The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Cookies: Which Cookies Ship The Best

Hey ladies!
I’m planning on baking some cookies and shipping them as Christmas gifts. I’m thinking I’ll make some chocolate cookies, chocolate no-bakes, and snickerdoodles. Do you think these will travel well? If not, can you give me some suggestions? Thanks!

Signed,

Cookie Monster’s Sister

Ivy says:

It’s true, some cookies travel better than others. In general, you want to send cookies that are not fragile or delicate, that have some moisture to them, but not too much. And if you are shipping during extremely warm weather, nothing that might get too melty.

In case you need recipes, here’s several that will travel well: chocolate chip cookies, brownies, oatmeal cookies, biscotti, snickerdoodles, chocolate no-bake cookies. (And our newfound ability to print pages without images should make it a snap for you to print them out!)

A word (or 50) on packing them to ship: you’ll want to pack them in tins, bags, or boxes separate from the shipping box you will use. Pack them tightly, because you don’t want them to move much during the shipping process. Then use packing peanuts or lots of paper to keep the boxes or tins from moving as well. I find when shipping cookies in tins, if you put some plastic wrap over the top and then put the lid on, you get a tighter seal and they stay fresher longer.

Hope the Cookie Monster loves his cookies!

Confessional Sunday (Slightly Late Edition)

Ivy says:

Let’s hear how your Thanksgiving went! Was it fabulous, or were there some mishaps? Mine was fab, since I went to my mom’s and all was taken care of. We brought a pie, which my cousin had brought down from Indianapolis (sugar cream pie, apparently you can only get them in Indy, unless you make it yourself- and nothing is the same as a Wick’s sugar cream pie), so my hardest job was making sure I took it out of the freezer to defrost in time. And I did remember, so all turned out well.

So, let’s hear it from you home eccers how your Thanksgiving went. Already have a post up about it on your blog? We have a handy dandy Mr. Linky:

Happy Thanksgiving From Home Ec 101

Ivy says:

Well, it’s the big day! I hope we’ve helped you prepare for it. I hope you all have a wonderful day, whether you’re cooking for a houseful of people or you’re enjoying the day with just your immediate family. And if you’re not an American, happy Thursday!

Heather and I are thankful today (well, and every other day, but today, especially so) for each and every one of you readers. We thank you for your comments and encouragement. We thank you for your emails. Thank you for the Stumble love and all the link love. Thanks for putting us on your blogrolls and lists of favorite sites. Thank you for putting us in your feed readers and subscribing to us in email. Each and every one of you are helping us to spread the message we have for the world- teaching people to run a home effectively and with some frugality. We certainly do appreciate all of your support.

On a more personal note, I’m especially thankful today. I’m thankful first to God, who has made all that I have and all that I am. I thank God for the people in my life and the love that He shows me. I’m thankful for my family, who loves me unconditionally, even when I screw up. I’m thankful for my husband who not just puts up with me, but supports me in all that I do. I’m thankful to my mom whose homemaking skills have me beat any day of the week- but her love and support has brought me to where I am.

And I’m most especially thankful to Heather. People who have read this blog since the beginning know my struggles with depression. Heather has picked me up and carried me when I needed it, and has been a good enough friend to hit me with the truth about how I deal with it. She’s been supportive and just generally the best friend I could have through some of the darkest times of my life. Thank you, Heather. I don’t know that I have the words for how much I love, respect, and admire you.

Home Eccers, I’d love to hear what you are thankful for.

Edit: One more thing. I normally would not do this, but I’m really feeling called to do so. This young family is about to lose their home. Their friend is trying to help them raise enough money to save it. If you have a dollar, 5 dollars, 10 dollars- whatever- to spare, please consider donating. There’s an update post with a ticker showing how much they’ve raised right here. I’ve recieved a lot of help from my friends in family in my time, and I think about how that could be my family, had I not been so lucky as I am. There but by the grace of God go I. Anyway, please consider donating. Even a dollar helps.

Avoiding The “Just Walked In The House” Clutter

Ivy says:

A Twitter buddy of mine was wondering how to avoid the buildup of shoes, coats, mail, etc. from when you walk in the door. I think most people struggle with this, since it’s really easy just to toss down your stuff and sack out in a chair the second you get home.

The biggest key to this is to keep up with the stuff the minute you walk in the door, or even before. I keep my trash dumpster by the mailbox and I immediately dump all the sales flyers and other crap I don’t want directly into the dumpster. The exception to this is credit card offers and other things which need to be shredded. Those go on top of my shredder and when I’m feeling exceptionally cranky, I get to shredding.

Having some organizational stuff right beside the door you come into is also important. One of the things I’m hoping to get for Christmas this year is a hall tree so we can hang out coats on it. We’re lucky enough to have a closet right beside the door, but it just seems soooooo harrrrrd to pull out a hanger and hang our coats up, so they usually end up tossed on the ottoman or hung on the back of one of our kitchen chairs. My mom has a hall tree by her door, and we always remember to hang our coats up there. So I’m thinking hall tree for Christmas.

Having a key rack by the door is also handy. Get one that’s strong enough and you could even hang your purse there. For the shoes, we have that handy closet, but if you don’t have one, get a shoe rack, or even put a basket by the door to stick shoes in. Once a week or so, you can clean out the basket and get all the shoes you don’t wear as frequently back into your closet or wherever you keep your shoes.

Finally, for the mail you DO want to deal with, my suggestion is to get a wire rack to store your mail in. On Sunday afternoons, I always sit down with the mail to be dealt with and pay bills, etc. Once you get into the habit of this, you’ll find that mail isn’t such a problem any more.

Tell me, Home Eccers, what are your tips?

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De-Stinking The Unwashable

Howdy, ladies!

I checked the archives and found the cure for musty towels and musty jeans, but have you got any advice on de-musting things that can’t be washed?

We’ve inherited some German Christmas decorations from my husband’s family, some of which are handmade dolls constructed of fabric and other textily goodness. I adore them, but after years of being in basements and garages, they smell incredibly musty.

Any ideas on how to de-stink without hurting them? I’ve managed to not dip them in Febreze, but the urge is strong.

Signed,

Musty in Mustyboro

Ivy says:

Good choice, on not dousing them in Febreze. Items like these you don’t want to get wet, as the wetness could damage them. In this case, you are going to want to clean them in a dry fashion.

Find the smallest plastic bag that will hold your items (if they’re really large, a garbage bag will work). Put them in the bag with a mixture of half baking soda and half cornstarch. Close the bag tightly and give it a good shake. Let it sit for a couple of days and take them out and brush off or gently vacuum off all the cornstarch and baking soda. The mixture should have absorbed the smell. If the item has a lot of nooks and crannies canned air may be quite handy.

Chances are, they’ll never smell like roses, but this will take the worst of the stink away.

Got a household question of your own? Email us at helpme@home-ec101.com

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