1) how do you put the stick in the cookie?
2) what buttercream recipe do you use to decorate your cookies?

I am planning on making some goodies for DH to take to work on Valentine's (to get orders, hopefully ). I want to make a cookie bouquet for the first time. Any tips or ideas?

TIA

Wow, that sounds familiar! I just gave some to my SIL for the same reason.Anyway I believe you put the sticks in before you bake them.Then I used the rolled buttercream recipe and used my cookie cutter to cut out and place the icing right on the cookie!So easy!Then I added a few little touches with the royal icing recipe on this site.They look great and they are really simple!

Brendansmum, you talked about a rolled buttercreme frosting....I have never heard of it. Would you post the recipe, please?

Here is the recipe for the rolled buttercream, I got it from one of the girls at the Wilton website:

1c Karo{light corn syrup}
1c Shortening{regular crisco}
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp extract of choice{almond, orange, etc.}
1 tsp clear vanilla extract
2 lbs powdered sugar

Cream together the shortening and Karo.Add salt and flavorings and mix well.Switch to dough hook on heavy duty mixer and add pwd. sugar one cup at a time until combined.Then turn out dough and knead until no longer sticky.Using more sugar if needed.You can store this at room temp. or in the fridge.
I'm not sure the shelf life, it wasn't listed with the recipe.I'm sure you could mix this by hand, it might be a little grueling but it could be done.The recipe suggests a heavy duty mixer like a Kitchen Aid or a Viking.I made this for the first time the other day and it turned out great.I stored it in the fridge for a day or so and then rolled it out for my cookies and they turned out beautiful.I used a little royal icing smeared on the cookie to hold the rolled buttercream cut out.I think they are so much easier to make than just the plain royal icing.Also they can be tinted the same way you would tint fondant.Just knead it into the dough.I've found that I can get the color into the dough without getting my hands messy if I work it with a piece of plastic wrap first.Just keep lifting the wrap to knead.No messy hands!Hope this recipe works for you.I think it tastes better than the MMF too!Some think it's too sweet though.Enjoy!

I always put the sticks in as soon as they come out of the oven. You have to be careful if the edges are brown, as they tend to become hard very quickly. I have tried putting them in before they are baked but my dough is pretty solid (so they keep their shape) and they always tear. I know lots on this site have success that way though. Maybe make a few and see what works best for you. Also, if you use paper sticks and you dough has lots of butter in it, be careful, as after a few days it may seep into the paper stick and they then bend especially if you have a large heavy cookie. Oh and I have heard that a large cookie bouquet company drills holes in them when they are cold! Make sure it's a new drill bit though!

i am wanting to decorate my cookies with a regular buttercream. Do I use a recipe that crusts or not? I really appreciate any tips.

Cat121481 : I just did some valentines cookies with crusting buttercream & used a viva paper towel to smooth them. It actually worked out well.

They are in my pictures if you want to take a look.

I tried to make cookie bouquet cookies decorated with royal icing. I'll have to try the buttercream recipe next time. Mine were too hard!

I made some cookie bouquets they're in my photos........I used royal icing though. I did however put the lollipop sticks in when the dough was raw, then I put the cookie sheet full of cookies in the freezer for about 10 min. before baking (I find that it helps the cookies keep their shape better) and then baked them as usual 12-15 min. for the larger cookies and my sticks didn't even discolor at all it worked fine, no issues at all, and because the cookies baked with the sticks the sticks were really stuck in there good when the cookies cooled and hardened.