How to Make a Cookie Gift Bag

So I know it’s not even Halloween, but I’m already thinking about Christmas! Halloween’s fun, but Christmas is my holiday. I’m the ‘listen to Christmas music all year’ kind of person, much to my teenager’s dismay. And my big goal this year is to get my Christmas gifts made or purchased early so I can relax and enjoy the season with my family. Sure, I’ve had the same goal every year for the past 15 years and haven’t actually done it once, but hey, there’s a first time for everything, right?

So, here I am, working on Christmas gift ideas instead of Halloween costumes. Today’s DIY gift idea is a cookie mix gift sack, perfect for giving to neighbors or teachers or friends or family (or anyone that’s hard to shop for!)

Inside the cute flannel bag is a quart size ziptop bag full of Double Chocolate Mint Cookie mix. These make great gifts for the holiday season because they are relatively inexpensive, and who doesn’t like cookies? Plus, a cookie mix is often more appreciated than a plate of cookies since we’re inundated with treats during the holidays and it’s nice to be able to bake these up later on.

I actually first shared cookie mix gift sacks on my blog four years ago, but they weren’t the cutest things in the whole world. Last year I saw these gift sacks from Celebrate Creativity and I knew I needed to up my game a bit. (Click on over there to see a bunch of different cookie mix gift sack variations!)

Today I’m sharing an easy-to-put-together recipe for a Double Chocolate Mint Cookie mix, instructions for sewing up these cute flannel sacks, and a free printable tag that says “‘Tis the Season (for cookies)” on the front and gives mixing/baking directions for the cookies on the back.

Let’s start with the sacks! I used 1 yard of 45 inch wide flannel, which gave me enough fabric for 8 cookie sacks (these little sacks would be great for wrapping other small items as well!). Cut the fabric as shown in the diagram below to get 8 strips that are each 8 inches wide and 22 inches long.

Once you have your strips, you can fray the short edges by pulling out a few of the cross threads, as shown below.

Then fold the strip in half and sew down each side, using 1/2 inch seam allowance, as shown in the photo above. When you get to the last inch before the fold, angle in and sew across at a diagonal, as shown above. Backstitch at the beginning and end of your stitching. BTW, thread color doesn’t really matter (I just used white). Turn the sacks right side out.

Ok, here’s how you make the Double Chocolate Mint Cookie mix. For each mix, you will need:

• 1 quart sized ziptop baggie
• 1 Duncan Hines Devil’s Food cake mix (other brands will work, but I like Duncan Hines best)
• 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup of mint pieces (either Andes mint pieces or Mint flavored chips will work)
• 1/4 cup of baking cocoa (optional, but it makes the cookies richer)

Simply measure out the ingredients and pour them all into your ziptop bag.

Next, print out the gift tags. Download them by clicking here, and print at 100% or full size. I printed mine onto kraft colored cardstock. You’ll need some twine to tie up the sacks, as well as any other small items you’d like to add (I got measuring spoons for $2 from Winco and a Christmas floral pick for $.75 at Hobby Lobby, but these are definitely optional).

Cut out the tags and glue them together so the saying is on one side and the instructions are on the other.

Here’s a quick video that shows me assembling the bags:

As for cost, these are not dirt cheap, but they’re also not expensive compared to many other handmade gifts. For the cookie mix and sack, plan on about $5 per gift if you’re making multiples. The measuring spoons and floral pick I added brought the total for each sack up to about $8. I think it’s worth it for how adorable they turn out.

Looking for more handmade gift ideas? Check out 25 DIY gifts people actually want.

Looking for more Christmas treats? Check out these posts:

During Christmas celebrations or even any other related festive season, it is important for us to provide gifts for our loved ones and show them how much that we love them. In other words, with a wonderful gift especially a self made gift, the recipient will be delightful and feel that he or she is special to you thus making them more excited to receive their gift. Below is an example on how to prepare a Cookie bag gift that you can make as a special item during this festive season.

