I‘m not a great baker. That got me off the hook during my husband’s last deployment. He never expected me to send home-cooked sweet treats and I never thought that packing and mailing any was even feasible. Now I know better, thanks to Nestle, which has a terrific website with best practices for sending our troops baked goods. Follow their simple DO’s and DON’Ts and take a stab at some of their desert-safe recipes.
DON’T use fats and other ingredients that can go rancid and stimulate mold in the heat like butter, peanut butter, nuts, brown sugar, corn sugar, honey or molasses.
DO use a butter flavored vegetable shortening as a butter alternative and white sugar as your sweetener.
DON’T send without wrapping baked goods tightly in ziplock bags.
DO make use of Pringle cans for packing and include a piece of white bread in the package to absorb any moisture.
DON’T use recipes with aphrodisiac spices like allspice or nutmeg.
DO use chocolate and butterscotch. Once they are baked into the product, they will stay firm.
DON’T use packing peanuts, which are impossible to clean up once the heat and static cling get to them.
DO pack baked goods in sturdy boxes with foam packaging or bubble wrap to prevent shifting.
Creative Pan Cookies
This Nestle Toll House recipe has been desert-safe tested, meaning it meets all Middle East Guidelines and U.S. Postal Service mailing regulations.
Estimated Times: Preparation – 20 min | Cooking – 20 min | Yields – 48 bars
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter-flavored vegetable shortening
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons water
2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
2 1/4 cups quick oats, uncooked
1 cup chopped dried apple slices, or raisins
Photo Courtesy of Nestle Toll House
