Tips for Building a Perfect Cookie Box

While one person may love the strong flavors of peppermint or gingerbread, another person in the same household may prefer the buttery flavors of shortbread. Strong flavors like mint or warming spices can overpower cookies with more muted flavors in the box. That’s why it is important to separate these strong flavors, using dividers, paper cups and drawstring satchels to keep strongly flavored and scented cookies away from other cookies in the same box.

While you’ll need to separate out those stronger flavors, don’t let that deter you from making a nice variety of subtle to ultra-flavorful cookies for your gift recipients to enjoy. Ideally, include five different types of cookies in one box, and focus on different flavor profiles. You might want a simple sugar cookie or shortbread, some chocolaty options, some spiced cookies, fruit-forward options with dried berries or sweet jam and some with refreshing minty flavors. Keep texture in mind, too, by offering options that are pillowy soft, extra crispy and even some that melt in the mouth.

Variety is the spice of life, and a cookie box will be especially exciting to open when you include cookies of all different shapes and sizes. You might add some gingerbread people, circular cookies, long twists and even square or rectangular options. Get creative by using cookie cutters in snowflake, candy cane, tree or other shapes to mix up your cookie offerings.

While a box full of beige cookies is still likely to be delicious and appreciated, you can make this gift look more festive and exciting by adding in some color. Whether you add icings, sprinkles, jams or even edible glitter, some color will make any holiday cookie box that much better. You can even swap chocolate chips in your classic chocolate chip cookies for dyed red, green, blue or striped varieties that hit grocery store shelves this time of year.

There are so many container options for cookie boxes. For practicality, you can use a sturdy, resealable plastic container that will keep the cookies fresh for longer. Metal containers also keep cookies fresh and look especially festive, but they may be expensive if you are sending a lot of cookie boxes out this year. Cardboard offers rustic charm at affordable prices, but it might not keep the cookies as safe or secure. Keep these factors in mind when choosing the best containers for your cookie boxes.

Whether you plan to pack up your cookie gift boxes in the car and drop them off on front porches yourself or you are shipping them across the country, the cookies need to be packed into their container neatly for good presentation and tightly to keep them intact. If the cookies are thrown in a pile in the box, they may jostle around during transit and crack or crumble. Pack cookies in rows and piles against the sides of the container, and add dividers between cookie types for added security.

After your cookies are packed into the box, you might find a few awkward gaps in the corners or between cookies. To keep the cookies from shifting when transporting them to the gift recipients, you can fill those spaces with more treats, like wrapped candies, marshmallows or homemade truffles. Not only do these add extra cushion to keep the cookies from breaking, but they also offer even more delicious goodies for your loved ones to enjoy!