What you need:

1. 1 piece of cute fabric
2. A recipe for you favourite cookies
3. The dry ingredients to this cookie recipe
4. A plastic zip bag

Method:

1. You can create the cookie bags according to your preference and creativity, plus you can also add your very own personal touches to the Cookie bag that shows your inner creativity in designing or decorating.
2. You also need to decide on the cookie or other type of recipes (cakes, brownies or pasta) that you would like to use for the gift. Then, you need to print the recipe through your computer or just hand-write it in a recipe card that you can make using colourful card. The copy of the recipe will be attached to the cookie bag itself.
3. Then, put some dried ingredients required for that particular recipe that you have chosen and place it carefully into a zip-top bag. After that, you can place your selected piece of fabric around the zip-top bag and gather it up from bottom to the top. Try to get a large piece of fabric and then trim the excess from the top.
4. When you have wrapped it all around, tie the top first with a rubber band making sure it does not loosen up before decorating it with ribbon or coloured string of your choice. Then attached the recipe that you have print out or hand to the bag by making a hole-punch to it, string a ribbon through the hole and attach to the top of the bag.
5. Apart from that, you can also add a cute Christmas shaped cookie cutter or jingle bells or cupcake tins and papers or cute measuring utensils (or other items according to the festive occasion) and tie it along on the bag as you secure the top.

Now, your beautiful Cookie bag is ready to be given out to your beloved one. Your choice of recipes can even be for cakes, brownies or anything of your preferred choice. The purpose of attaching the recipe content is to enable the recipient to know what ingredients to use when trying to make your suggested recipe.

Plus, plenty of pro-tips for cookie packaging best practices.

Instead of doing all your shopping on Amazon this year, why not get a little more creative and whip up a batch of homemade gifts in the kitchen? A thoughtful gift of cookies baked with love is sure to be appreciated by anyone on your list, especially when you wrap them up to look as wonderful as they taste.

If you need some inspiration on how to package homemade cookies to give as gifts, you’ve come to the right place. By following these tips and tricks, you’re sure to end up with a gift that will wow the lucky recipient. Here’s how.

Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey; Prop Styling: Kay Clarke

How to Package Cookies for Gifting

Watch out for overlapping flavors. Avoid packing different flavors of cookies together, whether in a bag or a cookie tin, advises Elizabeth Nelson, test kitchen manager for Wilton. “If the cookies are not separated carefully, flavors will mingle together,” she says.

Cool cookies before wrapping. Ensure your baked goods are cooled completely to room temperature before packaging them up to maintain the highest quality. “Wrapping while warm will trap in moisture and make for soggy or overly delicate baked goods,” says Nelson.

Consider texture. You should also steer clear of packing crunchy and soft cookies together, regardless of container, as pairing them together can make crunchy cookies soft and soft cookies dry, says Nelson. (If the cookies are going to be eaten right away, however, you can make an exception.)

Don’t overpack. Freshly baked cookies can be fragile, so be sure to not overstuff your gift container to avoid breakage, says Brenda Mortensen, a certified food scientist and food product development manager at Cheryl’s Cookies.

If you’re planning to ship the gift, check out more tips to keep in mind when sending baked goods through the mail.

Be mindful of food allergies and diets. It’s a good idea to label your gift listing potential allergens if possible, says Nelson. If you don’t want it to look like you’re giving an ingredient list, you can always share a copy of the recipe as part of the gift—a touch that can be much appreciated by the recipient if they’d like to try making the treat themselves.

Secure the cookies. If you’re going to be traveling with decorated cookies (on the road to Grandma’s house, perhaps, or stuffed into an overhead bin on a plane), you’ll want to take extra precaution to hold them in place. Nelson recommends melting candy melts and adding a drop to the bottom of each cookie to attach them to a cake board or cookie box to prevent them from moving around. “Less shifting means fewer chances that your decorated cookies will get damaged or smudged,” she says.

Clever Ways to Pack Cookies as Gifts

Cookie tins 2.0

Craft stores such as Michael’s and Hobby Lobby are packed with holiday-themed tins in all shapes and sizes. You don’t have to use them as-is, though: Up your gift-giving game by jazzing them up with colored food-safe tissue paper, ribbons, artificial pine boughs, gift tags and cookie cutters. “Don’t be afraid to think outside the box (literally!),” says Mortensen. You can use also muffin liners to hold cookies inside the tin—they’re functional for keeping them in place and a cute touch, too.

Unusual vessels

Beyond the tin, you can also find all kinds of vessels such as baskets, pails or tiered trays that work perfectly for packaging holiday cookies. Just be sure to add layers of wax paper or food-safe tissue paper in between, if you’re stacking items, to keep your gift looking tidy and the cookies intact.

