How to package a batch of cookies to send overseas?

My cousin just made a batch of chocolate chip cookies to send to her brother in Iraq, but she wants to make sure they get to him intact, and not just a big bunch of crumbs. What would be the ideal way to package them?

I used to move furniture. Although I’ve never packed cookies I have packed and moved lots of fragile and expensive stuff.

I would make sure there’s plenty of packing material on all sides of the cookies. Wrap the cookies tightly in foil. Put packing peanuts (or whatever) in a layer in the bottom of the box. Put the foil package in the center and cover the sides and top with peanuts. Make sure the box is full and the package won’t slide around inside. Get packing tape and tape it up good. The key is you want to make sure the cookies are surrounded on all sides by packing material and that its tightly packed so it won’t move around inside the box.

You didn’t say what branch of the service your cousins brother is in, but I’m sure they have their own guidelines for packages too, and might have more tips for cookie mailing.

Finally, PM me for my address so you can mail me a box of cookies too :wink:

Bar cookies are more indestructible than cookie-cookies. Nothing that is inherently fragile (ie, lemon bars) or with too high a proportion of chocolate - it is HOT this time of year. Wrap tightly in foil, then ziplock x2, then pad box with bubble wrap or much newspaper, then place in a sturdy box (such as USPS “Flat Rate Box” - not a shoebox) and tape the shit out of it. It should be packed such that when you shake the box vigorously, NO motion can be detected inside.

Never, EVER pack food items with any type of toiletry item.

I’d suggest one of those home vacuum packing gadgets if you or a friend has one.

Arrange as many cookies in a bag as you can without them touching and seal. The cookies themselves should be solid enough to resist crushing by the process.

Start with a layer of peanuts in the shipping box. Then alternate cookies and bubble wrap. Finish up with peanuts all round.

To reiterate what’s been said in a different way, you want slightly more packing material than will fit in the box, so when you tape it shut, it’s under slight compression, so it can’t shift. I said slight overfill – you don’t want to compress so much you lose packing, but most peanuts are just rigid enough to avoid being crushed to dust with moderate pressure.

Thanks – I’ll send her a link to this thread!

Some baking hints from Nestle.

Good info there on what NOT to send or use in the cookies, (there are restrictions on spices and alcohol-based things like vanilla) as well as some adapted recipes so the goodies have a chance at surviving the heat.

Anecdotally, it’s suggested to use Priority Mail service rather than plain First Class or <gasp> Parcel Post. Generally, PM packages are being delivered within two weeks and other services may take a month or more.

More info on the forms that are required, etc. can be found hereand here.

Put the whole thing in some very sturdy tupperwear- the kind that locks down tight. There are lots of rats in post offices, and more than once I’ve received home made items that were already half eaten. They’ll chew right through plastic bags, but will have a harder time with sturdy plastic.