I want to send some baked goods to my husband in Iraq?

Question

I want to send some baked goods to my husband in Iraq for the holidays, but I dont know what to use in order for them to arrive fresh and not all moldy. Also what type of goodies can i send him that I can bake myself. Please help me out.

Answer 1

Having returned from Iraq none to long ago, here's what worked for my family/friends:

-Cookies survive the best: Wrap cookies in pairs, back to back, in plastic wrap. Put the pairs of cookies in to zip-lock bags, then pack them gently in a smaller box with newspaper. Put that box inside a larger box, also padded with news paper.
-Bread: Store bought bread is nearly indestructible; just pack it so it won't get crushed.
-Homemade breads are a coin toss. Some times they make it; some times they don't. Wrap them in foil as soon as they cool, then wrap them in plastic, then a ziplock bag. Don't send anything moist like cake or banana bread; they will almost always spoil on the trip over.
-Avoid anything that can melt; like chocolate. Even though it’s getting on to winter temps are still up in the 70s and 80s, not to mention you don’t know where the pallet of mail is going to get stored. Try substituting M&Ms for chocolate chips; they have a nice candy coating that keeps them from making a mess.
-Hard foods (peanut brittle, rock candy, etc) work well, but we don't care if some of the cookies get broken.

If your husband is a soldier you can send it APO for free, but no telling how long that can take. If you hubby is at one of the air bases (BIAP or Anaconda) you can send it Fed-Ex directly, other wise it'll sit around waiting for a convoy.
If your hubby is a contractor, most businesses over there have some kind of Fed-Ex or UPS account. You should ask him about that, and which one is faster.

Great question!
Thanks for supporting him.

Answer 2

Do you know how long it will take for things to arrive? Cakes and pies will probably not travel well, pies will go bad very quickly. My suggestion would be candy, because it will last the longest, or cookies if transit time is less than a week.
Cookies made with margarine or shortening will last longer than those made with butter.
Peanut brittle would be an excellent choice and is much less trouble than chocolate candy which can be tricky. You can vary the nuts, add coconut, etc.
You could also make homemade granola which keeps very well.
There are lots of excellent recipe websites, try doing some general recipe searches and exploring them.
Be sure to put everything in ziplock freezer bags, maybe doubled up, and suck as much air as possible out of the bags to preserve freshness.
Best wishes!

Answer 3

Oh my...well, you probably know that you have to package them as if godzilla was going to be handling the box....stuff doesn't get to iraq easily.

Don't package them along with ANYTHING else. During the trip, they will absorb the flavor of whatever is in the box with them.
You probably know that soap or anything perfumed, even if hermetically sealed, will get into the flavor of your baked goods if in the same box.

That said: I would have to recommend something like poundcake that you could put in a tin then surround with packing.

I can't imagine how cookies would look, unless you wrapped each individual one in bubble wrap to begin with.

What does your husband say he misses (food-wise)? Can you send packaged baked goods?

Does he need coffee? Go to the dunkin donuts website. Last thing I saw, if you tell DD that someone in Iraq needs coffee, they will send 12 pounds to that person FOR FREE!!!

DD coffee is personally my favorite.

Good luck to you and bless your family and your husband.

Answer 4

I would avoid anthing with chips in them as they are going to melt. Peanut butter or sugar cookies are great ones as well as snickerdoodles, gingersnaps, etc... Also send them in a pre-paid poastage box from the post office. Since it is being sent to an APO/AFO addy it still counts as the domestic shiping and you can fit a lot of stuff in there for 10 bucks. Also use hard candies and gum as paking material. Both the gum and gard candy are good for keeping the solideris mouths from drying out. Also add a few juice drink flavor sticks in there. Take everything out of it's pack and wiggle it down there. And don't forget to take pics of you and your girls making the cookies and put them on top of everything.

Answer 5

Wrap really really tight in plastic wrap. Make cookies, pies, whatever he likes just wrap it really tight.