So your boyfriend is away from home on a trip? Whatever the purpose of his trip you wish to send him a gift to show him how much you care. Perhaps you’re wondering, “What could I send him? What’s a gift that he would like, that’s not too expensive and that would make him feel closer to home?”

Why not bake him a personalized, delicious sweet? They’re cheap to make, taste delicious and can be made into a variety of ways each time. So what are some of the best ones that are easy to make and won’t break or melt during delivery? Cookies of all different kinds, small cakes and cupcakes or pies all would be great choices and would be a big hit for him, but I will focus on just cookies this time

Cookies are easy to deliver, create multiple treats that will last for several snack times and are easy to make into different varieties. Learn a favorite recipe by heart and you’ll make it much faster after that. The easiest cookies to make are no-bake cookies. You could mix them with all different types of toppings too from mini milk chocolate chips to white-chocolate, M&Ms;, sprinkles to colored sugar and more. Of course you could make the traditional chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter or chewy oatmeal raisin. However, the most fun to make, easiest to personalize and ones I believe make the best gifts are cut-out sugar cookies.

What are some of your boyfriend’s favorite things to do? Does he love to play sports, or maybe watches them, maybe he loves motorcycles, boats, computers? Is he a musician, does he like magic, cars? You could make him cookies in shapes of his favorite things or even in the shape of your name. Make him the helmet of his favorite football team, or cookies in the shape of a basketball, the name of his favorite band in the correct font. If you’d like to be romantic you could make heart-shaped cookies or in shapes of kisses. You first need to get a recipe for cut-out sugar cookies and for the icing (or frosting). Then get the supplies that you’re missing from your kitchen. You don’t need to get all the fancy equipment just the basics, but do store and organize them so they’ll be easy to access later.

The basic supplies you’ll need to make the recipe will be some mixing bowls and wooden spoons (they’re the strongest), measuring cups and spoons, wax paper, rolling pin, metal spatula, cookie sheets, white paper and big index cards. An electric mixer would make it easier to mix the dough, but you don’t need one. Many of these supplies you can get at Wal-Mart, dollar stores or craft stores at inexpensive prices. The easiest way I’ve found to customize the cookie cutters or in this case cut-out cardboard shapes is to look for cookie cutter images on Google then make simple drawings on the paper, cut out the shape then trace it onto the sturdier index card that you will place on the dough and then cut around. Use shapes that don’t have too many narrow appendages or points since they can break easier during delivery. So for example let’s say his favorite animal was a dolphin. Rather than look up images of dolphins it’s easier to look up “dolphin cookie cutters” images. Then just slowly draw the image or you could even make an outline with dots then connect them.

Once the dough is complete roll it out at least ¼ inch thick so they’ll end up being stronger for delivery. Use your homemade cookie shapes and follow the baking instructions on the recipe.

The fun isn’t over yet. Now you’ll get to decorate them. The basic supplies you’ll need for post-baking besides the recipe for the icing will be many small bowls for the different colors of icing, food coloring package, small paint brushes (just for baking!), pastry brush (preferably a couple or you’ll have to clean them each time you switch colors), toothpicks, an airtight container for storage in fridge before delivery, more wax paper and a decorative cookie tin to put the finished product in. You could use confectioner’s sugar frosting that comes packaged in a plastic container, but icing will stick better to the cookies. Determine what colors you will be using for the icing and place the colors in the various bowls. You could use basic techniques for the first few batches then get more advanced. You can find some good cookie decorating books at the library. Take pictures of each better and watch your improvement. The simple stuff is more than effective and the recipes will guide you through them. The box from the food coloring will tell you how to achieve the exact colors.

Place the cookies in a small decorative metal box and cover them in wax paper. Cushion the bottom of tin and top with packing bubbles or crumbled wax paper. Take them to the post office and delivery them with the USPS’s priority flat rate service. It’s more cost effective than next day air and gets there fast in 2-3 days. If you’re from the US then you’ll have to research the least expensive way to deliver packages.

When your boyfriend sees the personalized cookies he will have the biggest smile on his face. Your work will pay off and he’ll be thinking about you with each bite! And make sure you send him a romantic “Gift Message” to stir up those butterflies in his stomach. I would love my girlfriend to send me a batch of cookies in the shape of my favorite football team: the Ohio State Buckeyes. I would feel very special if she made me such a personalized gift since it would show me she pays attention to what I like. It’ll work trust me.