Tips for mailing cookies

Emails are nice, but you can’t ‘attach’ a box of cookies to your mail. So if you’re baking cookies for relatives and friends, and can’t hand deliver them, you’ve got to resort to old-fashioned mail. Luckily there are many cookies that can survive the distance and taste just as good as they were the day you baked them. Here are essential tips for mailing cookies that won’t end up crumbly or dry.

Packing materials for mailing cookies

Choose a container that is large enough to hold both the cookies and about two inches worth of cushioning between the cookies and the wall of the container. You can use tin or heavy-duty cardboard that won’t be crushed on impact.
So the first thing you need to do is to create that protective layer. Shipping peanuts, air-popped popcorn or even crumpled paper can do the job.

Place a bottom layer of shipping peanuts, air-popped popcorn, or crumpled paper. Once you;’ve filled the bottom of your shipping box, pack the cookies and then add more protective layers around the cookies and on top of them. Seal the container with shipping tape (get the heavy duty type), add a mailing label, and voila, it’s ready to be shipped.

Choose the best cookies for mailing

Some cookies (like those with custard fillings and toppings) spoil easily. Others like madeleines are just too delicate to be transported. Instead look for hard cookies like biscotti, crisps, shortbreads and springerle. These are also dry cookies to begin with, so if it dries a bit during the time it takes to be shipped to your recipient, no one will mind.

Chewy cookies like oatmeal, snickerdoodles and chocolate chip can be mailed by express. They hold up reasonably well (though not as well as dry cookies) as long as the recipient does not live that far away. Some cookies such as macaroons also taste better after a few days, so these are also great candidates for short-distance shipping.

Bar cookies that are dense can be shipped, and the bar shape is less prone to breakage. Just wrap them individually in plastic wrap to prevent the dense crumbs from drying and falling apart.

Packing tips

Never mix crisp and soft cookies in a single containers as the crisp cookies will absorb the moisture and be less crunchy. Make sure the cookies fit snugly; fill in any spaces with small balls of crumpled tissue. If you are making several layers of cookies, separate with parchment paper.

Photo from prudencepennywise.blogspot.com