The 10 Cookies I Always Pack for Loved Ones—Delicious, Durable, and Gift-Box Ready

If your care packages tend to arrive in crumbs, start with these reliable, travel-friendly cookies.

By
Genevieve Yam
Genevieve Yam headshot
Genevieve Yam
Senior Editor
After graduating from the International Culinary Center, Genevieve cooked at Blue Hill at Stone Barns and Per Se. Prior to joining Serious Eats, she was an editor at Epicurious. She grew up between Toronto and Hong Kong and is a graduate of the University of St Andrews in Scotland. She currently lives in New York with her husband and two cats.
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Published December 13, 2025
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Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

In mid-December, when I start assembling care packages and cookie boxes for loved ones, my kitchen turns into a flour-covered workshop of holiday cheer. Building the perfect care package isn't as simple as chucking a random assortment of baked goods into a box, though. You have to choose cookies that are both delicious and shelf-stable—no custards, cream cheese, or fresh fruit, please!—and, if you're mailing them, sturdy enough to survive the journey. To help you put together the ultimate holiday care package, we've compiled a list of cookies that are both tasty and durable, including brown sugar shortbread, thumbprint cookies, and chocolate crinkle cookies.

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  • Rolled Sugar Cookie Cutouts

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    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Using a combination of butter and coconut oil ups the richness of the tender sugar cookies and improves their shelf life—an essential quality for make-ahead cookies destined for gift boxes and care packages.

  • Gingerbread Cookies

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    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    These gingerbread cookies are crisp, flavorful, and not too sweet. A host of holiday spices—ginger, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, nutmeg, black pepper, orange zest, and salt—give the cookies their deep aroma. Crisp and sturdy, they'd make an excellent addition to any holiday cookie box.

  • Salty Brown Sugar Shortbread

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    Serious Eats / Melati Citrawireja

    These tender brown sugar shortbread cookies are rich and buttery, with a savory kick from just the right amount of salt. A slice-and-bake recipe means there's no need for a rolling pin or even a cooking scoop—just a knife and a cutting board.

  • Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies

    A plate of thumbprint cookies with jam filling next to a glass of milk and one partially eaten cookie

    Serious Eats / Niedle Creative

    Occupying the space between a classic thumbprint cookie and a peanut butter blossom, these PB&J thumbprint cookies are a light, just-sweet-enough treat. A speedy cookie dough is enhanced with natural peanut butter, dotted with jam, then baked until just set for a nutty, crumbly treat with a gooey, fruity center.

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  • Homemade Biscoff (Belgian Speculoos Cookies)

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    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    These crisp, nutty cookies get their floral character from Ceylon cinnamon and pleasant caramelized sweetness from well-toasted Belgian-style brown sugar.

  • 4-Ingredient Crinkle Cookies

    Chocolate crinkle cookies arranged on a red surface

    Serious Eats / Robby Lozano, Food Stylist: Julia Levy, Prop Stylist: Josh Hoggle

    These snow-dusted, fudgy, chocolate-rich cookies taste as festive as they look. They're dense and chewy like a brownie, with the delicate, crackled confectioners' sugar crust that's signature to crinkle cookies.

  • The Best Gingersnaps

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    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Two kinds of ginger, whole wheat flour, and molasses put the ginger and the snap in these cookies.

  • Almond Biscotti With Anise

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    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    These crunchy twice-baked Italian cookies are as classic as they are simple to make. Plus: They're sturdy and dry, with an epic shelf life and the capacity to soak up everything from espresso to Vin Santo without crumbling apart.

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  • Easy Mexican Wedding Cookies

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    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    These sugar-coated, melt-in-your-mouth pecan cookies go by several names. Regardless of their true pedigree, Mexican wedding cookies are as simple as they come, and have a delicate consistency that virtually melts on the tongue.

  • Tahini Thumbprint Cookies

    Thumbprint cookies with seeds and jam filling on red wrapping paper

    Serious Eats / Victor Protasio

    Toasty tahini meets tart raspberry jam in a thumbprint that's simple, striking, and flavorful. Coating each portion of dough in sesame seeds before baking gives the cookies a gentle crunch, lets the seeds toast in the oven, and reinforces the warm, nutty flavor of the tahini.

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