When I shipped my cookies for the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap this year, I did a little research on the best way to ship baked goods. I’ve shipped cookies, fudge, peppermint bark, and other delicious treats before, but I haven’t always been as careful as I should have about how I mailed them. For example, when I shipped sugar cookies in the shape of cowboys, longhorns, and the state of Texas to the girls I was asking to be my bridesmaids several years ago, I suspect the cookies were fairly unrecognizable by the time they arrived at their destination. Granted, that was partly due to my complete cookie decorating ineptness, but I don’t think I packaged them very well either. Thus, I was very nervous about sending my cookies for the swap and wanted them to arrive on my cookie swap matches’ doorsteps in pristine condition.
So, I did a little research and relied on the tips Lindsey at Love and Olive Oil offered on the best methods for mailing baked goods. I thought I’d share the links to some of the tips and tutorials I came across:
1. Cookie Swap Packaging and Shipping Tips @ Love and Olive Oil
2. How to Package Cookies for Shipping: A Video Tutorial @ University of Cookie
3. Shipping Cookies…Works for Me Wednesday @ Bake at 350 (a picture/written version of the above video tutorial)
4. How to Ship and Package Cookies @ i am baker
5. Christmas Cookies: How to Ship Cookies @ marthastewart.com (not the most useful information, but pretty packaging ideas!)
6. How to Ship Cookies and Other Treats for the Holidays @ chow.com
And here’s how I packaged my cookies this year:
1. I loaded up on shipping supplies at Office Depot. I bought bubble wrap and 12 in. x 9 in. x 2 in. boxes. They were having a sale for $5 off a $20 purchase, so I bought even more bubble wrap. I also picked up some medium-sized flat rate USPS boxes that ship for about $11.
2. I layered a couple of sheets of bubble wrap in the smaller boxes, placed my cookies in gallon-sized Ziplock bags, and set them on top of the bubble wrap. A couple more sheets of bubble wrap on top, some rolled up tissue paper along the sides of the box, and voilà! An obsessively, overzealously packaged box of cookies!
3. I put a cute red spatula with a note inside the box. I should have included a little information about what I was shipping in my note. Obviously, the cute red spatula is optional, but it is highly recommended.
4. I then wrapped the entire box in more bubble wrap and placed it in the flat-rate box with a few packing peanuts. I probably could have skipped the additional bubble wrap and used more peanuts or tissue paper, but I was running out of both and was really excited about using bubble wrap.
5. I went back to Office Depot to ship the boxes. Apparently, they are also offering 20% off shipping services over $20, so I got a pretty good deal. I’m still not sure if the flat-rate boxes are always more economical, but I’m a fan of how convenient they are.
I have quite a few more boxes of goodies to ship before Christmas, so this shipping experience was excellent practice to make sure all of my holiday treats arrive in beautiful shape!
Also, be sure to check out the cookie swap round-up posted at Love and Olive Oil and The Little Kitchen:
There are approximately a trillion cookie recipes collected in these round-ups. Enjoy!
Levavi Spatulas 