or reheat leftovers for lunch. “Oh! Cookies!“ What a thrill to discover them.

The more reasonable answer to why I do not is because they are not air tight and the cookies do not stay fresh for long. The reality for me though is related to that of hhireno's and that they make too much noise and the kids always know if I am getting one at a time I would not let them have one. Add to that when we make cookies, we make quite a few and while they do not last long (6 people), they do not all fit in the jar. Occasionally I will see a jar that strikes my fancy but generally talk myself out of it for the above reasons and the fact that I would worry somebody would drop the lid and break it. Also, while I am not a germophobe, I am a realist and the thought of grubby hands feeling around in the jar does not appeal to me. When cookies are spread out more, it is easier to grab one (or two or three) and go.

I'm following this with interest as I have been looking for a cookie jar. Post away! Jen, I hope you can find a cookie jar like the one you described - a great story! Edited to add: while it may not be your taste, it's one of those silly, quirky things that give flavor to a home and marriage.

I also didn't grow up in a household with a regular cookie supply, so there's that. However, the other concern I see with unsealable jars of food on the counter is ants.

Absolutely! I have 9 or so I swap out as the seasons change. They sit on our breakfast counter. They hold candy/gum for the most part...

I don't have one, and also cannot keep cookies around because I have ZERO willpower...but your bringing up the one from your husband's childhood reminded me of my aunt who had the most adorable pig wearing a coat ( like maybe going to market). Going to look for that online. I used to love seeing it.

This could have been it- the coat is really speaking to me, but I think it was a different color coat. Well apparently these Shawnee vintage ones are what it was. Those pockets too!!

We don't have one but I love the idea of you getting your husband the cookie jar from his childhood - very sweet.

The more I mull it over, the more I'm leaning towards getting him the (rather ugly 70s-era) little cookie jar from his boyhood. I mean, who wouldn't want THIS on their countertop, along with the sleek Kitchen-aid stand mixer and the sophisticated Staub and Le Creuset pieces, right? ;-D

In a perfect world, my MIL will still have the original and be willing to give it to me, but unless she's had it packed and stored away for years, I've never seen it at her house so suspect it's long gone.

I love the looks of all of the jars shared upthread. They're just so happy, and the Shawnees are particularly precious! And believe it or not, I do retain a good deal of cookie willpower. I can bake a batch, eat one, and be done with them. Now, if that thing were filled with chips and salsa, I'd be a goner though.

Sheeisback, I highly recommend eating frozen cookies before they completely thaw. So divine. My chocolate chip cookies take on a toffee-like flavor and consistency.

What a great gift idea for your hubby, Octo!

*well I just NOW realized the spelling of your new name. I cannot get used to it, and obviously wasn't even pronouncing it right as I shortened it to Octo!

LOL, Tina! It's along the lines of "Oko-TEE-yo". ;-D

I just purchased the bear-on-a-stump jar from an eBay seller (My MIL confirmed that hers is long gone), and will have it shipped to an address that not's my home so that DH won't intercept it. Now ... to figure out how to get cookies into it before wrapping it up and giving to him on Christmas morning. Fingers crossed that it arrives in time! We don't usually exchange gifts, preferring instead to decide together on a mutually-agreeable "something" that we both want, so he won't be expecting this. I do hope it makes him happy.

I do hope it makes him happy.

It will make us happy, and isn’t that what it’s all about?

I do have a couple with a seal. I think one came from Pottery Barn several years ago and both are plain white. I use one for mini Kind bars I can grab on the run if I need a snack while out. The other DH uses for small size wrapped chocolates. His weakness.

All these vintage jars are so cute.

I do! It is one of my most treasured posessions because my Dad made it. When I was 10, Dad went to university to become an art teacher. He had dropped out of school at 15 and joined the merchant marines. I don't use it much any more, now that our kids are grown, but it makes me smile every time I look at it. It looks a bit wonky, but that is the fault of the photographer, not the creator. It's about 12" high and 12" wide. The lid doesn't seal per se, but that wasn't a problem in the days of after-school snacks.

