How to Send Cookies in the Mail

No matter the occasion, a taste of home is always welcome. Cookies are more than a gift, more than food, they are a personalized memory, a shared history, a small piece of home for someone who can't be there. What you need to know is not why, but how to send cookies in the mail. This article covers all aspects of how to send cookies in the mail successfully.

How To Send Cookies In The Mail: The Best Cookies For Shipping

After you spend your time and money making and mailing your creations, it would be a disaster for the gift to arrive as a box full of delicious crumbs. The first step to avoiding this is to know which cookies are suited to being shipped. Thin, delicate cookies, cookies which stale quickly, or soft cookies are poor choices and will arrive in bad condition. Some of the best cookie choices for mailing are biscotti, shortbread, bar cookies and drop cookies. Cutout cookies like sugar cookies and gingerbread will ship, as long as you avoid shapes with small pieces and sharp edges. It would be disappointing to discover that your sugar cookie reindeer and gingerbread men arrived as a box of tasty amputees. Better choices are simple shapes. If you can't find a great shape for a certain holiday, consider decorating plain cutouts with festive and appropriate scenes. Egg yolk paint is easy to make and use, and it works well on sugar cookies.

How To Send Cookies In The Mail: When To Bake

If you want your gift to arrive fresh, chances are you'll be baking right before you mail. If you want to send more than two or three varieties, that is a lot of work for one day. Consider freezing the finished cookies or dough where appropriate to spread your workload out. Drop cookie dough freezes very well. Simply make the dough, scoop it and drop onto a baking sheet. Place in the freezer until solid, then transfer your dough balls into a freezer bag. Cut out cookies can be frozen either before or after baking. All these can be cooked directly from their frozen state with minor adjustments to oven temperature (lower it a few degrees) and time (a minute or two extra). To freeze bar cookies after baking, cut in the pan then place the pan in the freezer. When fully frozen, transfer individual bars to a freezer bag. Biscotti will keep forever without freezing. When thawing already baked cookies, it is important to leave the bag sealed until the contents are fully thawed. When you're ready to send your cookies in the mail, simply bake as many as you are sending the same day or the day before you mail them.

How To Send Cookies In The Mail: Packaging

To find success when mailing cookies, one must use the right packaging and pack it right. Cookies with high moisture content cannot be packed in the same space as dry cookies or both types will soon stale. Also avoid placing highly flavored spicy cookies with plain cookies like shortbread or sugar cookies - their tastes will mingle. Bar cookies can be stacked, but thin cookies should be stacked side by side on their edges. For best results, line the box or tin with corrugated paper (available at most baking supply stores) or bubble wrap (a distant second choice). A sturdy box or tin is essential. When full, there should be no empty airspace, either from top to bottom or side to side. When you think the box is ready, shake it lightly from side to side. If the cookies move, the box is not full enough. Insert more cookies or more corrugated paper. When the contents are immobile, shake it harder to be sure. Again, the goal is no movement. Place this box or tin into a shipping box - be sure to surround it with packing paper, bubble wrap, or plain popcorn to prevent movement.

How To Send Cookies In The Mail: Mailing

It is worth the extra money to use faster mail. Be sure to mark the package "FRAGILE" though there is no guarantee the handlers will pay attention - which is why you packaged it so carefully. I would not buy insurance or tracking on the package, though that is a matter of personal choice. That's it. You're done, and the recipient will be overjoyed at your thoughtful and tasty gift.

As you can see the problem of how to send cookies in the mail is easily solved by using the right cookies, packaging, and timing.