There is nothing nicer than receiving a reusable fabric gift bag with your latest gift. It really adds that extra little bit of thought and presentation. When you receive a fabric gift bag you know that the giver has thought as much about the wrapping as the gift inside. There is just something special about the weight and feel of a fabric bag that really makes a gift special. I thought I would take a few minutes to show you how easy it is to make a simple drawstring gift bag that can be modified to any size you like. All you need is some fabric and ribbon to create these cute little gift bags.

I actually used fat quarters to make my gift bags but you could use remnants or other fabrics that you have on hand. I would recommend that you head to Hobby Lobby or Fabric.com to find the perfect fabrics for your gift bags if you don’t have anything in your stash to make your gift bags. This post contains affiliate links that if you click on them and make a purchase I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

What you will Need:

• Fat quarter or remnant
• Ribbon
• Standard sewing supplies

Step 1: How to Make Fabric Gift Bags

Cut your fabric for a medium-sized bag 13″ x 22″. You can make your bag larger or smaller depending on the gift you are giving.

Step 2: How to Make Fabric Gift Bags

Turn your fabric wrong side up on your cutting surface. Using a Frixion pen draw a line 1/2″ from the top long edge of the fabric. Remember that Frixion pens disappear when you iron over them. Fold the edge down until the raw edge is equal to the line and press.

Step 3: How to Make Fabric Gift Bags

Measure down 3 1/2″ from the folded edge and draw another line. Then measure up 3/4″ from that line and draw another parallel line.

Draw a second line

Draw a third line

Step 4: How to Make Fabric Gift Bags

Fold the fabric in half width-wise right sides together making sure that the lines match up. Sew a seam from the bottom to the first line and back-stitch using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Sew a seam from the second line to the top and back-stitch. You should have a side seam that has an opening in it. This opening will be for your ribbon.

Sew the side seam

Step 5: How to Make Fabric Gift Bags

Fold the top of the bag down so that the folded edge covers the 3 1/2″ line that you previously drew and covers the hole you left for the ribbon completely. This should be a fold over amount of about 1 3/4″. Press. Sew a 1/8″ seam around the folded edge. Make sure that you do not sew through the hole.

Step 6: How to Make Fabric Gift Bags

Sew another 1/8″ seam around the top folded edge.

Step 7: How to Make Fabric Gift Bags

Draw another line around the bag just on the top side of the opening you left for the ribbon and sew. This will create a casing for your ribbon.

Draw line above opening

Step 8: How to Make Fabric Gift Bags

Sew the bottom of the bag closed using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Turn the bag right side out. You should have a completed bag at this point.

Step 9: How to Make Fabric Gift Bags

Add the ribbon. I used a 1/2″ ribbon. Using a safety-pin attached to the end of the ribbon feed the ribbon through the opening until it comes out the other end and both ends of the ribbon are exiting the opening in the bag. Add your gift to the bag and draw the bag closed and tie it in a nice little bow.

Small Cellophane Gift Bags for Birthdays

How to Make Gift Bags. Need some gift bags but don’t want to spend a fortune? Learn how to make your own gift bag with these easy steps and create your own cellophane gift bags to save yourself money.

These cheap gift bags are an excellent idea when homemade gift basket ideas are a bit too big for a little gift like yours.

But if you make a few more of these cellophane bags, you can make them into a great gift basket filled with things like; nuts, chocolates, cookies, even chopped veggies.

You can dress them up or keep them plain.

• Addshredded tissue paper or a sheet of tissue paper
• Tie them up with fancy bows
• Make them from printed cellophane or clear cellophane

There are lots of fun cellophane out there, so have fun when you make your own gift bag. They are the ideal gift to make. Quick, easy and cheap for any last-minute occasion.

Children’s birthdays, even a Valentine’s gift or Easter gift bags for those Easter egg hunts.

Keep in mind the size of the items you wish to use. The size of the bag might change but the method stays the same.

How to Make Gift Bags:

How to make gift bags? Cut a piece of cellophane measuring 12 inches wide (30.5cm wide) by 9 inches high (22.9 cm high)

Fold the bottom of the cellophane and machine stitch 1/2 inch (0.6 cm)

Fold the cellophane in half leaving 1/2 inch (0.6 cm) from th e edge. This is so you can fold the cellophane on the right side over and sew to give a neat finish.

Then, sew down the side and along the bottom.