We do! When my brother and I cleaned out our parents’ winter home, they let me keep several of the painted ceramic items, including this cookie jar. It used to have a rubber seal but it dried out and didn’t stay in anymore. But no worries, homemade cookies don’t last long enough in our house to go stale!

The other pieces I brought home aren’t all the same style or pattern or age, but they kind of work together with my own bits and pieces.

Nekotish, that’s a very cool cookie jar!

DH is nuts about chocolate chip cookies, so I bake a lot and keep the cookie jar stocked. The pattern in Pomona Apricot from Portmeirion. It seals reasonably well. We don't have a bug problem in this climate, so I'm not sure that it would suffice for the humid southern states. I used it for flour until I got serious about baking bread and needed something bigger. I have a glass one, too, but it's not air tight.

Cookie jar image at Replacements, Ltd.

I like the bear! It'll be fun with the rest of your things. We use an airtight cookie jar to hold ground coffee on our counter. We have one that looks like this, but we got ours at World Market maybe five years ago and it's about 13" tall.

I like cookie jars but do not have any. I use an old Royal Dansk cookie tin instead. I make my own butter cookies and got this tin from someone who had received it as a present and was not going to reuse it.

Like Lars I re-use cookie or biscuit tins and I have way too many, at least a dozen or so. When I bake cookies to give as gifts I put them in one of the tins and let the recipient know that they can keep the tin. But I swear those tins multiply in the dark closet because the number never seems to go down.

Marie-cate, they do indeed multiply. In cleaning out my parents’ basement, I found the great-grandparents of some of my tins. When the pile grew I was suspicious, then DH told me he had added some of ours to the pile.

By the way, I use some tins for storing seasonal plates, and other seasonal items too small or too few to warrant even a Sterilite shoebox,

I was just looking for a small ‘cookie jar’ for those times when my regular jar is just too big! I have always used the Mr Peanut jar that belonged to my great grandmother. It’s one of my favorite things — I love the ring of the leaded glass whenever the lid is lifted or lowered. :) Lousy pic but it’s all I could find at the moment.

I have a Pfaltzgraff one - many years old, it's blue with a seaside scene on it. It is still in use - my DH is a cookie fan - otherwise I end up with the cookie package sitting around.

Bunny, Oh I like frozen cookies and half frozen ones too! 😎 It just somehow helps when they’re in the freezer than the pantry. Maybe because I’m in there much less during the day.

These are great in this thread. My mom and grandparents never had one that I can remember. I’m nostalgic so I definitely would if that were the case.

I have one my mom made back in the mid 80s when home pottery shows were the rage. When I say "made", I mean glazed. Clay was pre-molded but she was able to put an inscription on the bottom.

My mom got blue Winnie the Pig from my dad's mom when she passed and my brother has it, along with an elephant that belonged to a dear friend.

All display only. Cookies don't "keep" in our house! They are either eaten or gifted shortly after being made.

I have what Eld has, actually, there are two, one for my cookies and one for Ellie’s. :c)

I would love to have a cookie jar like the one we had as a kid. If I ever find one you can bet I’ll snag it up!

These are ALL just wonderful! I understand why there are collectors of cookie jars, as they really do create a striking display, particularly en masse! Y'all have all shared some real charmers, and I thank you.

I have a pink clear glass depression cookie jar but only use it for display. Cookies would be visible and therefore too tempting!

I have one made by Eldreth Pottery in Lancaster PA. I no longer keep cookies in it but did for years. Also have canisters that I use for flour and sugar. Love them all!

When my kids were growing up I used a vintage ceramic ice bucket with a rafia wrapped handle for a cookie jar. I finally started lining it with a plastic bag, with a wire tie to keep contents fresher. If I had it now I would use a gallon ziploc in it if it fit.

I have that vintage cookie jar with the cookies on the outside and the walnut on the top that Lukki Irish posted the picture of. It's the one I grew up with.

