Thread: What cookie ships best?

Polly Esther wrote:
> I know I can do a net search and I will - but I am about to ship
> pralines to the hospital in Landstuhl for our wounded military. There's
> room in the box for cookies but most cookie recipes don't have or need
> much of a 'keeping' life. Anyone have a suggestion for a tough cookie?
> Polly



*Almond Biscotti*

1 1/3 C Almonds (unblanched)
2 3/4 C Flour
1 2/3 C Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking powder
4 eggs
1 tsp Anise
1 tsp vanilla
grated zest of 1 grapefruit


Toast almonds for 10-15 minutes at 350°. Sift dry ingredients into
mixing bowl. Lightly beat eggs and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients,
along with almonds, anise, and zest. [if the grapefruit is small
sometimes I'll add a little lemon extract] Mix well by hand. Do not
overbeat; dough will be sticky and lumpy. Shape into 3 "logs", bake on
greased cookie sheet or ungreased parchment at 350° for 35 minutes.
[the parchment works better]

Slice into 3/4" slices with serrated knife while still warm but not hot.
Bake again at 300° for 10 minutes.

Notes: I don't bother to toast the almonds anymore because they get
toasted enough in the second baking.

Polly, I mail cookies all the time to my granddaughter in Fairbanks, who
is going to college there, and my son in Texas, and have good results
with Oatmeal-Raisin, Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter (don't want to use a
recipe that makes soft cookies - I have a perfect one for packing) and
Snickerdoodles are another that pack so well, M&M Cookies also and
Gingersnaps, that aren't the soft kind. I pack several of one kind
together in plastic wrap, and stand upright tight together in a box big
enough to pad well with crinkled up newspapers, but not too large. Good
Luck!

Judy

"Polly Esther" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]..
>I know I can do a net search and I will - but I am about to ship pralines
>to the hospital in Landstuhl for our wounded military. There's room in the
>box for cookies but most cookie recipes don't have or need much of a
>'keeping' life. Anyone have a suggestion for a tough cookie? Polly

I've shipped a lot of cookies in my day. Most will ship pretty well if you
pack them right. Large, cutout cookies don't ship well. Smaller, thicker
cookies ship well. I used to package them two together, back to back
wrapped in plastic wrap. They used to make colored wrap and I would use
that and seal each little package with a sticker to ensure that the wrap
stayed stuck. I also lined the box with bubble wrap and put a layer in
between each layer of bundled cookies.

I shipped chocolate chip, peanut butter blossoms, Snickerdoodles, shortbread
with and without chocolate, Spritz and Biscotti. Biscotti really ships well
but some people don't like it. However... Shipping these things can get
really expensive in a hurry! Because cookies can get heavy when you put a
lot of them in a box. So in the end when I did ship to the military, it was
cereal treats. They are much lighter in weight.

I don't know where Landstuhl is but if it is hot there, keep in mind that
anything that might melt is not a good choice.

On Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:00:52 -0600, "Polly Esther"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I know I can do a net search and I will - but I am about to ship pralines to
>the hospital in Landstuhl for our wounded military. There's room in the box
>for cookies but most cookie recipes don't have or need much of a 'keeping'
>life. Anyone have a suggestion for a tough cookie? Polly

My Mom shipped me chocolate chip cookies when I was in the Air Force,
and even if they broke a bit, they were still VERY edible!







To reply by email, lose the Ks...

On 01/26/2013 09:00 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
> I know I can do a net search and I will - but I am about to ship
> pralines to the hospital in Landstuhl for our wounded military. There's
> room in the box for cookies but most cookie recipes don't have or need
> much of a 'keeping' life. Anyone have a suggestion for a tough cookie?
> Polly
>
Do a Google search for Anzac Cookies (or biscuits, as they call them).
They were invented for just that purpose.

Whirled Peas wrote:
>
> On 01/26/2013 09:00 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
> > I know I can do a net search and I will - but I am about to ship
> > pralines to the hospital in Landstuhl for our wounded military. There's
> > room in the box for cookies but most cookie recipes don't have or need
> > much of a 'keeping' life. Anyone have a suggestion for a tough cookie?
> > Polly
> >
> Do a Google search for Anzac Cookies (or biscuits, as they call them).
> They were invented for just that purpose.