This is my end result. A gift bag perfect for any birthday party and it was made in minutes.

All I need now is to fill it with cupcakes and tie it with a bow.

Did You Make Some Gift Bags for a Party or for a Small Gift?

I would love to hear your stories, ideas or tips how to make gift bags. Go to my contact me page and share your ideas with me and others.

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Fabric Gift Bags. Have a small gift to give? Here’s lots of ideas for wedding gift bags filled with rice, confetti for your guests. A thank you gift bag for a friend and more. Handmade gift bag ideas!

Make gift bags to put inside your beautifully handmade gift baskets, or for presenting to your guests, as individual gifts at your wedding or at your party as a way of saying thank you.

Handmade gift bags, also known as ‘sheer organza bags’ are ideal when gift baskets are a bit too big. These gift bags are very easy to put together and cost next to nothing to make.

Handmade favor bags are great for small gifts such as cookies, chocolates, travel size toiletries, cosmetics, etc.

Some of the gift bag ideas below are made from sheer fabric which is thin, see-through fabric, fantastic for making gift bags, because it’s flexible and looks expensive, but it’s not.

You can jazz up your gift bags by using different colored sheer fabrics or sewing ribbon and other things to your gift bags.

Wedding Gift Bag Ideas

Are you getting married? Why not make some easy-to-make gift bags made from fabric. Fill your gift bag with confetti, rice or dried flower petals for your guests to shower you and your husband, as you both leave the church or reception.

For the first gift bag, I made from white sheer fabric and I have sewn a green lace ribbon down the front before I made the gift bag and tied it with a matching bow.

The pink one I made the same way but it has a red ribbon going through the top.

These two fabric gift bags are both filled with rice

This gift bag is a simple bag. I made it from a square piece of fabric and tied the top with a blue thin ribbon.

This gift bag is filled with artificial petals.

These next two gift bags, are made as the one above but I have sewn two different colored ribbons onto the fabric (you can use matching thread when sewing) before I made the bag and tied the top with ribbon.

The other one I have sewn mint green colored ribbon to the top of the fabric then threaded the same colored ribbon through the ribbon that I have sewn.

The ribbon or fabric can co-ordinate with the color of your bridesmaids’ dresses and/or their flowers.

A Mother’s Day Gift Bag

A Mother’s Day gift bag made with love. Easy to make from a scrap piece of fabric.

I made this from a piece of fabric that I had leftover from another project.

The items inside this spring looking gift bag are:

A few sachets of bubble bath, body lotion, the ones you get as free samples (don’t tell mom) or you can use travel size toiletries.

A small bar of soap, a white bath sponge and a small pumice stone.

I love to get travel size toiletries, and so will your mom if you make this gift bag.

Don’t forget to attach a handmade gift tag with a message.

Thank You Gift Bag Ideas

If you are making thank you gift bags for a baby shower, bridesmaids at your wedding, birthdays or for someone you would like to say thank you to, this is just the gift.

Fill these gift bags with delicious chocolates or homemade cookies.

If you choose travel size toiletries as your gifts, make the fabric gift bags a bit wider; about 2 inches wider, and this will be sufficient for three items.

I have sewn a ribbon down the front (this is optional) before I made this fabric gift bag.

I filled the bag with chocolate cookies, and tied the gift bag with the same ribbon I used for the bag.

You could tie a thank you gift tag to your gift bag ideas. This would make the perfect thank you handmade gift bags for your friends.

Fabric Gift Bags for Gift Baskets

If you are making a gift basket with a variety of dried fruit, trail mixes, chocolates, cookies, etc. for a Christmas gift basket or Easter gift basket, you can make simple individual gift bags to put these foods in and arrange them in your gift basket.

The basket on the left has eight fabric gift bags all filled with dried fruits and a selection of nuts.

I used a thin green and red ribbon to tie them with, and made some tags with the names of the dried fruit and nuts I used.

When using fabric, use sheer fabric because it’s thin, a little bit see-through, flexible and comes in lots of pretty colors.

You can make gift bags in lots of different colors. So be creative in your gift bag ideas and add your own special something to make amazing handmade organza gift bags for your friends and family.

Didn’t find what you are looking for? Search the web for more great ideas.

Did You Make Some Gift Bags..

.. for a special party, wedding, birthday, Easter or other important occasions? Or maybe you made some to put into a gift basket?

