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Tips for Shipping a Cookie Box

Wie man eine Weihnachtsplätzchendose verschickt

Cookie boxes are my thing! I love shipping cookies to friends and family during the season! I have been doing this for years. And since this year is so special and you may not be able to see everybody you hold dear, how about shipping a cookie box instead? This post will let you know which type and size of box to choose, which cookies are best to ship with lots of recipe suggestions, how you make your cookie box look nice and give it a personal touch and how your cookies make it safe and sound without breaking or going bad. Let’s have a look:

Mürbeteigplätzchen mit Zuckerglasur

Simple sugar cookies with royal icing

#1 Which box is best to ship cookies?

It may sound counter-intuitive, but I do prefer rectangular boxes, even if round cookie boxes seem so much more common here in Germany. I find rectangular boxes so much better as you can easily create smaller compartments by cutting out some carton (yes, you can use an old cornflakes box) and by placing them inside your cookie box to create smaller compartments. So stacking the cookies becomes much easier as each has its small compartment and is protected even better. You probably could create something similar with a round cookie box, but I am very bad at this. This is not to say that you can’t use round boxes, but as stated, for shipping rectangular boxes are better.

A tin can will work best and can be found in German stores during this time of the year. Once I even bought a cookie box already filled with cookies in a grocery store and replaced those with my own homemade cookies. So you can go with tin, thick carton, or wood. Paper is not thick enough, you may only use it if you want to wrap single cookies in some extra containers.

The size is also tricky, they shouldn’t be too small as you won’t be able to put in any cookies (and they fill up much faster than you think), but also not too large. I would suggest about 17-20cm in diameter and 8-10cm in height for round cookie boxes, these are the ones I liked a lot. For a rectangular box again height should be between 8-10cm, the largest I shipped was 17cm in width and 20cm long.

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Birthday Cookies with Sprinkles

Geburtstags-Cookies mit Zuckerstreuseln

Cookies can be eaten any time of the year, at least in my opinion. And for that reason I am presenting today birthday sprinkles cookies, just because. They are so colorful and happy, just the way I like them, with sprinkles. For some reason I never seem to need my sprinkles other than for Christmas, so these are perfect to finally us some of the sprinkles.

Geburtstags-Cookies mit Zuckerstreuseln Continue Reading…

All Recipes From My Cookie Box

Gefüllte Keksdose zu Weihnachten

Wow, you guys are crazy! And I am crazy! Because I will be flying to my in-laws tomorrow and I am writing this blog post even though I haven’t packed yet. I usually plan my posts long in advance. But not this time. That’s because soooo many of you requested the recipes of the below cookie box. When I showed the picture on Instagram and Facebook, many of you wanted to get ALL the recipes. Figure that. All of them. And since I am far away from being able to link on Instagram, I will link the recipes in this blog post. The below picture shows the cookies with numbers, so you should be able to match them. I tried to number them clockwise, so it is easy to see which one is which. The cookies are as follows:

Gefüllte Keksdose zu Weihnachten

  1. Brownie cookies
  2. German cinnamon stars (gluten free)
  3. Speculoos prezels (I made them to prezels and dunked them in chocolate)
  4. Ugly sweater gingerbread
  5. Baci di dama (hazelnut cookies)
  6. Snickerdoodles
  7. Nutella chocolate chip cookies
  8. Chocolate chip cookies with instant pudding
  9. Spice wreaths (I made mine with marzipan “cranberries), not on my blog

P.S.: If you are making all these cookies, you will probably have a lot of egg whites left over. What to do with leftover egg whites and how to freeze it, you will find here.

And in case you were wondering, I like to bake one cookie per day. I work full-time, so I always made one recipe after work. Once cooled, I immediately froze them and only took them out shortly before shipping. I am not the type who will make like five different cookies in one night. Too stressful, that’s not me. If it is a recipe that requires the dough to chill, I would prepare the dough in the morning, go to work, return, and then cut out the cookies, bake them, etc.

I have shipped a lot of cookies successfully, just be sure to make cookies you can stack and that are sturdy. I feel that the tin/can already protects them well, so what I did was to stack them and cover with some napkins or similar. The cookie box was protected with newspaper. So far the cookies I’ve shipped all made it safe and sound. I even did a cookie box giveaway for the international cookie day. If you have not shipped cookies, give it a try. First ship nationally and see how it goes. I am telling you, it is addictive!

