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" In case you missed it this afternoon, food editors from the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen hosted their 3rd Google+ Hangout video\u2014&amp;quot;New Uses For Mason Jars!&amp;quot;\u2014with three of our favorite bloggers. You already know that mason jars are great as drinking glasses, for making salad dressing or (duh!) canning, but have you ever dyed one hot pink with food coloring? Or used one to make a cinnamon-sugar shaker? Watch the video on Good Housekeeping&amp;#039;s YouTube channel or catch what you missed via the recap below. We&amp;#039;ll be posting a new video next month, so follow Good Housekeeping on Google+ to stay in the know! 1. Homemade Sugar Shakers: Confectioners&amp;#039; &amp;amp;amp; Cinnamon-Sugar  A trick you learn in culinary school is to make your own sugar shaker on the fly\u2014you put confectioners&amp;#039; sugar in a paper cup, cover the opening with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band. It&amp;#039;s a fast-and-dirty way to decorate dessert plates or dust waffles without having to get out a sieve or other bulky kitchen tool. Katie Holdefehr took the idea and gave it her own elegant twist: She filled a mason jar with confectioners&amp;#039; sugar, covered the opening with cheesecloth (in place of the jar top), then secured it with a rubber band and screwed on the jar ring to cover it. You could leave &amp;#039;em plain but Katie decorated the jars with colorful cupcake liners and labels. She also made a cinnamon-sugar variation: Use a hammer and nail to punch holes into the jar top, then secure the top/ring on a jar filled with cinnamon-sugar. It&amp;#039;s just the thing to put out for a family brunch\u2014especially if you&amp;#039;re making French toast! 2. Mason Jar Chocolate Pudding For Two - Recipe by Melissa Coleman  Melissa Coleman, designer and founder of the blog The Faux Martham, shared her go-to mason jar project: Homemade Chocolate Pudding (portioned for two)! You can get the recipe on her blog, here. Melissa&amp;#039;s tip is to pour the pudding into jars while it&amp;#039;s still hot, this way it&amp;#039;ll settle and cool perfectly smooth. For a springy twist, top with a dollop of whipped cream and a handful of fresh raspberries! 3. Layered Gift Mason Jars: Lentil Soup and Fudgy Brownies  Next up, Susan Westmoreland\u2014our brilliant Food Director\u2014shared 2 ideas for giftable mason jar mixes: Curried Lentil Soup &amp;amp;amp; Fudgy Cocoa Brownies. You&amp;#039;ll find the exact measurements for the soup, here. For the brownie mix (below), here&amp;#039;s what you do...  LAYERED FUDGY BROWNIE MIX MAKES: about 16 brownies Into a 3 or 4 cup mason jar, layer 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa powder, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. Then give the jar&amp;#039;s recipient the following instructions: 1. Preheat the oven to 350\u02DAF. Grease an 8-inch-square baking pan. 2. In a 3 quart bowl, microwave a stick of butter on medium until melted. 3. Beat in 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract. 4. Dump jar contents into bowl; stir until incorporated. 5. Spread batter in prepared pan and bake 18 to 20 minutes. 6. Cool and cut brownies into 16 squares.  4. Vintage Painted Mason Jar Vase for Mom - Project by Kelly Rowe Craft-queen Kelly Rowe, of Live, Laugh, Rowe, talked us through a great way to turn plain mason jars into a beautiful gift for Mother&amp;#039;s Day: Vintage Vases! She said to paint the exterior of a 16-ounce or 32-ounce mason jar with 2 coats acrylic paint (available at any craft store). Let it dry completely, then gently rub the raised writing on the mason jar with a nail file. This will remove some paint, giving the jar a weathered/vintagey feel. Fill it with flowers before gifting to mom or wrap on its own. The result is stunning: It looks like a vase you&amp;#039;d buy at a fancy boutique but it&amp;#039;s super easy and costs almost nothing to pull together! 5. Mason Jar Icebox Cakes: Classic, Rum-Raisin, Salted Caramel and Lemon-Raspberry  Next, it was my turn! I transformed my favorite retro dessert\u2014icebox cake!\u2014into 4 mason jar treats (individually portioned for presentation and/or transportation). Icebox cake is a fabulous no-cook dessert for spring and summer entertaining: Layers of whipped cream and crispy cookies are stacked in a container and refrigerated overnight. The cookies absorb some of the whipped cream mixture and soften into a cake-like consistency\u2014it&amp;#039;s pure magic! Master the basic recipe, then let you imagination run wild: Stir your favorite mix-ins into the whipped cream (I&amp;#039;ll give you a few suggestions below) and swap in any cookie you&amp;#039;d like\u2014just stick with something crispy, soft cookies will breakdown too much. Here&amp;#039;s how you do it... BASIC MASON JAR ICEBOX CAKE SERVES: 4 2 cups cold heavy cream 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Assorted mix-ins (optionals) About 2 dozen crispy cookies 1. Beat the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla with a mixer fitted with the whisk attachment 2 minutes or until stiff peaks just form. Stir in a mix-in, if using. 2. Layer cookies and whipped cream mixture into 4 mason jars, starting with cookies and ending with cream. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or preferably overnight. Serve cold.  CLASSIC ICEBOX CAKE: Make the basic whipped cream mixture (above) and layer with Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafer Cookies.   RUM-RAISIN: Make the basic whipped cream mixture (above); stir in 1 tablespoon rum. Layer with crispy oatmeal raisin cookies.   SALTED CARAMEL: Make the basic whipped cream mixture (above); stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons dulce de lech. Layer with crispy chocolate chip cookies; sprinkle flaky sea salt between each layer.   LEMON-RASPBERRY: Make the basic whipped cream mixture (above); stir in 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel. Layer with lemon shortbread cookies and fresh raspberries.  6. DIY Colored Mason Jars - Project by Leah Bergman  Last but certainly the most glamorous, Leah Bergman\u2014founder of the blog Freutcake\u2014demoed how to make DIY colored mason jars using glossy Mod Podge, regular food coloring and water, that&amp;#039;s it! Head over to Leah&amp;#039;s fabulous blog for the step-by-step instructions. Here&amp;#039;s the link. Can you even believe these were dyed at home? They look so professional! As Leah said, they&amp;#039;re perfect for an outdoor dinner party or a rustic wedding (you can customize them to your color-scheme)! Well, that wraps up our 3rd Google+ Hangout video. Hope to see you next time! Thank you to Melissa, Kelly and Leah for sharing your brilliant ideas\u2014you gals rocks!  [ Chocolate pudding photo by Melissa Coleman of The Faux Martha / Colored Mason Jar photo by Leah Bergman of Freutcake] "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a19445/mason-jar-hangout/>