Perhaps you received a special gift bag as a thank you gift?
I would love to hear your stories, ideas or tips for making gift baskets. Go to my contact me page and share your ideas with me and others.

Before you go! C lick the like button if you like what you’ve seen, (top of page) or go to my contact page and write a comment. Thank you kindly!

Things of Interest

Making Gift Bows. Easy and inexpensive craft ideas to make your gifts unique.

Card Making Corner. Find simple to intricate Easter handmade card ideas.

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Have you ever went to the store and looked for a specific gift bag in mind and couldn’t find it? I have and that’s why I create my own decorated gift bags with the Cricut Maker. I love creating unique and personalized decorated gift bags. This month for Craft and Create with Cricut, we could choose any project with a Cricut the possibilities are endless.

Below are some affiliate links and I may make a commission for purchases made through the following links.

The gift bags have endless possibilities. I find most of my plain bags at the Dollar Tree or the craft stores have them too.

Decorated Gift Bags are Perfect for:

Holidays
New Home/Baby/Car and More
Baptism
Teacher Gifts or any Professional Gifts
Treat Bags for Parties
Graduation

To create your gift bags, just choose an image in Cricut Design Space™ or upload an image, size it to your bag, and glue it on. I have used a variety of hot glue, 3 D Foam Squares and tape rollers.

For the gift bags I liked to do a little mixed media art sometimes or just card stock or vinyl. Any SVG or image can be used for a bag. I like to keep old transfer tape and it’s perfect for this project. It’s not to sticky and works perfectly for adding vinyl to the bags. Most of the time I like to add the vinyl like a sticker, but sometimes you can’t and need transfer tape.

I had to use transfer tape on this end of the year teacher gift bag and this is made with vinyl.

Here are Treat Bags I have made for our Halloween Party last year and this is made with card stock.

A Pumpkin Treat Bag

Another End of the Year Teacher Bag

Have you ever made a decorated gift bag? It’s fun to create something special and unique.

Plastic is a habit – a very convenient habit, though a very bad one. Everyday we use so many plastic things, from the time we wake up pressing down the alarm button of that plastic alarm clock to ending the day by brushing our teeth with that plastic brush – and there are close to 8 billion people in the world doing all these. Among all the plastic we use the most damaging is the single use plastic. All those plastic bags you mindlessly throw to the dumpster after one use is going to come back and haunt us and our future generations. Using cloth bags is a very positive alternative many are increasingly embracing.

Other than this cloth grocery bag tutorial and cloth shopping bag tutorial, here are some easy cloth bags you can make to give away with gifts.

Step 1 Cut out the fabric piece for your bag – 20 inches by 10 inches.

Step 2 Stitch the handles to both ends.

You can use webbing, fabric straps or lace as I have done.

Turn under the edges enclosing the handle ends and stitch in place.

Step 3 Keep the fabric folded right sides out – this is done to make a neat french seam inside. Stitch the edges. Trim the seam allowance close to the stitching line.

Turn the bag right sides in.

Stitch along the edge ,enclosing the seam and the seam allowance.

Turn the bag right side out and use.

This is a very small cloth gift bag which measures about 4.5 inches in height and 4 inches in width. Perfect for those small gifts like jewellery that you intend to give your loved ones. You can change the dimensions and make it to suit the gift you have, ofcourse. Whatever it is that you are giving inside this bag will surely be used again.

Step 1 Cut the pattern pieces

For the bag piece

For the drawstring & 2 little stoppers

Step 2

Fold the side edges of the bag piece ( 6″ sides) inside 1/4 inches and stitch

Step 3

Turn under the upper edge about 1/2 inch and stitch along the fabric edge. You have the casing for the drawstring here. If it is a selvedge you donot have to finish the edge here. But if it is not you may want to do a zigzag stitch on the fabric edges.

Step 4

Fold the Bag fabric by half, with short edges together ( right sides together) stitch the side seams. Stop just short of the upper casing. Donot forget to backstitch.

Step 5

Stitch the bottom edge of the bag together.

Turn the bag inside out.

Step 6. Make drawstring

Cut a piece of fabric 14 inches long and 1 inch wide . Fold it lengthwise. Stitch along the fold, about 1/2 inch from the fold .Anchor a tapestry needle ( or a thick needle) with 4 strands of thread near one edge by making 2-3 back stitches. Insert the needle through the hole in one edge. Pull the cloth along with the needle so that when the tube is turned inside out it will look filled up and round . Checkout this tutorial to make a fabric tube for more details. You will get a string which is your drawstring.

