I send a lot of care packages. After a few failed attempts to send cookies to my family back in college where everything arrived crushed, I was on the hunt for a new solution. That was when I decided to bake a birthday cookie for my niece directly INthe tin I would mail it in, instead of just tossing baked cookies inside of it. It worked great, and I've been mailing baked-goods-in-tins ever since. Last week, I baked up some brownie Valentines to mail out, and got lots of questions on Instagram about the tins I used. There's just a few rules to follow before you get baking:
-Use steel tins without any kind of coating (no paint, color, etc.) on the inside. Generally speaking, it's ok for the tins to have some sort of finish on the outside, as long as you're not exceeding temperatures of 400 degrees Fahrenheit.(If you're unsure, place the tin in a preheated oven without anything inside it for 5 minutes before adding food to the mix.)
-It's always a good idea to make sure the tins are marked "food safe" - these tins are my go-to.
-Thoroughly wash and dry the tins before baking. Grease the inside of the container generously (even for something you wouldn't normally grease, like chocolate chip cookies) to make sure they'll be easy to slice and get out.
-Consider your baking temperature. Remember, you're making one big baked good instead of several little ones. I usually lower the temperature by at least 25 degrees from my original recipe to ensure more gradual, steady baking and no over-done edges.
-Don't go crazy. This technique is really best for a handful of things - cookies and bars. I don't advise baking cakes or anything that rise a lot in these tins, you want to have as much control as possible! Things I've baked successfully: brownies, blondies, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, snickerdoodles, sugar cookies, etc.
Happy Baking!
