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Jen Causey/Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer and Jennifer Wendorf/Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
‘Tis the season for all the delicious food that comes with holiday get-togethers—and all the treats and sweets we’ve waited all year to make and enjoy. Whether you have loved ones out of town or just an abundance of cookies in your freezer, why not share the love by sending a holiday cookie tin as a gift?
While homemade cookie tins offer plenty of opportunity to be creative, the pros say following a few key principles can help ensure your precious cargo arrives safely to its final destination. Below, you'll find everything you need to know about putting together and mailing cookie tins, according to baking experts.
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What Types of Cookies to Include in a Cookie Tin
The ideal cookie tin contains a variety of different treats for your recipient to enjoy (that’s the whole point, after all!). But it’s also important to make sure the cookies stay intact when you send them, which means you’ll need to be strategic when you’re planning your tin.
Allrecipes Allstar Kim Shupe likes to incorporate cookies with a chewy consistency, like classic chocolate chip, molasses, and cracked sugar cookies. Along with offering very different taste profiles, these sorts of cookies “hold up the best and don’t break as something more crisp and don’t get as stale as fast as something that requires more moisture,” Shupe says. Shortbread, butter, and oatmeal cookies are also typically sturdy enough to make it through the mail, says Chelsey White, founder of Chelsweets.
If you opt for a cookie with embellishment, go for something sturdy rather than sticky, suggests White. For example, gingerbread cookies or gingerbread men with hard icing would have a better chance of surviving transit than sticky thumbprint cookies. Super delicate cookies, like macarons, might not be the best idea unless you’re not putting them in the mail.
How to Choose a Cookie Tin
Once your cookie line-up is set, it’s time to choose a tin. White prefers square or rectangle-shaped tins rather than round options, because it’s easier to wedge all the cookies in. “It’s less wasted space, which is better for shipping,” she says. Plus, a square or rectangle tin will likely fit more easily into a box (and you may be able to choose a smaller box for a cheaper shipping cost).
While you may want to choose a tin with a fun holiday theme, it may be a good idea to avoid extra garnishes, like glitter, which can fall off and get onto your cookies.
Jen Causey/Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer and Jennifer Wendorf/Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless
How to Pack Your Cookies
Always make sure your cookies are room temperature before packing them to prevent issues like condensation or mold. If you pre-baked and froze your cookies, White recommends keeping them on the counter to defrost for a full day before packing and shipping. And if you’re baking cookies fresh, let them cool down fully before you pack.
Packaging your cookies in the tin can help keep them fresher, longer, while preventing any breakage in transit. How you package ultimately depends on the type of cookies you made, says White. If you are including cookies with a strong flavor, like peppermint cookies, you should seal them off to prevent the flavor from transferring. A combination of chocolate chip and molasses, on the other hand, could be fine packed together.
If you decide to pack your cookies separately, you could use Ziplock bags, saran wrap, or even beeswax paper for an eco-friendly alternative. For straightforward flavors that won’t clash, you can just use parchment paper. (But keep in mind these won’t stay as fresh as cookies you seal.) Either way, label the cookies after you pack them.
If your cookies are fragile, be mindful of the packing process. For softer oatmeal cookies, White stacks them surrounded by other cookies so they hold their shape and don’t break inside the tin. Shupe likes to put bigger cookies on the bottom, which creates a stable base for smaller cookies. To keep cookies from jostling around in the tin, add a layer of bubble wrap or tissue paper. “You can also add a cute holiday towel to make it more of a gift,” suggests White.
How to Send Your Cookies
Finally, put your tin in the shipping box with bubble wrap or packing paper. “You don’t want the tin to shift at all, or you’ll end up with broken cookies,” Shupe says.
Any shipping method will work, but because the holiday season gets busy, plan ahead and budget for an option that keeps your cookies safe in transit. Fresh cookies, as you can imagine, taste better than days-old cookies. So if you’re mailing your tin to a loved one, White recommends opting for the fastest possible shipping you can afford to make sure your cookies are tasty when they arrive.
In general, Shupe says, most cookies last a few days to a week. Chewy cookies may last closer to a week before getting stale, while perishables—like cookies made with buttercream—have a shorter shelf-life (probably closer to two days, aka overnight shipping).
No matter what cookies you make, think of your tin like any other gift. “It’s a good idea to think about these things in advance so things work out in the best possible way,” says Shupe.
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