Insert the drawstring through the casing in your bag using a safety pin

Step 7 Make a Drawstring stopper.

Cut out 2 squares of 3 inches. Cut the edges 1/4 inch from the corners. Fold the square diagonally first. Then by half. Hold the edges together. Stitch them together. trim the seam allowance close to the seam

Keep the string end inside the rectangle and stitch them together. Turn it inside out.

A similar but slightly different pouch can be made with ribbons as drawstring – check out this post on making drawstring pouches for more details.

Make a tall gift bag by following the tutorial to make a wine bag; This involves some folding and very little sewing.

If you can’t be bothered about sewing you can simply wrap your gifts with fabric – check out this post on fabric gift wraps for details.

I love baking up cookies and treats to give as gifts and share with neighbors, especially during the holiday season. But I’m always looking for new, easy ways to package them up so they look as good as they taste (a plain old paper plate works just fine, but it’s not that cute, you know?). Plus, sometimes you don’t want to fill up an entire plate per person, so it’s nice to have options that make just one cookie, or even a few, look like a nice gift. So I’ve rounded up the best DIY treat & cookie packaging ideas from the web, complete with tutorials.

As with all roundups, you’re welcome to pin the collage photo to remember where to find all these ideas in one place, but if you’d like to pin an individual photo, please click through to the original post – thanks!

1. This adorable box make from a plain old paper cup is genius! The tutorial is not in English, but the step by step photos are easy enough to follow. From Happy DIY.

3. Lines Across shares an easy tutorial for no-sew muslin bags – these would be perfect for packaging up candies!

4. Another option for small treats are these simple sour cream containers – tutorial shared by D&P Celebrations.

5. This tutorial from Purl Bee shows you how to use a brown lunch sack and your Christmas wrapping supplies to package up 8 cookies.

6. Another easy way to package up 6-8 cookies is this basket made from a paper plate. Find the muffin version here.

7. Instead of gifting cookies, try gifting cookie dough! Our Best Bites shares a fun way to package cookie dough using waxed paper.

8. Layer pre-scooped cookie dough in containers from the deli counter, as seen in this photo from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe. Click through to the post for more info on getting the containers.

9. Ever wanted to share individual cupcakes but didn’t know how to package them so they wouldn’t get smooshed? This idea from SNAP Creativity is perfect!

10. Simple wax paper bags are perfect for individual cookies or even slices of pound cake or chocolate pumpkin bread. Idea from A Spoonful of Sugar.

11. Check out this post to see how Aunt Peaches transformed aluminum foil boxes into the perfect cookie packages.

12. Slide mini cupcake liners into an egg carton for an easy recycled cookie tray. Idea from My Recipes.

13. Go super simple by wrapping a stack of cookies in wax paper. Add a pretty ribbon to make it cute! Also from My Recipes (click through for even more treat packaging ideas).

14. This box is easy to make from an 8.5×11 piece of card stock, and is perfect for cookies, brownies, or candy. Find the tutorial here.

15. Two words: Pringles cans. How awesome is that? Find the how to at A Baker’s House.

16. Have some spare 12×12 scrapbook paper sitting around? Use it to make a basket and stuff it with goodies! Tutorial from Down Home Inspiration.

18. Ice cream containers! Don’t these make super cute cookie containers? Photo by I Am Baker (click through for source on containers).

19. It can be hard to package up loaves of bread – but you can find a printable template for these mini loaf packages at Midwest Living.

20. If you’re short on time, just use ziplock bags! Top them with scrapbook paper and ribbon to make it look like a gift. Great idea from One Crafty Mumma.

Remember, you can pin the collage below to remember where to find all these great ideas in one place.

How to Make Pendaflex Labels

In the gourmet cookie business, a beautiful presentation is a key to success, according to Wendy Jedlicka, author of Package Sustainability. Quality packaging enhances the product while generating a solid first impression for your business. Making the effort to deliver an eye-catching package with delicious cookies helps ensure the success of a home-based cookie business. And while decorative boxes remain the most popular package for cookies and can be purchased already decorated, other types of packaging can also be used to create lasting visual memories for your customers.

