Cookie Packing for Shipping Tips and Hints

This might be useful during this time of Holiday gift giving and care package sending...

1. Always cool cookies before storing or packaging into a container. Packaging warm cookies will allow too much moisture to get trapped inside the package.

2. Store the cookies in an airtight plastic container, one that allows ample room and no “overcrowding” of the cookies.

3. Do not store soft cookies (such as chocolate chip or oatmeal) with hard or crunchy cookies (like biscotti or shortbread). The moisture in the soft cookies will make the biscotti soft and visa versa.

4. Package cookies for gift giving or mailing in airtight hard containers. Re-sealable plastic bags or wraps are not a good idea unless hand delivering.

5. Harder cookies tend to mail the best but may be subject to breakage if packed too tightly, so leave ample room. Cookies should be packed snuggly, not overstuffed but also not under packed.

6. Delicate cookies such as meringues are not good candidates to ship. Choose sturdy, heavier cookies.

7. Most cookies are best at their freshest, so it’s a good idea to express mail your handmade delectables.

8. If there is room in the container, fill spaces between the cookies with crumbled wax paper, which will not cause moist cookies to dry out.

9. Pack the container or tin with cookies in a larger cardboard box for shipping. Place air popped popcorn (no butter please) on the bottom, top and around the sides. Use a lot. Popcorn is cheaper and more degradable than shipping peanuts and won’t crush like crumbled paper.

10. Label the outside of the box as “breakable” and mark “this side up.” You cannot be assured that your package will be handled as such, but adding this caution can’t hurt.

Even more...PACKAGING
Instead of consigning your thoughtfully shaped and baked goods to an old shoe box or used coffee can, try one of the following decorative ideas for storing and presenting them.

1. Pudding molds lined with parchment make excellent vessels for soft chocolate truffles.

2. Long, lidded bread pans, swathed in bright taffeta or velvet ribbon, are the perfect container for delicate cookies like biscotti.

3. A paint box, found in art-supply stores, displays a variety of different cookies in mini cupcake liners.

4. Heavy-duty square cake pans with notched corners are perfect for securing crisscrosses of ribbon or rickrack over parchment-paper lids.

5. Even clear plastic airtight containers make pretty packages when dressed up with lengths of ribbon.

SHIPPING TIPS
—Every gift you ship should have two basic lines of defense: It should be well packed in an inner gift box, then well packed in a second, outer gift box.

—Choose a box that is appropriate in size to the cookie tin within. This will help keep the tins from shifting and the cookies from breaking.

—The ideal cushion is 2 to 3 inches of packing material on all sides.

—Reuse or recycle packing material like boxes, Bubble Wrap, and foam peanuts.

PACKING MATERIALS
These packing materials will help ensure that your cookies reach their destination in one piece.

Air Popped Popcorn
This inexpensive and environmentally sound material creates an ideal cushion. Toss a scoop or two of popcorn (air-popped, with no oil) at the bottom of the box. Set the cookie tin on top, and surround it with more popcorn.

Bubble Wrap
Line the inside of your cookie tin with two layers of Bubble Wrap, one underneath the cookies and one on top. Pack the tin in a box neatly lined with lengths of Bubble Wrap, then fold the Bubble Wrap back into the margins between the tin and box to form a double cushion.

Eco Foam
This is the environment-friendly cousin of foam peanuts. It is a biodegradable cornstarch product that provides excellent cushioning for fragile cookies. Its only drawback is that it melts when wet, so don’t use it to pack any containers that may leak.

Thanks for the great tips.