Brownies from NYC to Poughkeepsie via what method?

February 16, 2015 7:15 AM

My son lives in Poughkeepsie, NY and his birthday is Tuesday, Feb. 24th. I live in Manhattan and want to send him homemade brownies. When should I send the brownies so they arrive on his birthday, and via which method for reliability? A plus would be that it not cost a fortune. Thank you!
posted by DMelanogaster to Travel & Transportation (10 answers total)

Best answer: I think your best bet will be UPS Ground. Over short distances (such as Manhattan to Poughkeepsie) it's generally next day delivery, guaranteed. While it may cost you a bit more than USPS, depending on the weight of the package, the one-day delivery promise is far cheaper than any other one-day service.
posted by DrGail at 7:36 AM on February 16, 2015

I mail baked goods to friends and loved ones all the time. Buy one of those disposable foil pans with a lid. Bake the brownies in that (not with the lid on....)

I'd send it by priority mail usps if I were doing this. DrGail's suggestion works too though.
posted by royalsong at 7:45 AM on February 16, 2015

Remember to send it in tupperware, to avoid the brownies freezing nt he box.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 7:55 AM on February 16, 2015

My mom used to do this for me all the time. USPS priority mail is plenty quick. She used to wrap them in foil, then put that inside a ziploc bag, then put that in the priority mail box. Always arrived yummy and perfect, with minimal crumbs and minimal loss of moisture. Brownies travel really, really well.
posted by decathecting at 8:11 AM on February 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

I would think you could just take Metro North up and deliver them yourself!
posted by bq at 8:17 AM on February 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: sorry to "sit" -- but a few things:

-- if I chose USPS priority mail, when should I send the brownies to arrive on Tuesday? What's confounding me is that, if it's not overnight (that is, sent Monday), the days before are a weekend.

-- I work on his birthday and do not have 6 hours at my disposal (including getting to Grand Central, the train ride; the taxi from station to his house, and all of it back again) AND it would be more of a burden for him to have Mommy show up on his birthday than a joy! (he's in college and will be celebrating with friends -- providing brownies cum candles is a non-intrusive gesture by parents, I think)

-- thank you for the Tupperware/frozen brownies tip!
posted by DMelanogaster at 10:10 AM on February 16, 2015

I may be jumping to conclusions here, but will your son be receiving these brownies at a PO box at a certain educational institution? If so, you may want to double-check that he will be able to pick up a UPS package from the Mail Room in the Main Building rather than Central Receiving. If the Mail Room only receives USPS packages (or small private carrier packages), then he may have a trek out to a far-flung building to pick up his birthday goodies.

I'm sure he'll (and his friends!) will love them. Care packages are the best!
posted by annaramma at 12:10 PM on February 16, 2015

Best answer: Brownies are super mailable! They will last fresh for a week, easily, so I wouldn't sweat the timing. Mail them on Saturday and all will be well. The trick is to not cut them up into squares--try to mail them in as big a chunk as you can (that will reasonably fit into your tupperware of choice) so he can cut off fresh squares at his leisure. My usual routine is to wrap them tightly in plastic wrap then put the wrapped brownies in tupperware. Works a treat.
posted by Bella Sebastian at 5:46 PM on February 16, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: last "sit" ---- my son lives in a house off-campus and receives his mail there, not at the institution itself. But thank you for all of your advice -- particularly to mail the brownies on Saturday, not Monday. I appreciate it!
posted by DMelanogaster at 6:31 AM on February 17, 2015

Brownies will be fine if frozen. Cooked breads in general (cake, brownies, bread) all freeze really well as a storage method. You can thaw before eating or eat frozen--all delicious. In fact, it might actually be better if you freeze them first, deliberately, because frozen brownies are a bit sturdier.

Bake your brownies in a disposable 8x8 foil pan (found at the grocery store). Let them cool fully, freeze if you want to. After cooling, put the whole pan (pan+brownies) into a 1 gallon freezer bag (you may have to bend the rim of the pan up a little to get it to fit).

Get an 8x8x8 box from the UPS store (this is one of their standard sizes) and some firm styrofoam from the craft store. I recommend 2 trays of brownies (or one brownie, one blondie), layered like this: styrofoam, brownies, styrofoam, brownies, styrofoam to the top of the box. If you want to be really nice, put in some disposable forks and plates and maybe happy birthday napkins, college guys are often out of these things...

Alternatively, if you want to only send one tray, get the closest fitting flat-ish box from the USPS and pack around the edges with styrofoam.

Or, if you're crafty, cut your own cardboard box to fit with just a little padding (barely needs any if the box fits) and seal it up with packing tape.

I have mailed brownies overseas this way.
posted by anaelith at 6:01 AM on February 18, 2015 [1 favorite]