Some Ideas for Mother's Day 2020
Let’s talk Mother’s Day. For most of us, it’s going to look a lot different from years past. And while I don’t really care about the holiday per se (it’s actually always kind of seemed kind of fake and cheesy to me) I will miss getting to see ⅔ of my kids (the ⅓ daughter is at home, seemingly stuck with us forever, poor thing!) as well as the rest of my extended family, celebrating as we always have, with a brunch or barbecue and sometimes both!
This year it’ll have to be over Zoom or Facetime or maybe with a driveway chat, as we all stand 6 feet apart, but I still have a feeling that good food will play a major role, even if we can’t all consume it in the same space. So with that thought in mind, I put together a list of sweet treats, that practically any mom I know would love and a few thoughts for how to spoil the moms in your life, even with the social distancing.
While this new reality has brought about many, many negatives, there are some bright spots. In years past, I’ve emphatically told you not to attempt last minute foods on holidays, because they just don’t work well for large crowds. But this year, since we’re largely just cooking for our nearest and dearest shut-ins, they actually make sense! So bring on the pancakes, waffles and popovers, even if it’s just for yourself!
Another reason I’ve focused mainly on baked goodies here are because they are actually something you could stick in the mail and send to your mom or other loved ones (or hop into the car and deliver). You’ll see in the list below that I’ve noted the treats that I’ve already had good success with mailing as well as ones I think would travel well too.
**One note on shipping, it’s best to ship the day you bake, and you want whatever you made to be entirely cooled before you pack it, so plan accordingly!
So stock up on the butter, sugar and flour (but responsibly—no need to hoard) and let’s get into that baking-for-mom spirit!
BREAKFAST/BRUNCH
Who doesn’t like waking up to something special and decadent, made just for them?!! You could do a breakfast in bed or deliver a little treat to someone’s front door. Only your imagination’s the limit!
MUFFINS & SCONES
These are a natural and several of these would mail well. I probably wouldn’t mail scones though—they’re really best on the day you bake them.
Double Chocolate Cherry Muffins (I’ve actually shipped these before and they work well, wrap individually)
Morning Power Muffins (these would ship well too, again wrap individually)
PANCAKES, WAFFLES & OTHER BREAKFAST TREATS
These are all the last minute treats I wouldn’t normally make for a Mother’s Day brunch but which would work really well if you want to spoil your mom and she’s at home with you or lives nearby for a quickie drop off. Other than the granola, which ships fantastically well, I wouldn’t advise sending any of these.
Vanilla French Toast with Brown Sugar Cranberry Sauce
Lemon Ricotta Hotcakes with Fresh Blackberry Sauce
Whole Wheat Pancakes with Roasted Blueberry Sauce
Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes
Sheet Pan Dutch Baby with Lemon Sugar
Olive Oil Granola (this would ship well)
BREADS, BISCUITS & SPREADS
Bread (or biscuits) and jam are probably my most favorite breakfast—I’m sure you know a mom who would love a loaf of bread and/or a jar or two of jam!
Bittersweet Chocolate Bread (this would ship well)
No-Knead Everyday Brioche (I’ve shipped this and it works well)
English Muffin Bread (this would ship well too)
Dangerously Good Blueberry Bread
My Favorite Buttermilk Biscuits (you could prep these the night before and then just bake up in the morning)
Desserts
Small Cakes—
Huge frosted layer cakes don’t ship well nor are they particularly good to have around when you can’t share—too, too tempting, so here’s a list of cakes that are on the simple, smaller side, some of which you can definitely mail.
Cornmeal Buttermilk Loaf Cake (This ships really well. Wrap in plastic wrap and then foil)
Irish Tea Cake (this would ship well too)
Olive Oil Lemon Bundt Cake (Not tiny, but this cake would ship well—it has a pretty long shelf life and it’s so, so good)
Blueberry Cornmeal Muffin Cake
Triple Chocolate Snack Cake (I’ve never shipped this but I think it would ship well)
Fudgy Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Créme Fraiche Frosting (for the chocoholic mom)
Cookies
Chances are your mom has made you cookies at least once or twice in your life—what a delicious way to pay it back! Some of these cookies are more delicate or have a shorter shelf life so while they may be great gifts if hand delivered, I wouldn’t risk shipping them. The ones I indicated could definitely survive a trip through the mail.
Double Chocolate-Almond Biscotti (All of the biscotti would ship well)
Whole Wheat Graham Jumbles (I’ve shipped these many times and they travel really well)
British Wheatmeal Shortbread (these would ship well—all shortbread has a long shelf life)
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies (these would ship well)
Chewy Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies (I’ve mailed these too)
Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (these would ship well in a tin)
Chunky Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (these would ship well in a tin)
Vanilla-Bean Sugar Cookies (these would ship well)
Flat Chewy Heath Bar Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread (these would ship well too)
BARS
A lot of these recipes call for 9x13-inch pans which yield a large quantity. If you want to keep things on the small side, just cut the ingredients in half and bake in an 8x8 or 9x9-inch square baking dish.
Luscious Lemon Shortbread Bars
Annabel's Peanut Butter Blondies (these would mail well, individually wrapped)
Easy Toasted Coconut Key Lime Pie Bars
Supernatural Brownies (these would mail well, individually wrapped)
Midnight Milky Way Brownies (these would mail well, individually wrapped)
CANDY
Of course you could buy your mom a box of candy, but I’m betting you’d earn major points with one of these!
Easy Chocolate Raspberry Truffles
No-Bake Coconut Caramel Pecan Chews (these would ship well in an airtight tin)
And One More…
Individual Chocolate Souffles (the recipe makes about 10—if you prepare and chill these unbaked the day before, you could deliver to your mom and other loved ones complete with instructions on how to bake up whenever they like and even keep a couple for yourself!!)
Here’s to all the moms out there!!! Stay well and let someone spoil you for a change!! xoxo