I have some friends that I’d like to send some goodies too. Mostly cookies, but possibly some candy as well, depending on how ambitious I get today (and maybe tomorrow, we’ll see).
I’m thinking to ship it USPS priority or overnight, but I’m not sure how to pack it all up. Can I just stick them in “disposable” airtight containers, and then stick those in boxes? Is there a better way to do it?
My former mother-in-law used to ship my ex-husband gingerbread people in just a box with wax paper separating the layers. I think my cookies are more fragile than that, and the candy almost certainly can’t go that way. I also suspect she shipped priority, but I just don’t know.
Anyway, I mostly just want to send some friends some tasty foodstuffs. The cookies will all be basically circular or spherical. Candy (plans) right now are some of GingerOfTheNorth’s tasty oreo truffles and chocolate dipped apricots.
I just shipped 5 pounds of goodies from Florida to California. I packed peanut butter balls into ziploc bags, then paper gift boxes. Date balls and cookies in disposable airtight containers did just fine. I used a flat-rate Priority box, and stuffed the extra space with crumpled paper, and it all arrived in good shape and within 2 mailing days, still fresh.
I think you’ll do fine just packing them so they don’t shift around too much and mailing Priority. I have shipped three boxes this way to California from here and all arrived within 3 days.
Thanks! Florida is the destination for these goodies, but from the southwest, so not quite as far. It’s just occurred to me (as I was making them, of course), that Ginger’s oreo truffles are unlikely to travel well, so those might not get sent. Alas. I’m already planning to include one recipe that won’t travel well. Might as well make it two, I suppose.
I recommend checking the price for shipping the package by UPS or Fedex. You might find it cheaper than the USPS. In particular, check the price and estimated delivery time for Fedex Home Delivery.
My dad used to ship me cookies when I was working on a processing barge in Alaska, he put them in bags and used air-popped popcorn as packing material, they arrived intact.
Yeah…my aunt used to do the same thing with chocolate chip cookies. Unfortunately, I lived in SoFlo at the time and the results were…poor.
I’ve successfully shipped delicate cookies like Russian tea cakes, krumkake, and [rul=XXX]sandbakkels using nothing more than enough saran wrap and stiff cardboard to keep things 1) from moving around, and 2) fresh.
If you use enough plastic wrap (particularly on the bottom of that cookie’s container) the recipient can just tip it up to improve the crumb-to-mouth ratio so it’s just bonus.
I would check FedEx & UPS, but there’s not one in the little town I’m in, and I won’t have time to get this done after I leave town. So USPS it is, for this batch.
Unfortunately, we had a cookie-related mishap last night* (yesterday was my only day for baking), and I’m down to only one batch of cookies to send to Florida. So I guess my friends down there have spontaneously joined the “tasty treat of the month club”, which lasts until I’m tired of baking things and mailing them to them.
*No, we didn’t eat them all. I’d put them on the counter without noticing how precariously perched they were, and then they managed to get knocked over along with a glass of beer - and I just don’t think soggy cranberry-oatmeal (beer) cookies will ship well.
I would think that the truffles would ship quite well - you’re talking about the ball treats, right? Schwetty Balls? Seems like less chance of breakage.
You know, that sounds pretty good. You can send me the remains and I will be happy to dispose of them for you.
You can put the cookies in various size cupcake papers, and use wax paper or saran wrap to cushion them by balling up small amounts. I think the key is to make sure they can not wiggle around, and that there is enough cushioning to prevent excessive breakage.
Yeah, I’m talking about the Schwetty Balls. I wasn’t worried about breakage so much as spoilage - I wasn’t sure about the cream cheese in them.
If you’d like, I can send you the recipe. The only modification is to make them, put them in a open tupperware bin that holds the whole batch, and then knock them and a class of Rogue Brewery’s Dad’s Little Helper malt liquor on the floor at the same time.
I wholeheartedly endorse your substitution. A good dark beer would have been my choice too, but I can’t control what others are drinking during cookie making.
1 c butter (softened)
3/4 c white sugar
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp ground ginger
3 c rolled oats
1 c dried cranberries (or other dried fruits)
1/2 c chocolate chips (optional, though why you’d do that to a perfectly delicious cranberry-oatmeal cookie, I have no idea)
Oven Temp: 350F
Combine dry ingredients. Cream butter & sugars until fluffy, then add eggs, cream & vanilla. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well. If you, for some reason, don’t think of dried fruit as a “dry” ingredient, add it now. Drop by heaping teaspoonful onto a greased cookie sheet (or really non-stick, like mine was). Bake 10 - 12 minutes, until golden. Let cool briefly on cookie sheet for easiest removal to wire racks. Cool, then devour. Or use above modification for soggy cranberry-oatmeal cookies.