Lucystar1 I am very jealous! LOL

I was given the world’s ugliest cookie jar. It stays in the box in the back of a closet. I am a Beatles fan, a friend thought this was a good idea. The yellow skin color of John, Paul, George and Ringo doesn’t photograph well. They are a very bright yellow.

LOL, ML! Sort of like if the Beatles had babies with Minions - ?

I also have my childhood cookie jar. I used it when our three were at home. It's in the pantry now, where I see but don't use. I also have our "feed the bird, feed the baby" bowl set.

I use my paternal grandmother's cookie/candy container for dog treats.

maddielee, I think a new contender has signed up for Ugliest Rock and Roll Cookie Jar.

Behold: The Rolling Stones!

It keeps kids out of the cookie jar — they all run away crying.

Hahahahahaha! Good lord! (I probably need that to go with my fugly Anthropologie throw that horrifies most people.)

Jinx, that's really.....something LOL

Cookie jars are one of those items that are IMO tend to be decorative but almost never actually practical.

Husband likes a cookie/milk snack each night but the regular jars end up leaving them so stale so fast. So his cookies go into a utilitarian plastic box with a tight lid that works well.

My nightly treat is one mini cupcake/milk nightly and since one batch makes 36 cupcakes I keep mine in the refrigerator. No baked good stays fresh at room temp for a month!

Lukki - I'm saving your post. I have (or maybe had) that cookie jar. If I come across it, it's yours. It's entirely possible that it's been donated so don't pass an opportunity up if another happens your way.

I love the pink depression glass one, and Allison's (good taste clearly genetic in Allison's family!).

Between Annie and this, I need cookies and another cookie jar. The one I have is not my taste but it was a gift and I don't hate it either...IDK.

Skibby! that is so sweet! Thank you!!! I’d really appreciate it and would be willing to buy it from you. It‘s something me and all 4 of my sisters fondly remember!

I have an apple shaped cookie jar that is very similar to the one from my childhood. It's around mostly for nostalgia, although one day DS asked "what's in the cookie jar?" He lifted the lid and was surprised by the contents. "COOKIES!"

I also have a large glass jar that came with biscotti. It's not airtight, but the cookies that go into it don't stay around long enough to get stale. The advantage to a glass jar is that you can see the cookies disappear, even though how they disappear is a mystery.

I have two of the depression glass jars , a pink one and a clear one. pink one is not in use. Clear one is actually in the bathroom cabinet with cotton pads in it! Lol

I don't have one, but MIL did and my kids always loved being able to help themselves to a cookie. And she made great cookies. This is a fun thread. Something so nostalgic about cookie jars. I just went down a wormhole on e-bay looking at them-so many and so different and so fun!

Photo is of my cannister set from 1979. I have 3 of the largest size. One sits on top of the frige as a cookie jar. Searching for this photo I discovered they are now 'vintage' and worth more than I would ever invest into cannisters or a cookie jar again.

I am still really enjoying this thread. I love your user name @Rho Dodendron!

I didn’t realize that one of my sisters has our childhood cookie jar. She said she keeps it in the middle of her dining room table so the cats don’t knock it off the table. I forget what she (just) told me she keeps in it, but it wasn’t cookies. Or cat treats. I’m glad someone is still using it.

I don’t know if this is technically a cookie jar or not? It’s the only thing I have from my maternal grandmother. The top is wooden abs not at all airtight so I’ve never used it for anything other than display. It’s pretty big, probably about 12” tall.

I've always loved cookie jars but the only one I've bought is a Pillsbury Dough Boy one from 25-30 years ago. It got put away when my boys were little so it wouldn't get broken and now it sits in one of those over the cabinet display cabinets where it creeps out my future DIL. I went to a plain glass jar -- one for us and one for the dog treats. Only one guest has eaten a dog treat - and that one came out of a package that was supposed to look like bakery cookies. It was when my son was in high school and she asked if they were a little old. There was so much laughter.