Using the Android Library plugin for Gradle - create a .jar file (in addition to a .aar library file) that contains all the classes (and dependent jar files). Solution is based off a combination of solutions from https://gist.github.com/Lien/7150489 and the Winning answer to this Stackoverflow Question http://stackoverflow.com/questions/19307341…

Gradle Android Jar Library

android.libraryVariants.all { variant ->
  def name = variant.buildType.name
  if (name.equals(com.android.builder.BuilderConstants.DEBUG)) {
    return; // Skip debug builds.
  }
  def task = project.tasks.create "jar${name.capitalize()}", Jar
  task.dependsOn variant.javaCompile
  //Include Java classes
  task.from variant.javaCompile.destinationDir
  //Include dependent jars with some exceptions
  task.from configurations.compile.findAll {
            it.getName() != 'android.jar' && !it.getName().startsWith('junit') && !it.getName().startsWith('hamcrest')
        }.collect {
            it.isDirectory() ? it : zipTree(it)
        }
  artifacts.add('archives', task);
}