Hardtack also has good keeping qualities,
assuming you don't much like the recipient.

On Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:00:52 -0600, "Polly Esther"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I know I can do a net search and I will - but I am about to ship pralines to
>the hospital in Landstuhl for our wounded military. There's room in the box
>for cookies but most cookie recipes don't have or need much of a 'keeping'
>life. Anyone have a suggestion for a tough cookie? Polly

Depends on what you mean by 'best'.<g> I got a tin of rum balls in
1969 that had been tossed and turned across the ocean and sat on a hot
[temperature-wise] LZ for several hours before I got to them.

The fumes nearly took out a squad of Marines.<g>

Go for home-made flavor over ship-ability. This is one case where
presentation doesn't matter. First it is the thought-- next it is
taste-- No matter how small the crumb, it will not be wasted.

Jim

On 1/27/2013 6:00 PM, Jim Elbrecht wrote:
> On Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:00:52 -0600, "Polly Esther"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I know I can do a net search and I will - but I am about to ship pralines to
>> the hospital in Landstuhl for our wounded military. There's room in the box
>> for cookies but most cookie recipes don't have or need much of a 'keeping'
>> life. Anyone have a suggestion for a tough cookie? Polly
>
> Depends on what you mean by 'best'.<g> I got a tin of rum balls in
> 1969 that had been tossed and turned across the ocean and sat on a hot
> [temperature-wise] LZ for several hours before I got to them.
>
> The fumes nearly took out a squad of Marines.<g>
>
> Go for home-made flavor over ship-ability. This is one case where
> presentation doesn't matter. First it is the thought-- next it is
> taste-- No matter how small the crumb, it will not be wasted.
>
> Jim
>
Hear hear! No one could have said it any better. Thanks, Jim.

Jill

On 1/26/2013 11:00 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
> I know I can do a net search and I will - but I am about to ship
> pralines to the hospital in Landstuhl for our wounded military. There's
> room in the box for cookies but most cookie recipes don't have or need
> much of a 'keeping' life. Anyone have a suggestion for a tough cookie?
> Polly

My pralines break fairly easy, so I hope you find a method to ship them,
without them breaking. Someone mentioned biscotti and I think that is an
excellent idea.

Becca

> My pralines break fairly easy, so I hope you find a method to ship them,
> without them breaking. Someone mentioned biscotti and I think that is an
> excellent idea.
>
> Becca

I got into a time crunch so I just made cajun popcorn. It is light weight
and made good packing. Thank you all for your suggestions. I'll make a list
and do cookies next. I do appreciate your help. Polly

On Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:10:52 -0600, Ema Nymton <[email protected]>
wrote:

> On 1/26/2013 11:00 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
> > I know I can do a net search and I will - but I am about to ship
> > pralines to the hospital in Landstuhl for our wounded military. There's
> > room in the box for cookies but most cookie recipes don't have or need
> > much of a 'keeping' life. Anyone have a suggestion for a tough cookie?
> > Polly
>
> My pralines break fairly easy, so I hope you find a method to ship them,
> without them breaking. Someone mentioned biscotti and I think that is an
> excellent idea.
>
> Becca

Dang - I missed when you posted the recipe!

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 1/26/2013 7:00 PM, Polly Esther wrote:
> I know I can do a net search and I will - but I am about to ship
> pralines to the hospital in Landstuhl for our wounded military. There's
> room in the box for cookies but most cookie recipes don't have or need
> much of a 'keeping' life. Anyone have a suggestion for a tough cookie?
> Polly
>

Stone cookies from the Mountview Bakery on the big island is a favorite
with the older generation. I've had some over the years and thought it
was awful stuff. Tasteless, heavy, and with a fearsome hardness. I never
could understand the appeal. I ordered some for my dad to take and pass
out in Las Vegas. Those old local guys just dig it!

I called up the bakery and placed my order and got 8 bags a couple of
days later. I tried to give them my card number but they wouldn't have
any of that - my guess is that they don't have the terminal and data
line to do it. Instead, I received a handwritten invoice and so I sent
them a check. It's a strange way to conduct business in this day and age.

