The Anatomy of the Perfect Cookie Box
Making a cookie box this year? Let’s make it a great one. I’ve been delivering cookie boxes to friends since I started to bake, graduating from slice-and-bake sugar cookies for neighborhood swaps to more elaborate treats that can survive being mailed cross country.
The perfect cookie box follows a few rules:
Rule no. 1: Vary your flavors and textures
Five flavors should be represented in your cookie box: classic butter, ginger or spiced, nutty, fruity and chocolatey. And ideally, five textures should be in your box: soft, crunchy, chewy, crisp and melt-in-your-mouth. I’m not saying you have to make endless cookies to get everything in (although, you do you)—really, the goal is variety. If you’re new to batch baking cookies, aim for three types of cookies. More experienced? Try five or six.
Some recipes, like our fudgy Dried Cherry-Chocolate Chunk Cookies, hit multiple targets; they’re soft and chocolatey, with a fruity tang from cherries and a hint of nutty crunch from pecans. Our citrusy take on the Linzer cookie is crisp, fruity and nutty from the hazelnut meal in the dough. Try crunchy Swedish ginger snaps that crack into neat pieces and get their intense spice from ginger, pepper and cayenne.
Rule no. 2: Go for simple, speedy recipes that stay good
Whether you’re sharing your cookies locally or preparing them to ship, don’t put in the work and get stuck with stale cookies. You want to choose recipes that are simple enough to come together quickly, so that your first batch isn’t stale by the time you finish your last. And, choose recipes that tell you upfront how long they’ll stay good, like our airy Meringue Cookies with Salted Peanuts and Chocolate and Spiced Orange Shortbread, which will stay fresh for about a week in an airtight container.
If you’re really worried, try the bread trick: Add a slice of fresh white sandwich bread into an airtight container with cookies that are going stale. Most fresh sandwich bread has enough water content (up to about 40%) that a slice will gently rehydrate your treats without messing with flavor.
Rule no. 3: Choose substance over style
I’m past my days of wasting hours on intricate royal icing and decoration. Trade sugary, flavorless frosting for simple glazes and grown-up flavors. Choose chocolate chip cookies made with browned butter and oatmeal or toasty rye, give your peanut butter cookies depth with miso and glaze your gingerbread with espresso.
Rule no. 4: Skip the divisive stuff
-As much as I love them, avoid the combinations you know some people hate, like chocolate with mint or orange.
-Unless you know they’re expected, skip the surprise of a savory cracker in a selection of sweets.
-Avoid juvenile finishes like sanding sugar or marshmallows unless you’re baking for kids.
-Skip recipes that require refrigeration to stay delicious, unless you’re delivering them locally with instructions.
Rule no. 5: Pack to minimize breakage
You listened to all these rules and baked all these cookies. Now, how to get them to their destination? Pick a vessel of your choice—a metal tin, bakery box or wooden cookie box, if you’re feeling fancy—and line it with parchment paper. I tend to lean away from bakery boxes, as they show stains from any particularly buttery cookies or runny glazes, and opt for metal tins, as they’re closest to airtight.
Wait until your cookies are completely cooled so that you don’t trap steam in the box. Either carefully wrap each type of cookie in parchment or stack them in your container, separated with more parchment or wooden separators, if they come with your box.
If your cookies are going to a local destination, carefully transport your prepared box(es); line a tote bag with a kitchen towel or two for extra insurance. If you’re shipping them, wrap the box itself in plastic or kraft paper bubble wrap. Place the cookie box and packing material—something cushioned that will create volume, like shredded paper or biodegradable packing peanuts—in a hard-sided cardboard box, and send your holiday treats on their way.
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