December 18, 2011

Storing and shipping

Storing cookies

Your grandmother and mine too had that big tin of mixed Christmas cookies every year, but that's not the best way to store them. Each type of cookie should get its own air-tight container. This keeps the cookies from absorbing flavors from each other, and keeps the crisp cookies from drying out the soft cookies. To keep cookies soft, set a slice of white, supermarket bread on top of a piece of wax paper or cling wrap over the cookies, which will absorb the moisture from the bread.

Springele and lebkuchen can be stored for a month. Butter cookies will last up to two weeks, but meringues should be eaten within a week.

Storing cake

For storing cake more than a couple days, I wrap the cooled layers in cling wrap, then aluminum foil and freeze. And label them too. Some buttercream icings will become more yellow when frozen; since learing that the hard way -- the day of the wedding -- I never ice a cake before freezing it, although filling layers or a jelly roll works well. After fully defrosting, the cake can be iced. Richer, moister cakes can be frozen longer, while lighter cakes like sponge cake should be eaten after a month.

Fruitcake, of course, lasts forever if you pour a little whiskey on it every week.

Storing bread

Home-made yeast breads don't have the dough-conditioners that make supermarket bread last forever. They should be stored in an airtight container (even a plastic bag) and eaten within a week. Stollen and Hefekrantz can be frozen without the sugar on top.

What shih3s

Anything firm can ship. Meringues like forgotten cookies will crumble, but Lebkuchen, Springerle, chocolate-oatmeal drops should withstand the jostling and the time in transit. Crispy butter cookies may snap, and softer butter cookies may lose some edges. Smaller cookies are more likely to survive. Solid cakes and breads like scones, fruitcake and Stollen should also arrive intact.