Weeeelll, that depends on how quickly you eat them, obvs. They’re pretty easy to munch through in one sitting with a cuppa, but IF you’d like to keep them, you’re in luck. Biscuits have a long shelf life if they are stored correctly, which makes them pretty useful little treats – the longest shelf life we have is 3 months.
Biscuits have a naturally long shelf life
Our biscuits are made in a similar way to how you’d make them at home, there are no preservatives added, and all of the ingredients are fresh or store cupbard things like flour. Our most popular recipe is just British Flour, British Sugar, golden syrup, British Butter, vanilla, and free range eggs (some of these are provided by Rebecca’s hens and ducks, but they can’t quite keep up with all the biscuits we make these days, so we have to buy some too)
We are VERY strict about them all being free range, we know you wouldn’t want unhappy hens laying eggs for your biscuits!
Our biscuits are baked for longer, and at a lower temperature than you’d find recommended in a cook book, which makes them extra crunchy. All of the biscuits have icing, and once we’ve iced them, they have to sit overnight on trays, which makes them a little softer than they were when they came out of the oven. After that, they are either stored in airtight containers, or sent straight out to you. Depending on the packaging and recipe, they will last between 2 weeks and 3 months.
Why is there a difference in the length of time biscuits will last?
It’s a simple case of osmosis. Biscuits start out dry and crunchy, and as they come into contact with the air around them, they absorb some of the moisture, and over time become softer and even soggy. This is a stale biscuit, and stale biscuits are friends to no-one. (If you accidentally leave a biscuit out in the open without eating it (unlikely, we know) and it goes a bit soft and soggy, you can pop it into the oven on a very low heat (around 50C) for 15 mins or so and it will go crunchy again. However the icing may discolour).
By putting biscuits in airtight or near airtight packaging, osmosis is stopped in it’s soggy tracks, and the moisture can’t get at the biscuits. This extends the shelf life from a week or two, to 2 or 3 months.
Shelf Life Options and Prices
Biscuit Gift Box
Your biscuits will last two weeks in the gifts boxes. The boxes are made of sturdy cardboard, which isn’t airtight, so the biscuits will absorb some moisture and after three weeks, they may be fairly soft. All of the gift boxes are put into pretty plastic mailing bags, so whilst they are on their way to you, this keeps the air from getting it’s soggy making mitts on your cookies.
Price: from £15
Airtight Packaging within the Gift Box
If you request it, we can seal the biscuits into an airtight clear cellophane bag within the gift box. This will extend the shelf life to 2 months
Why don’t you seal all of the biscuits into cello bags then?
Mainly because it takes a long time, and our packaging lady Deanne is already rushed off her feet most days carefully packing biscuits into pretty gift boxes. It’s also extra plastic to go in the bin, and we prefer to reduce waste where we can, so if it’s not necessary, we don’t add it.
Price: No charge. Just let us know at checkout if you’d like this option.
Biscuits Individually Wrapped in Cellphone Bags
If you’re ordering biscuits for a wedding, event or party, you might want them individually wrapped in cellophane bags. This means you can pop them in a party bag, leave them out as place names, and handle them as much as you want without getting any germs or dirt on them.
As standard, cello bags are folded over at the back, and then sealed with a sticker. This gives a shelf life of one month
We can also seal the cellophane bags with a heat sealer, before adding a sticker on the back to keep the cellophane flap down. They look the same as the cellophane bags that aren’t sealed, but this gives a shelf life of 2 months as no air can get in at all.
Price: Cellophane bag 20p per biscuit
Cellophane bag airtight sealed 30p per biscuit (because heat sealing takes time!). It doesn’t alter the look.
Biscuit Tin
Lots of you like biscuit collections in tins, and we also make a lot of bespoke cookies in tins, especially at Christmas. There’s a reason biscuit tins were invented – they keep out that pesky air and mean your biscuits stay as crunchy as ever. They also make a nice keepsake to pop on your shelf AND they’re an excuse to buy more biscuits – who wants an empty biscuit tin?! The shelf life is 2 months.
Available with a window or plain lid.
Price: from £40
Loose in an Airtight Box
If you want to serve your biscuits on platters, and don’t require individually wrapped biscuits, this is the option for you. We line sturdy cardboard boxes with food safe clear bags, and carefully pack the biscuits into it. They layers of biscuits are separated with cushioning pads to keep them safe in transit. The bag is sealed at the top, so if you keep them in the packaging, the shelf life is one month
Price: no charge (apart from the delivery charge of £7). Biscuits are sent this this as standard.
