how long will the NFSC recipe stay fresh. I have to make 60 vanilla and 60 chocolate ones and mail them to NY for my sister in laws baby shower at the end of the month and I was wondering how long the cookie would stay fresh. TIA[/code]

Great question ! Ive wanted to know this myself...

I know this does not answer the freshness part as I am sure others will answer that, but one thing that I always do is heat seal mine in cello bags. Just wanted to add that as I find that it helps a great deal.

I found the answer. they last about 5-14 dys depending on who is eating them. Haha

quality= seven days; after that they're still edible but tend to get a little hard.

Heat seal, with a commercial baging maching???? Interesting. Where do you get such a thing? Sure sounds like that would really help.

If you buy cookies in a store, they keep a long, long time. Cookies used to be baked up to 4 weeks before christmas and eaten well into January in Europe. They are durable, as long as they are packaged and kept in a tin. As soon as Royal Icing hardens, that too is durable, for months, so why not the combination NFSC and Royal Icing?

An impulse sealer would be ideal on down the line, but for how I use a hair straightener. (Obviously dedicated for this use only. )

Not to say this one is the one to use, but it shows the concept of an impulse sealer:

http://www.officezone.com/traco-tish-bag-sealers.htm

For anyone wanting to heat seal thier cookies in Australia - i picked this little fantastic beauty of a sealer up at Chriristmas for $129.00...in Kmart (was the last one left and i heard it calling out to me - )
Not only have i cryopacked all my meats and fish/seafoods - i works a treat on the little food safe cellophane bags....

http://www.sunbeam.com.au/Pages/Browse/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=1569

Bluehue

Thanks gals! Very interesting. I have a vacuum sealer in the closet. But thinking the cello bags are nicer for cookies. Great idea on the hair straightener, I would have never thought of it.

Thanks for the clairfication!!!!! I must try, and love that you could do two at one time!~!!!! Thanks again, everyone is so willing to share. That is how we all get better and smarter!!!!!

I use food grade shrink wrap for my cookies. Got them from Nashville Wraps. 500 bags for about $10 - $15 can't remember. They have 2 sizes. I love it. Keeps the cookie fresh longer and the bouquets/packaging look nice.

Personally, I have a "5-day rule" that I like to use - 5 days from making the dough to delivering. I try to encourage them to be eaten within a week after baking. I do know that people keep them longer and say they are fine, but I don't encourage it.

Here is the link to a previous thread on freshness, and some links to threads about freezing (you can do that successfully before or after icing with Royal).

freshness
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-660400-fresh.html

freezing cookies
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-633905.html

freezing & using RI
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-632656.html



hope these help!

Thanks, Bonnie, for putting that together! I have always wondered about freezing, but have never tried. Might be worth an experiment sometime to see for when there are just too many to do at one time. Thanks!