Your holiday plans this year may require a bit of flexibility, and we’re here to help. Whether or not you’re traveling, you probably want to keep in touch with loved ones and share the holiday desserts you’re surely known for. Have no fear, sharing the baking love is easier than you think, as long as you follow a few key steps. We’ve put together our top tips and favorite recipes using the flavors of the season to help you bake, ship and share your baked goods this year.
Read on for a full list of what to keep in mind when shipping desserts and goodies this holiday season, as well as some of our favorite holiday treats and flavor extracts:
Pick the right recipe
The best recipes are sturdy, non-brittle baked goods that will hold up well in the box they’re shipped in. Treats like cookies, pound cakes, quick breads, muffins, scones, bars or brownies tend to do the best in transit. Avoid fragile desserts or desserts that have complicated decorations, since they might not arrive at your recipient’s front door intact.
Add the Holiday Flavor
To ensure your baked goods are holiday-ready, Nielsen-Massey® is offering a Holiday Flavors Bundle, available in two size options, 2-ounce ($29.95) and 4-ounce ($44.95). The bundle allows you to sample three flavors most often used in holiday baking, including Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract, Pure Almond Extract, and Pure Peppermint Extract. If you’re already stocked up on these flavors for the season, the Holiday Flavors Bundle also makes for the perfect gift to give to the baker in your life who loves baking sweet treats during the holidays!
Pack them right
Once you choose a suitable recipe and bake it to perfection, the next step is packing it up. Wrap each treat individually with plastic wrap to ensure an air-tight seal – this will prevent them from getting stale. Next, place them in a sturdy container like a gift box or cookie tin. The container will act as a second layer of protection while also making the gift feel more personal. Put the container in a cardboard box with some padding around it so that it won’t shift around too much in transit.
Ship smart
One of the most important tips for shipping baked goods is one that is easy to overlook – timing the shipping and delivery window just right. To avoid any delays with shipping and maximize the freshness of your treats, send your goodies early in the week. Otherwise, depending on the carrier, they may sit in a processing facility for an extra day or two over the weekend.
Additionally, while it can be fun to surprise your friends and family with the gift of sweet treats, it might be a good idea to give them a heads up so they can look out for the package arrival and unbox it as soon as possible. Depending on where your goodies are going, they might not hold up very well in extreme heat or cold. This leads us to the final tip…
Organize and share the treats
Cookie swaps are a treasured highlight of the holiday baking season – everyone gets to share their special recipes and sample a wide variety of treats in return. What’s not to love? This year, take your cookie swap virtual. Organize with your usual baking buddies to ship on the same day so that everyone receives their cookie packages on at the same time. Plan a video call where everyone can try each cookie and celebrate the joy of baking together.
We’re making the holidays extra fun this year by hosting our first-ever Instagram giveaway. Entering the giveaway is a snap – just follow our three easy steps:
1. Follow @nielsenmassey on Instagram
2. Upload a new photo to your feed sharing how you are baking to share this holiday season
3. Use hashtag #NMVBaketoShare in the photo caption
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