Mailing International: "Indestructible Cookies"

What gift is small, light, + fits in an envelope?

(hint: if you said "Gift Card", you'll have to see my next post)

Sending cookies to my family is a very Global affair. It costs a small fortune to send tins to four different continents, so this year I want to try Sending Cookies In Envelopes!

 This Christmas I thought I'd hallucinate about what I could fit into "flats" for a change.  The different USPS rates and sizes ( and an Online Discount!) are here.

 My family prefers Chocolate Chip cookies over almost everything, but they tend to get smashed in envelopes. 
*Meringues are light enough, but they would arrive as powder.
*I could send fudge, (north of the equator), but it weighs a ton, jacking up the postage costs.
*If you had the energy to make those thick, frosted + sugar-decorated Christmas Cookies---and individually-package-between-covered-cardboard-sheets, you might be successful sending those.
(NOT)
Generally your best bet for flat-friendly, bendable, smashable cookies are good ol' Rice Krispie Treats. 
Just make them in a cookie sheet, instead of a baking pan, to send them in flats.

In my family of origin, however, we DO have a secret weapon: "Nano Cookies".  I have no idea why we like them so much.  They are hard as rocks, and comparatively tasteless.  But they will last in a tin forever,  and are so hard they'd survive being sent in a padded envelope.  My grandmother used to send us regular care packages of them, so they are named for her.

Indestructable Nano Cookies

Cream together:
1 c spry (ahem, shortening works), 1 c sugar, 1 1/2 tsp allspice, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves
Add + Mix Well
2 beaten eggs
Add + Mix
2 c rolled oats, 1 heaping cup chopped dates and raisins, 1 c rolled nuts, grated rind of 1 lemon, 1 tsp. lemon juice
Add Alternately + Mix In
3 c sifted flour, 1/4c milk
Drop 1 tsp dough at a time onto greased cookie sheet (flatten a bit for envelopes)
350 degrees  12-15 minutes  Airtight Container --Forever in the Freezer

One last option, especially for diabetics. 

Sometimes, all you need is the -smell- of home.  Here's a recipe for "Cinnamon Cookie Ornaments" that smell and look like the real thing-but you don't eat them!

If you make the shapes small, (like 2+1/2" hearts) they are tough enough to make it through the mail in a flat.

Enjoy!