Lizbeth, I'm not sure the FoodSaver wouldn't completely squash them. I happily eat 2 day old cinnamon rolls, not as good as fresh, but still pretty darned good. I'd wrap well in plastic, then foil, then probably in a ziplock, just for insurance. Don't want anything coming unwrapped or the wrapping being torn. Pack well and ship 'em off!

Annie

Thanks, Annie! That should be easy enough to do.

I just bought my first FoodSaver and I am disappointed to learn that it won't work for cinnamon rolls! How long do they keep frozen the way you wrap?

Give directions to warm for a few minutes in the oven ...NOT the micro....and if you have frosting, pack it separately and tell them to spread or drizzle after warming.
Reminds me, I have a pan of cinnamon rolls left from Christmas in the freezer......better eat them, they don't get better with age!

Thanks, Linda92. I'm going to let them make their own icing; it's for a GS who loves cinnamon rolls!

I would pack them in a cheap tupperware-type box to protect them from being squashed as they make their way through the postal system.

1. Don't vacuum-seal them --- even frozen. In the world of bread science and staling, freezing the rolls is equal to day old bread once it thaws, plus 2 days of travel time is equal to 3-day old bread. You don't gain anything by freezing them.
2. I would wrap each individual cinnamon roll tightly with plastic wrap. This does several things. It will keep them in a compact form while being jostled during shipping so the layers of the cinnamon roll don't unroll or break. A close, air-tight wrapping will help it maintain the moisture. In a loose-fitting bag, the moisture in the crumb will migrate through the crust into a loose-fitting plastic bag and would dry out. Wrapped tightly in plastic wrap they will stand a better chance of staying fresher longer. Then take colleenoz tip to place them in a more rigid container, tightly packed.
3. I would use honey in the recipe instead of sugar. Honey has been shown to be beneficial in keeping a bread fresher longer.

Personally, no matter how much I love the sentiment, I would send them the money to go get cinnamon rolls locally. -Grainlady

I sent rugelach to my parents last week. I made them Sunday and then froze them. Monday morning I put them in a Tupperware lined with foil and covered them with plastic wrap and put the top on. Packed newspaper in the box and shipped it off UPS. Arrived the next day. I was told they were still cold. They loved them.

Sleevendog: Thanks! There is certainly a wealth of info on this forum and lots of info to digest re:FoodSaver techniques. I'm sure it will all fall into place, but with any new tool, it takes time to reach that comfort zone.

Colleenoz: Thanks! Good idea--I will do that.

Grainlady: Thanks! Ah, the wrapping--I wouldn't have known that food science bit, but certainly makes sense and easy enough to do. Too late for the honey, as the dough is already rising, but will keep in mind if this experiment works. And I hear you on sending money, but if this works, it will be more meaningful to him. Have to try it once.

Jojoco: Thank You! I love rugelach and may try that at a later date. Would you share your recipe?

Late to this, but I suggest a cooky tin lined w/ waxed paper &/or parchment, which is what I use to store most baked goods. The waxed paper doesn't react like foil & parchment is also non stick & holds up better than waxed paper against moisture.

If you think you'd have better luck sending them frozen, you can buy dry ice (I get mine at Baskin Robbins Ice Cream, but UPS sells it too, I think) wrap your rolls well (you could use your new foodsaver), freeze them, pack all in a cheap styrofoam cooler and tape it shut. Attach the mailing label to the cooler and send it off. Or put cooler in cardboard box. Here is some info from the different shippers to send with dry ice:
sending food with dry ice

I do freeze breads, wrapped in paper towels, then foil, then a ziplock bag. That way when it thaws, the paper towels wick up some of the melted condensation. It also works OK to wrap well in foil, freeze, then pop it into the oven to warm/finish after thawing, but I bake not quite done, like a brown and serve roll, if I'm going to do that.

I've had little luck FoodSaver-ing bread, even when frozen. I also agree that a container like a plastic box would help protect the rolls, as would bubble wrap. I once sent a dozen eggs to Dishesdone in New York City, and they all arrived intact, LOL, so I do know how to pack!

Annie

Thanks, Carol-They are already mailed, but will keep the cookie tins and parchment in mind for another time.

Olychick: Thanks for all the info and the link re:dry ice mailing. That may be useful in the future for other things, but don't think I would go to that much trouble and expense for cinnamon rolls.

Annie1992:good tip on the bread freezing. There must be a good story behind mailing eggs to NYC??