Choose the appropriate container. A wide variety of visually appealing and inexpensive choices exist, according to Luke Herriott, author of The Packaging and Design Templates Sourcebook 2. Bottles and jars can come in all sizes and shapes. Metal tins exist in many shapes and colors. They also can come in different patterns and sizes.

Gift bags are a good choice because most are coated in plastic. You can make a window in a gift bag or line with tissue paper and allow the paper to peek out of the top. Oversized cooking and soup mugs make good, reusable containers. Simply fill the container and cover with a large piece of cellophane. Tie at the top with colored ribbon. Baskets–another favorite form of packaging– also come in different shapes and sizes as well as colors.

Clean the container and dry it out before using. Choose an appropriate method for neatly arranging the cookies within the container such as stacking, layering or separating. When packaging more than one type of cookie, separate the different types. Avoid mixing soft and chewy cookies with crispy ones. The chewy cookies make the crispy ones soggy and the chewy delectables will become crispy if mixed. Use a sheet of parchment paper to separate each layer rather than wax paper or plastic wrap when sending several layers of cookies together. Parchment paper is a better choice because it does not “sweat”.

Add an inexpensive yet special touch to the container with decorations. Ribbon and tissue paper make packages look beautiful and simple. Colored shredded paper provides a nice filler. Miniature kitchen tools add an adorable and decorative touch.

Create a holiday theme for the cookies. Are consumers using them as a birthday gift or maybe a Christmas holiday gift? Perhaps a consumer will present them to someone special on Valentine’s Day. Use the theme of the occasion in the packaging.

Seal the package airtight. Attach labels to the package clearly marked with the package’s contents and recommended shelf life, instructs Catharine Fishel, author of the book “Little Book of Big Packaging Ideas.” Include your business name and contact information. Make your business information and logo the focus of the label. You want the customer to remember the creative packaging and delicious cookies, but most importantly you want him to remember where they came from.

• “Packaging Sustainability”: Wendy Jedlicka: 2008

Rose Smith has been writing professionally since 1992. Her how-to and relationship articles have appeared in “Family Circle” and several other national publications. She has also written the books “Sizzling Monogamy” and “101 Ways to Date Your Mate.” Smith holds a Bachelor of Science in mass communications from Illinois State University.

Make sure whoever you give this to invites you over when it’s baking time because these cookies are SO GOOD. Check out more food gifts here.

Sugar Cookie Kit

Makes 1 pint jar

INGREDIENTS

For Cookie Mix

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sprinkles (any kind!)

For Gift Assembly

Printed or written sugar cookie instructions (see below)

Optional: Cookie cutter and twine to tie it on

HOW TO PREPARE THE GIFT

Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in the jar. Put sugar in a plastic bag or wrap it in parchment before adding to jar to keep it separate from the other dry ingredients. Top with sprinkles. Optional: Tie cookie cutter to the jar with twine.

Get decorating info here.

Directions to include with the gift:

HOW TO MAKE SUGAR COOKIES

Makes about 25 cookies

You will need:

1 stick plus 2 tablespoons (10 tablespoons total) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 ½ cups powdered sugar

½ teaspoon almond extract

Special equipment:

Preparation

1. Pour sprinkles out of the jar into a small bowl and set aside. Lift the parchment paper out of the jar carefully (it contains sugar), and set aside. Dump the rest of the jar’s ingredients into a bowl and whisk them. (Fish out any sprinkles.)

2. Place room temp butter in a bowl and beat it with mixer at medium speed for a minute until smooth. Add sugar and beat 2-3 more minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and beat another minute. Reduce speed of mixer to the lowest setting and add dry ingredients slowly. Turn of the mixer the moment they are just incorporated and don’t overmix.

3. Divide the dough in half. Shape each half into a disc and refrigerate for two hours. (At this point you can leave it in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze it for a couple of months.)

4. To make the cookies, roll out your discs and cut shapes. To prevent spreading, put the raw cut-out cookies in the freezer for 5 minutes before baking.

5. Bake at 350°F on baking sheets lined with parchment paper for about 10-12 minutes. The cookies shouldn’t color but should feel firm. Let them cool to room temperature.

6. Prepare glaze by stirring powdered sugar, water, and almond extract in a large bowl. Dip cookies in glaze face down then sprinkle on sprinkles. Let dry at least an hour before serving.