Fillings for sandwich cookies that don't require refrigeration?

November 20, 2017 7:15 AM

My family makes a few delectable sandwich cookies that unfortunately cannot be easily shared because the creamy fillings need to remain refrigerated. How do I determine which recipes would be safe outside the refrigerator long enough for, say, sending through the mail in the Great MetaFilter Cookie Swap?

I'm probably going to be doing Nutella Lava Cookies, in which the Nutella is completely enclosed by the cookie, but I would like your tips and recipes anyway!

posted by Soliloquy to Food & Drink (6 answers total)

My first instinct would be to say that shortening-based fillings like this would probably be your best bet, since it's much more shelf-stable than dairy-based options. However, it looks like most of the recipes include a measure of water, which probably creates a slightly more bacteria-hospitable environment. I'd feel safe with them as long as they were eaten within a week or so but probably not too much longer.
posted by mosst at 7:24 AM on November 20, 2017

What about jam sandwich cookies? Are they supposed to be refrigerated? (I never have, but if there's one thing I've learned from metafilter it's that it is a source of wildly diverging ideas about food safety.)
posted by mskyle at 7:25 AM on November 20, 2017

Can your cookies (or even some of their ingredients, for assembly on-site) handle being frozen? Shipping with dry ice is totally a thing.
posted by straw at 8:18 AM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

Peanut or other nutbutters?
posted by Waiting for Pierce Inverarity at 11:56 AM on November 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

Nougat is best stored outside the refrigerator, to stay chewy.
posted by hellopanda at 3:23 AM on November 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

If you can rustle up a copy of the 1943 edition of the Joy of Cooking, I believe there is a whole section of "Cookies for the Boys at the Front" which were rigorous to withstand the months of shipment!
posted by eglenner at 9:59 PM on November 21, 2017 [1 favorite]