How darling is this craft!

For full instructions, check out Roots and Wings.

Additional Tips: see if you can find a plastic jar (like a peanut butter jar) so that the end result weighs less. This will be beneficial for those of you who are shipping overseas.

Lip balm, you say?

First of all, it’s not just any lip balm, it’s Burt’s Bees Beeswax Lip Balm. This is a product suitable for men AND women, don’t worry. Plus, there are a ton of different skin care products to try, and they are all quality.

(And don’t bees make a cute addition to any Spring-themed care package?)

Check out the Men’s section of the Burt’s Bees website, or head to amazon for a Head to Toe Starter Kit.

Well, the results are finally in! With the help of my sister at BYU Idaho, our cookie study is complete. (I was going to send the cookies to my brother in Honduras, but he got home from his mission too soon after I sent them, so I quickly arranged a Plan B.) Here are the results, in my sister Rachel’s own words:

Ranger Cookies (Find the recipe here.), Vacuum Packed

“In my opinion, this one tasted the best.  It was also the best texture I thought. They were still in very good condition (not broken or cracked) because they were softer. These were the softest and the freshest too.  They did not taste or feel stale at all and were the best of the batch.”

Ranger Cookies, NOT Vacuum Packed

“These ones were the second best.  They were still pretty soft, but not as fresh tasting as the vacuum sealed ones.  The bags made them look cuter, but they were a little bit broken when I opened the bag. They seemed a little stale, but still somewhat soft and still had an edible texture. ”

Snickerdoodles (Find the recipe here.), Vacuum Packed

“The snickerdoodles did not hold up very well in the packaging and did not taste very good either, as well as texture goes.  They were harder and more stale than the other too.  They were very broken and crumbly when I opened the bag and did not taste as fresh as the other two samples.”

So there you have it. The results of the sweetest science experiment ever. I love the scientific method.

In review:

1. Choosing the right cookies to mail makes a big difference. Picking cookies with chewy textures (as opposed to crispy/crumbly) will allow the cookies to arrive without breaking.

2. Vacuum sealing makes a difference! This is definitely an inexpensive option for keeping cookies fresher, longer.

I’m also please to announce the winner of my first giveaway here at MissionaryIdeas. Congratulations to Liz M.! Send me an email at meganrichey at gmail dot com to claim your prize, a Reynolds 00590 Handi-Vac Vacuum-Sealing Starter Kit, which we now know will keep your cookies fresh!

Happy cookie-mailing, everyone. Stay tuned for more cookie experiments, and more ideas for sending your missionary love.

Cookie Mailing Month continues!  I was pulling these out of the oven when the hubby came home from work the other day. One whiff of the air and he exclaimed, “Ranger cookies! My favorite!”

“These are your favorite?” I gasped. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? I’d make them all the time!”

He shrugged, sadly. “I thought you knew.”

LESSONS IN MARITAL COMMUNICATION, PEOPLE!

And Hubby’s not the only one who likes these cookies:

I’ve tried to find the exact recipe on-line, but I can’t. Here’s the one I use:

1 Cup butter

1 Cup brown sugar

1 Cup white sugar

Cream above ingredients together

2.5 eggs, added one at a time (I know, I know. Two and a half??? The original recipe is double this amount, but it makes about 6 dozen cookies, so…)

1 tsp vanilla

2 Cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Then, add the goodies:

2 cups quick oats (go easy on this…the dough can get too hearty, and the cookies won’t spread when you bake them)

1   12-oz package chocolate chips (I like milk chocolate)

6 oz coconut

1 Cup chopped nuts (I like walnuts)

1 Cup raisins

Drop by spoonfuls on lightly sprayed cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes.

This has been a busy week! As part of Cookie Mailing Month, I’ve tried out several cookie recipes (my husband is extremely excited about this, as he gets to eat the leftovers). The recipe for the cookies above can be found here: http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1710,149170-249202,00.html

I used butter instead of shortening, and you really only need one tsp of cinnamon, not two, and if you’re going to dye the cookies, like I did, I wouldn’t use cinnamon at all, just sugar. Oh, and do you see any purple or green cookies in the picture? No? That’s because I tried those colors, and it was a disaster. If you plan on trying green and purple, I’d research your food coloring amounts, and really mix the dye in well. Just sayin’….

And tune in soon — I’ve got another post coming about how I chose to ship the cookies. We’ll see which method works best.

In the meantime, be sure to enter my giveaway! For details on entering the contest, see my post on Cookie Mailing Month!

I have a sad story to tell. Last year, my brother (serving in South America) requested a box of our family’s homemade Christmas toffee. I lovingly collected the ingredients, and found an adorable cookie tin for packaging. With Christmas music blaring over the stereo speakers, I melted down chocolate in my double boiler, chopped walnuts and poured molten caramel. Just look at the result:

Mouth-watering, no?

The day before I was going to write a blog post about it, my brother emailed me, saying he’d received the tin of toffee. Here is a picture of how it arrived:

In my brother’s own words: “megan’s toffee, huddled, hiding in the corner of the tin”

Needless to say, the toffee didn’t make the blog (although my brother ate it anyway). Since then, I’ve brooded over which is the best method for sending homemade treats. Do certain baked goods hold up better than others? Is there a type of packaging that is best for protecting the goodies over which we’ve slaved? What do they really look like when they arrive?

In this spirit, I’m declaring October “Cookie-Mailing Month” here at Missionary Ideas. In addition to regular Halloween-themed posts, I’ll be testing recipes, as well as packing & shipping methods. Hopefully, I can get to the bottom of this.

It is also my pleasure to announce this blog’s very first giveaway. Going along with our cookie-mailing theme, one winner will receive a Reynolds 00590 Handi-Vac Vacuum-Sealing Starter Kit, which I will be testing this month as well. Just in time for packaging and sending Christmas cookies to your missionary!

To enter the drawing, you have several options: 1. Get my new button for your blog,  2. Make a comment with a question or suggestion about sending homemade treats, or 3. Announce this giveaway (and include the link) in your Facebook or Twitter status. Each contestant can get up to three entries; just let me know how you’ve entered in your comment below!

Let the Month of Cookie-Mailing begin!