The cookie box you can see is from the German publishing house Grätz (currently seems to only be available on Amazon). I will take this box to my in-laws in Spain. And since I still need to pack, I will leave you to it. As always feel free to ask me anything about baking or if you encounter problems. Alright, have wonderful holidays!

Maple Walnut Cookies

Ahorn-Walnuss-Cookies

Maple walnut cookies! Invite fall season with this intense cookie to your home. If you love maple and walnuts, this cookie is for you. Unfortunately, it is not that common in Germany to eat cookies all year round, but now with temperature dropping and days getting shorter, even here in Germany cookies are being baked more often and the oven turned on. So even in Europe we finally have no excuse, turn on your oven and make these maple walnut cookies!

Ahorn-Walnuss-Cookies Continue Reading…

British Afternoon Tea with Shortbread Cookies with Edible Flowers

Britisch Afternoon Tea mit essbaren Blütenkeksen

This blog post is “posh” as I will be serving British Afternon Tea with shortbread cookies with edible flowers and some maple bacon cupcakes. This is due to the fact that it’s celebration time. I will always find a reason to whip something up. This can be anything, the classic cake needed on Sunday afternoon, or because I want to cheer up my colleagues on Monday, because a difficult case at work finally came to a close, you will soon realize that there is always reason to celebrate. This is something we tend to forget. In the mundane life of ours we hustle and bustle, but forget to just sit still and celebrate the special moments. And this time is an extra special moment. Zorra from the German blog Kochtopf is celebrating her 15th blog anniversary. Ha, I am such a baby blog compared to hers. My blog is about two and a half years old. But anyway, Zorra is inviting us virtually to a British afternoon tea asking us to whip up a recipe. Well, that’s something I can get behind!

Britisch Afternoon Tea mit essbaren Blütenkeksen

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Classic Alfajores from Uruguay

Klassische Alfajores aus Uruguay

Friends, it is time for a recipe from my birth country again: Alfajores from Uruguay! Alfajores are a very popular cookie in Uruguay and Argentina, consisting of a shortbread-type of sandwich cookie, creamy and delicious dulce de leche as filling, which in the end is covered in coconut flakes. If you want a slightly different cookie and feel like impressing your friends and family, look no further, alfajores are for you!

Klassische Alfajores aus UruguayWhat are the features of this cookie? Well, the base is a shortbread cookie, or let’s say, the Latin American version of shortbread. Because it contains a lot of cornstarch. You know, because corn and Latin America? One of the main ingredient found on this continent? In comparison to a regular shortbread cookie, the cornstarch makes the cookie softer, it has this melt-in-your-mouth kind of characteristic. I flavored it with some real vanilla.

Klassische Alfajores aus Uruguay Continue Reading…

Snickerdoodles with Brown Butter

Snickerdoodles mit gebräunter Butter

Snickerdoodles with brown butter are a cinnamon surprise from the U.S. I decided that they are perfect for the season. In case you don’t know, snickerdoodles have a similar base as sugar cookies, but are then formed into balls which are then rolled in a mixture of sugar and cinnamon before you bake them. As far as I know you can find snickerdoodles in the U.S. throughout the year, however, due to their cinnamon flavor I decided to make some during the season.

Snickerdoodles mit gebräunter Butter Continue Reading…

Cute Santas from Sugar Cookies

Süßer Nikolaus aus Mürbeteig mit Eiweißglasur

Yay, tomorrow is the official beginning of the season! That’s why I brought along some super cute santas made from sugar cookie dough. I stumbled across the idea last year when I visited one of my favorite blogs, Tieghan made these cute little santas for her cookie box and I was hooked immediately. So finally, one year later, I can scratch off this item from my baking list. Oh, and in case you didn’t know, we have a special day here in Germany on December 6th, Nikolaus is yet another day when children put their freshly polished boots outside the door and then secretly they are filled with sweets and the like. So typically, I wanted these to be ready for December 6. I just hate it when bloggers post the idea on the day itself, I decided to give you the chance to actually make these little cuties on time, so that’s why I am starting the season with them!Süßer Nikolaus aus Mürbeteig mit Eiweißglasur

Don’t they look amazing? I find them perfect for a cookie box, as a little gift, to show your love, there are so many ideas when to take them with you. I even managed to freeze them, sugar cookies are super easy to freeze when plain, but I even froze these santas sucessfully with royal icing aka their beards. Seriously, why not invite a friend, turn on some music and make these santas? Preparing the dough doesn’t take long, and forming the santas is so much more fun when you have company.