The cinnamon rolls are in the mail. I wrapped each individually in plastic wrap and put them in a sealed rubbermaid container with packing peanuts all around and more sealing tape around the box then would take to prepare a mummy! Now will just wait to hear how they arrive.

I've mailed a frosted cake and hot cross buns before. I'm sure they will be fine. The buggest issue would be the frosting, but you said you weren't going to frost them. It also helps that it's cool now. One of the cakes I shipped was in July! LOL I think that was my son's 16th birthday and he was away from home.

another option, one used by The Dairy to ship cheese to warm places, is to ship in a styrofoam contariner with one or more of those blue freezer packs.
But I am sure the rolls are fine without refrigeration....as long as they are not squished in the food saver.
As an aside....I recieved a gift of 6 frozen cinnamon rolls. Came from WS...they were cold but not frozen solid when they arrived, but I popped them into the freezer and they were fine. I looked on line....the cost, plus shipping to send me 6 cinnamon rolls was about $60. They were good, but no better than those I make.
Sooo....consider that package of home made cinnamon rolls a magnificent gift!

One thing we haven't mentioned, is how you plan to send them. I have found UPS to be far more reliable and faster then USPS. Oh, and i'm not sure how to do the link here, but the rugelah recipe was from Ina Garten. It's the only one that keeps coming up under her name. Kind of fussy, but worth it.

I am not a baker. This is a half-baked suggestion. :-)

I seem to think that in supermarkets, their "Fresh baked" pastries and breads are all shipped to them half-baked (pre-baked, blind baked) then final bake for sale.

May be you can try that idea. Have the receiver do the final quick baking.

dcarch

jojo, Elery's nephew works for UPS. He says that when they are busy they hire USPS to deliver for them, and often use them for the final "leg" of a delivery because it's cheaper and the package still arrives on time. So even sending a package by UPS doesn't necessarily get you UPS.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-mail-does-the-trick-for-fedex-ups-1407182247

Lizbeth, dishesdone was another poster on the old Cooking Forum, she lived in NYC and still does. In fact, we still "talk" via email. We were talking about my chickens and I told her how the eggs were different than commercially available eggs in taste and in color. She said she'd not had farm eggs, only eggs from the store, so I decided to mail a dozen. Several forum members were betting on how many arrived unbroken, LOL. I packed carefully, shipped them off via the Post Office and every one arrived unbroken. With shipping, though, I think they were probably the most expensive dozen eggs ever.

Annie

Lascatx: how did you mail a frosted cake and in July? and how did it fare?

Lindac92: I do consider it a "labor of love", but this kid will be so surprised and "over the moon" with cinnamon rolls and he probably won't even care if they aren't the freshest.

Jojoco: I normally would go the UPS or FedEx route, but where it's going won't get there in two days and I've had really good luck with the USPS flat rate packages. They always seem to get there in two days and hoping by saying that I don't jinx this mailing.

Dcarch7: That would be a good idea, but these parents aren't bakers. I did call his dad to make sure they have the ingredients in house to make the icing!

I know it's late but fyi, a vacuum sealer CAN be used successfully for soft items, like soft breads and such, even liquids. The trick for soft things is to take a fairly strong plastic container (Tupperware, Rubbermaid, Sterlite or what have you) and poke holes in the top of it so the air can get sucked out by the vacuum sealer. I'd guess the cheap "Ziploc" type containers would crush so be sure you use a heavier type.

The intention is good but a friend tried to give me a treat by sending some of her cinnamon rolls and, well, stale rolls just are not a treat IMO. Especially considering the cost of FedEx, UPS, packaging, etc... well, I'd rather have the cash to buy something at a bakery! OTOH, I've had good luck with frozen items and can freeze them a week or two and they're very palatable. But that would require some dry ice to ship it. There again, there's a cost issue. But admittedly, I'm cheap. The other possibility is freeze the unbaked rolls then bake them up fresh. I'm sure there would be some loss in the process but as the old commercial went, hot from the oven beats cold from the box any day.

Hope things worked out well and hope they enjoyed the treats.

UPDATE: I mailed the rolls as soon as they were cool from the oven and packed, at 3p.m. on Tuesday and tracking showed they were delivered to GS's front porch at 11:30 Thursday morning! My son said he didn't see how they could have been any fresher and GS was quite pleased, so it was a worthwhile experiment. Thanks for all your suggestions and help in getting them there!