Anyway, the cookie wasn't bad. They even had different flavors too. The
one I liked had raisins in it. You don't eat that cookie, you work on it
over a period of time. If taking a bite out of a cookie and stuffing it
in your pocket or glovebox is your thing, this is your huckleberry!

http://www.staradvertiser.com/column...l?id=118486214

On 2013-01-28, dsi1 <[email protected]> wrote:

> over a period of time. If taking a bite out of a cookie and stuffing it
> in your pocket or glovebox is your thing, this is your huckleberry!

As I figured. Very little shortening. That's what makes cookies
soft. The more, the softer, the less, the harder. They didn't call
it hard tack for nothing. Zero fat.

nb

notbob wrote:
> On 2013-01-28, dsi1 <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> over a period of time. If taking a bite out of a cookie and stuffing it
>> in your pocket or glovebox is your thing, this is your huckleberry!
>
> As I figured. Very little shortening. That's what makes cookies
> soft. The more, the softer, the less, the harder. They didn't call
> it hard tack for nothing. Zero fat.
>
> nb
>


The biscotti recipe I posted has no fat in it. They will break your
teeth, but in a good way (usually.)

Bob

On Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:30:30 -0600, zxcvbob <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
> *Almond Biscotti*
>
> 1 1/3 C Almonds (unblanched)
> 2 3/4 C Flour
> 1 2/3 C Sugar
> 1/2 tsp Salt
> 1 tsp Baking powder
> 4 eggs
> 1 tsp Anise
> 1 tsp vanilla
> grated zest of 1 grapefruit
>
>
> Toast almonds for 10-15 minutes at 350°. Sift dry ingredients into
> mixing bowl. Lightly beat eggs and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients,
> along with almonds, anise, and zest. [if the grapefruit is small
> sometimes I'll add a little lemon extract] Mix well by hand. Do not
> overbeat; dough will be sticky and lumpy. Shape into 3 "logs", bake on
> greased cookie sheet or ungreased parchment at 350° for 35 minutes.
> [the parchment works better]
>
> Slice into 3/4" slices with serrated knife while still warm but not hot.
> Bake again at 300° for 10 minutes.
>
> Notes: I don't bother to toast the almonds anymore because they get
> toasted enough in the second baking.

I've been meaning to pin you down on a few points...

Almonds - sliced or whole?
Anise - extract or seed?
I'll assume the vanilla is extract until further notice.
Have you ever tried it with lemon zest instead of grapefruit?

Thanks

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.

On 1/28/2013 2:52 AM, notbob wrote:
> On 2013-01-28, dsi1 <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> over a period of time. If taking a bite out of a cookie and stuffing it
>> in your pocket or glovebox is your thing, this is your huckleberry!
>
> As I figured. Very little shortening. That's what makes cookies
> soft. The more, the softer, the less, the harder. They didn't call
> it hard tack for nothing. Zero fat.
>
> nb
>

It's no-frills depression era cooking. I guess the idea was that with
one cookie and a cup of joe, you could have yourself a meal. You might
be able to leave out the fat altogether. As I recall, the cookies have a
distinct lack of salt and vanilla - the original ones, at least.

Of course, you'd have to be nuts to bake something like this - or a
old-time local. It would mean that we were in deep kimchee if people
started cooking like this again.

sf wrote:
> On Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:30:30 -0600, zxcvbob <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> *Almond Biscotti*
>>
>> 1 1/3 C Almonds (unblanched)
>> 2 3/4 C Flour
>> 1 2/3 C Sugar
>> 1/2 tsp Salt
>> 1 tsp Baking powder
>> 4 eggs
>> 1 tsp Anise
>> 1 tsp vanilla
>> grated zest of 1 grapefruit
>>
>>
>> Toast almonds for 10-15 minutes at 350°. Sift dry ingredients into
>> mixing bowl. Lightly beat eggs and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients,
>> along with almonds, anise, and zest. [if the grapefruit is small
>> sometimes I'll add a little lemon extract] Mix well by hand. Do not
>> overbeat; dough will be sticky and lumpy. Shape into 3 "logs", bake on
>> greased cookie sheet or ungreased parchment at 350° for 35 minutes.
>> [the parchment works better]
>>
>> Slice into 3/4" slices with serrated knife while still warm but not hot.
>> Bake again at 300° for 10 minutes.
>>
>> Notes: I don't bother to toast the almonds anymore because they get
>> toasted enough in the second baking.
>
> I've been meaning to pin you down on a few points...
>
> Almonds - sliced or whole?
> Anise - extract or seed?
> I'll assume the vanilla is extract until further notice.
> Have you ever tried it with lemon zest instead of grapefruit?
>
> Thanks
>