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Chocolate Brownie Cookies for Gloomy November Days (with Video)

Zartschmelzene Brownie-Cookies

Chocolate Brownie Cookies! Seriously, I can only recommend trying these! They are so melt-in-your mouth, it’s crazy! If you are a chocoholic like me, these are for you, they scream chocolate, chocoalte, and chocolate again. You need to know that I have tried my share of chocolate cookies, especially if I am in the mood for baking something with chocolate, but don’t want it to take too much time. Chocolate cookies are perfect for that occasion. Trust me, these cookies are for you if you want to whip up something quickly and that satisfies your chocolate cravings.

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My 10 favorite Christmas Cookies

Weihnachtsbäckerei

I’ve decided to open the season, it is time for Christmas cookies! Have you started yet? Every year I promise to start early and then I end up with a long, long, long list of cookies I want to bake, but nothing happens other than the list getting longer. Well, maybe this blog entry with my ten favorite Christmas cookies will also make your list longer, but maybe you will actually bake some, that would be actually awesome. Please let me know in the comments if you do!

#1 Tiny gingerbread houses

Seriously, I feel Christmas is not complete without gingerbread. Gingerbread houses, gingerbread men, ugly sweater cookies made with gingerbread, you name it. My recipe also includes some printables for these cute little gingerbread houses.

Die allersüßesten Mini-LebkuchenhäuserI urge you to try these cute little gingerbread houses

#2 Alfajores with chocolate and a slight hint of orange

Hands down, my favorite cookie from my country of birth Uruguay. It is filled with dulce de leche, do I need to say more?

Alfajores, a cookie made with cornstarch, filled with dulce de leche and covered in chocolate

#3 Cute little Santas

These cute little santas are a simple sugar cookie with ermine frosting, I just love them, check the recipe for further details!

If you really want to get into Christmas, make these cute little Santas!

#4 Peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies with caramel and sea salt

This may not be the traditional Christmas cookie, but all these flavors, I promise, you won’t regret making these!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Caramel and Sea SaltAll my favorite flavors combined, peanut butter, chocolate, caramel and sea salt, yes!

#5 Meringue cookies that actually look like mushrooms

You have some egg white left over? How about these little cuties? They only contain two ingredients, egg whites and sugar and are glued together by some chocolate.

Pilze aus BaiserYou are making a yule log for Christmas? How about decorating it with these little mushrooms

#6 Linzer cookies

Another Christmas cookie I can’t do without. Who can say no to these cookies with a slight hint of almond and yummy jam filling?

Linzer PlätzchenThis is one of the traditional Christmas cookies in Germany, go ahead and try it!

#7 Stained-glass cookies

They are easier to prepare than you may think. Obviously I give a lot of tips in my blog post to guide you along.

stained glass cookiesThey look so cool and actually are not that hard to make, try these beautiful stained-glass cookies, they are a perfect gift and wonderful decoration.

#8 Snickerdoodles

These snickerdoodles are made with a lot of brown butter for extra awesomeness.

Snickerdoodles mit gebräunter ButterOh, this joy of cinnamon and brown butter called snickerdoodles!

#9 Heidesand cookies

You may not know this traditional cookie from Germany, but it has brown butter and real vanilla. So buttery, so good!

Heidesand-PlätzchenThese shortbread cookies are prepared with lots of brown butter and real vanilla. Traditionally from the north of Germany and so good for Christmas.

#10 Vanilla stars with chocolate ganache

If you are a chocolate lover, these cookies are for you. Instead of jam or buttercream, these cookies are filled with wonderful chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Star CookieIf you can’t decide if you want to do chocolate or vanilla, why not combine these two flavors? Make these vanilla stars with chocolate filling.

So which one is your favorite Christmas cookie you can’t do without?