a friend of our's is serving over in iraq, and his birthday is coming up. i wanted to make him a happy birthday cookie bouquet. BUT, will the icing melt??? what would be the best type to make with the heat, anything?

I wanna know the answer to this too.

Personally wouldn't use icing of any kind. Know around Baghdad its been around 113 daily. Would recommend something like snickerdoodles that hold up well on their own. Avoid any kind of chocolate, etc. as add-ins but plain chocolate cookies made with cocoa, etc. are fine. Its just about the melting thing from the heat. If you've not checked with the post office, I recommend that you do before sending. You can get flat rate boxes free that will cost $8.95 to send no matter than weight. Also, you'll need to ask for a customs form & fill that out. Sorry if you already know this but thought it better safe than sorry. Anyway, think hearty cookies that hold their shape well. Am sure that others can make recommendations... I made Cracker Jack Cookies to send over but they'd not do for a bouquet. Hope this is of some help.

For tips on how to pack the cookies, just go to www.google.com, etc. & type in Cookies to Iraq. Will give you tons of places to check out with just as many ideas. Thanks for thinking of someone serving our country.... many don't get such treats & the ones who receive them really enjoy sharing!

I would think royal icing on the cookies will be fine - once it's dry it won't melt. Good luck!

Remember too that certain ingredients are restricted by the Iraqi government.. like cinnamon (it's an aphrodisiac) . Also make sure that your cookies aren't too moist as they could mold up before they get to your soldier. If you have a food saver or access to one I suggest using one.. they are great for keeping things fresh.

I've had pretty good luck with royal icing. I seal all of my cookies individually between sheets of Press-n-Seal and layer them in well sealed tupperware containers. Another good birthday idea is to send a jar cake with store bought frosting and sprinkles.

thanks for all the tips my husband was over there back in 03 when they first went. this was before they got the convience of shopetts, so i would send powdered koolaid and they would mix it with their water. they called it "liquid gold". i will google it also, thanks grami.

cherrybomb, what is a jar cake never heard of that, but it sounds interesting.

When my DH was over there I sent caramel brownies all the time. I vaccume packed them and him and his troops said that they were like eating them fresh! They love it! My cookies never went over as well. They just couldn't make the long trip I guess. Once my sister-in-law and her work put together a huge care package for my husband's unit. They all used their own recipies. The soldiers ended up throwing away most of the cookies. They said they were dry and stale tasting. They vaccume packed everything as well. I guess what I am saying is be careful with the cookies! If you do send cookies make sure they are a dense cookie and definitly vaccume pack them! Good luck!

Wow. That cake in a jar is a neat idea. I'd never heard of anything like that.
I'm supposed to make some brownies for a neighbor next month. I'll make sure I vacuum seal them. Thanks for that tip. Maybe I'll send some cake in a jar, too.
Good luck on the cookies. Let us know what you end up doing and how they turn out.

the heat in iraq at the moment is unbearable and nothing like icing or choclate can survive.i'm an iraqi so i would advice that you might like to send your husband a cake without the frosting.
and by the way Jkaiman, cinammon is not restricted in iraq. its a spice we use in our everyday cooking so its deffinitly not restricted.

It was stated to us that we couldn't use cinnamon in things we sent over.. it might just be in things that are imported, or because it's going to the soldiers, but in a big packet of info we recieved that we shouldn't use certain things because it might not make it thorough to the soldiers and cinnamon was one of them and it gave the reason for the restriction.. it's an aphrodisiac.. I thought it very odd because I know a lot of middle eastern cooking involves cinnamon.. it could just be our overly restrictive military too.

you should check if you even can send your cookies over there. where my bf is stationed in iraq they don't allow anything homemade. it all has to be prepackaged and wrapped.

Find a chapter of Cookie Brigade (www.cookiebrigade.com) in your area and they have all the specs on how and what can be sent to Iraq. I am trying to get the Oregon Coast chapter started over here (after a some personal things that put it on a delay) so If I can help you in any way, let me know.

Nestle's website also has some great desert-safe recipes (search under desert but be sure to spell correctly!) that I have sent to my hubby and several of his friends. They are usually bar cookies/brownies.