I noticed the anise ambiguity after I posted it. Aniseseed. I should
update my recipe file. And whole unblanched almonds (I don't know that
I've ever seen sliced unblanched almonds)

Vanilla extract, but you can actually leave it out. If you're a
vanilla-lover, don't be tempted to double it because it will dominate
the anise and citrus.

The original recipe called for lemon zest, lime zest, AND orange zest.
I think grapefruit works better and it's easier. You can either grate
it or finely mince it, works about the same. You could certainly
substitute the zest of 2 or 3 lemons.

The first time you make these, it's so sticky and messy you'll say
you're never going to make them again. But they taste *really* good,
and they get a lot easier to make with just a little practice. :-)

Bob

On Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:33:59 -0600, zxcvbob <[email protected]>
wrote:

> sf wrote:
> > On Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:30:30 -0600, zxcvbob <[email protected]>
> > wrote:
> >
> >> *Almond Biscotti*
> >>
> >> 1 1/3 C Almonds (unblanched)
> >> 2 3/4 C Flour
> >> 1 2/3 C Sugar
> >> 1/2 tsp Salt
> >> 1 tsp Baking powder
> >> 4 eggs
> >> 1 tsp Anise
> >> 1 tsp vanilla
> >> grated zest of 1 grapefruit
> >>
> >>
> >> Toast almonds for 10-15 minutes at 350°. Sift dry ingredients into
> >> mixing bowl. Lightly beat eggs and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients,
> >> along with almonds, anise, and zest. [if the grapefruit is small
> >> sometimes I'll add a little lemon extract] Mix well by hand. Do not
> >> overbeat; dough will be sticky and lumpy. Shape into 3 "logs", bake on
> >> greased cookie sheet or ungreased parchment at 350° for 35 minutes.
> >> [the parchment works better]
> >>
> >> Slice into 3/4" slices with serrated knife while still warm but not hot.
> >> Bake again at 300° for 10 minutes.
> >>
> >> Notes: I don't bother to toast the almonds anymore because they get
> >> toasted enough in the second baking.
> >
> > I've been meaning to pin you down on a few points...
> >
> > Almonds - sliced or whole?
> > Anise - extract or seed?
> > I'll assume the vanilla is extract until further notice.
> > Have you ever tried it with lemon zest instead of grapefruit?
> >
> > Thanks
> >
>
> I noticed the anise ambiguity after I posted it. Aniseseed. I should
> update my recipe file. And whole unblanched almonds (I don't know that
> I've ever seen sliced unblanched almonds)
>
> Vanilla extract, but you can actually leave it out. If you're a
> vanilla-lover, don't be tempted to double it because it will dominate
> the anise and citrus.
>
> The original recipe called for lemon zest, lime zest, AND orange zest.
> I think grapefruit works better and it's easier. You can either grate
> it or finely mince it, works about the same. You could certainly
> substitute the zest of 2 or 3 lemons.
>
> The first time you make these, it's so sticky and messy you'll say
> you're never going to make them again. But they taste *really* good,
> and they get a lot easier to make with just a little practice. :-)
>
Thanks, Bob! Think I'll try them soon. I actually have everything I
need on hand, including lemon zest (because I zest lemons and freeze
it for later). I don't like the idea of dealing with whole almonds,
so I'll use sliced instead. If I want to do it again and think I need
more almond crunch, I'll move to slivered. Thinking about vanilla or
no vanilla... I have some Fiori di Sicilia, which might work well with
the anise and citrus.

--
Food is an important part of a balanced diet.