Hi! I was in an LDR for two years in my late teens-early 20s, so I know what that’s like. Sally of, unsurprisingly, Sally’s Baking Addiction (who’s mentioned here a lot, and for good reason!), actually has an article about how to ship cookies, and notes that decorated sugar cookies are fine to ship as long as the icing has set completely. The trick is using royal icing, not buttercream or any other frosting that won’t set. (Have you ever had or seen a frosted cookie from Starbucks or Panera, or your local bakery? They’re frosted w/royal icing, and that icing ain’t going nowhere — but I love the way it dissolves on the tongue once you bite into it.)

Sally’s sugar cookie recipe is linked in the article, but here it is for your convenience. 😉 She talks about (and links to) her royal icing recipe, as well as an easier, but less consistent cookie icing recipe for beginners. And b/c I’m me and can’t help it 😁, here’s a vegan version w/vegan icing (regular royal icing uses meringue powder or powdered egg whites).

Hope that helps! 🙂 Most importantly, have fun. 😊

Here is the recipe:

4 sticks of butter (I’ve used salted and unsalted, you pick) room temperature 1.5 cups sugar 2 room temperature eggs 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp vanilla extract 1/2 tsp salt 5 cups flour

Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy appearing, then add eggs and vanilla beating eggs. You can mix dry ingredients in a big bowl, or you can add baking powder and salt to your wet mixture and stir them in. Gradually add flour to the wet ingredients (I do 2 cups to start, then add one at a time for the other 3). I used to do this by hand but I got a stand mixer a couple years ago, so if you go this route use a dough hook for this, but stop to scrape off the sides until dough looks uniform. Refrigerate the dough for at least 4 hours. I do 24 as I’ve found rolling out and cutting into shapes with room temp dough yields thinner and crunchier cookies.

When you are ready, take your refrigerated dough and cut in half (put one half back in fridge). Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Take a rolling pin and roll out your dough to your liking. I like thicker cookies so I do just under 1/4 inch. Cut out cookies and place them about an inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet (use a silpat or parchment paper if you have it though). Bake cookies 10-12 minutes but don’t allow the edges to brown unless you like a slight crunch. Take cookies out of the oven and put them on a cooling rack. I will comment on this one with the cream cheese frosting recipe.