Mailing baked goods in the mail

[uniqueenigma]

I would like to mail some baked goods to my mother and a friend
for Christmas gifts. What type of cookies and quick breads would you recommend mailing that keep well? What's the best way to package them so they're not damaged (no broken pieces of cookie, no messed up quick bread, etc.).

Also where I'll be mailing them to neither places are hot. My mother lives
in Michigan and my friend lives in Kentucky. I live in southern Florida, and although it's normally warm here, it's cooled off considerably due to the onset of winter.

For quick breads my only concern is that I'm afraid with the moistness of them, they'll become moldy and the people who ingest them could become ill very easily. Is there anyway to package them to prevent this, or would you not recommend sending quick breads in the mail? I'm not very good with making yeast breads yet, so trying to avoid them like the plague.

Also one last thing. How can I keep cookies soft? I've heard you can throw a slice of bread in with the cookies, and that they'll retain their softness longer this way, but I'm reluctant to do this. The reason being is because the baked goods I'm mailing will take days to reach their destinations. Just afraid the bread will become moldy in that time period.

Sorry about all the questions, but this will be my first time mailing baked goods in the mail. Could really use help regarding this.

 

[deelady]

Priorty Mail should get them there quicker but even snail mail would prob still get them there no more than 3 days! So you shouldn't have any problems with them going bad at all....
I shipped a container of cookies in a decorative cookie tin for a gift to a friend on a Navy ship overseas and the only reason they were stale when arrived was because the Navy didn't release them right away because they were in the middle of a training mission... but they arrived all in one piece....I just put them in saran wrap and put them in the tin then boxed them with a little bubble wrap. Going only to Kentucky you should have no problems and could prob send just about anything you want...candy, pumpkin bread, cookies ect...

Hope this helps!

 

[expatgirl]

I used to send fudge from TX and Lousiana on a yearly basis to PA and there was never a problem....my great uncle loved it......you could also get a reputation and send a fruitcake...........if you really want them to get there on time then send them by priority mail.........may cost more but then you're assured that they will get there.........if you're unsure of you're packing skills then leave it for them to do...........they may not do it right there before your eyes as they have so many other customers to take care of the moment but I've never have had a problem..........hope this helps.........good luck.........now let me give you my address...... jest kidding

 

[Barbara L]

Last year I mailed something to California that I wanted to get there as fast as possible. I was going to send it via UPS (I was with a friend and that was closest), but they wanted $120.00 (for 4 stuffed animals!), so I checked the post office. It would have been something like $34 priority, but believe it or not, they were actually having a special on overnight rates. I ended up sending it overnight for $30. It was just a few days before Christmas, which might have made the difference. I had never heard of the post office having a special!

Another tip I have read about shipping cookies, etc. is to air pop (don't use oil) popcorn and use it instead of packing peanuts.

Barbara

 

[letscook]

I had 2 nephews in the miltary that were in Iraq -- I shipped the cookies in Pringle cans, they arrived in great shape. You just have to remember to make them the size of inside of the pringle can. They were limited to space and the pringles can worked great. I would use wrapping paper to decorated the outside for different looks to the can. I was sending mostly brownies, choc chip, sugar cookies,peanut butter and at xmas time, peanut brittle. and xmas cookies.

 

[LibraryLady]

I generally ship 2-3 boxes of cookies a month to overseas military folk I know. It's a great excuse to keep the burnt and the broken for the household...

The least expensive route in terms of shipping costs is the Flat Rate Priority boxes from the Post Office. They are boxes you get from them for free and you can pack as little or as much into them for one rate. The weight limit is something like 20 pounds, but even in the biggest one, I've never managed to come close to the amount shipping cookies.

It costs 10.95 to ship the largest box to the APO/FPO addresses, but that's discounted for the troops. I think the largest box is 12.95 or so stateside.

I do ship holiday boxes to family stateside - and again, I use the Flat Rate Priority Boxes - they generally get where they are going in 2-3 days.

As for packing, I use the largest box available and pack cookies in gallon ziplocs, I can stack 3 doz in each. Plus a piece of bread during the hot months (Apr-Oct). I put some newspaper (the funnies and good stuff to read) in the bottom and top, not squished, just flat. Then I pack 3 bags into them. I've got enough room left over for a bag of coffee (send ground) and the little extra space I cram with more newspaper, folded.

I generally just do chocolate chip, oatmeal spice and similar cookies. It takes anywhere from 4 days to 2 weeks to get to them, so I look for durable cookies that will handle the journey. Heat is the biggest factor for shipping to troops in the Middle East. Of course with them, they are just so happy to get them, they don't care if they're a bit stale or crumpled. They share with everyone and the cookies last about 2-3 hours, sometimes less.

For more fragile cookies I go with the semi-disposable plastic containers available in bulk at the grocery store, and pack them snugly inside. The less shifting the cookies do, the less likely they are to arrive in bits and pieces. Then I pack the small containers inside the box very tightly, again to lessen the shifting.

At this time of year, the cookies getting moldy are not so much of an issue and the opposite, getting dry and stale shouldn't happen as they aren't in transit that long nor do they get really hot, like over 80-90 degrees.

LL

 

[PieSusan]

I have purchased cookie box mailers in the past, I use bubblewrap, too. I also will send things in tins. I also use the popped corn trick as well.

 

[marigeorge]

I sent a variety of cookies to a friend a couple years ago and wrapped each one individually in plastic wrap, put them all in a medium sized pop corn tin and then in a box and mailed them Priority. Not a one was broken or crushed. I have no faith in regular mail; my sisters sent me a fairly small package from Vermont on October 28 and it didn't arrive here until 11 days later!