Ok, so I took y'alls advice and tried piping through the bottles for my latest batch of decorated cookies - LOVED IT!! SOOOOOOO much easier than using piping bags! No mess dripping from both ends! Next time I will make my icing a little thinner because I will say that my hands felt arthritic after squeezing the bottles so hard and for so long, but other than that, great idea!! I was also wondering how y'all clean the bottles when done? Right now mine are in the fridge to preserve my icing for a few days incase I make more cookies, but I'm just wondering the easiest way to get the icing out and the bottles clean enough to re-use? Do you soak them or do the dishwasher, or what?? Thanks in advance!
I only use my bottles for Antonia74's royal icing, so they're easy to clean because there's no grease in them, just sugar! I fill them with hot water, let them sit for the sugar to dissolve, then rinse them out. When all the visible icing is gone, I fill them with soapy water, let them sit for a few minutes, then shake them and rinse.
If I were using icing with grease in it, I'd probably do it about the same way, but I'd be concerned that they weren't really clean inside, I think.
hth!
Laura.
ok, the icing I used is just powedered sugar and milk or water, so clean up should be about the same, huh? Thanks for your responses!
First, I need to warn you....
I've had my bottles in the fridge for maybe a week (to test)...and it's amazing! The icing almost looks like is separating, the water and sugar. I've stored for 2 days in the fridge, used and it was fine. Make sure you give the bottles a good shake, or you will be putting either straight frosting or straight water on your cookies.
Another tip with bottles....ALWAYS squeeze a little icing out on a paper towel before starting on the cookies. No matter how dry you think the tip is, it's not. It seems like it take days to dry. I almost water logged a cookie, but it was a easy fix. My heart just skips a beat, so to prevent this, I pipe out a little on a towel.
I clean mine in hot water like everyone else. Works great!
Good luck,
Steph
Connie,
Of course we don't mind! 
The ones I use are the squeez-it bottles, I think they're originally intended for filling chocolate molds but they work great for icing cookies! They have an adapter on the top like the couplers that accept icing tips, so you can easily switch sizes of tips depending on what you're doing. They're available in 2 oz and 8 oz sizes.
Here's a link to a picture of them - if you do a search for "bottles" on the cookie forum here, there have been several posts recently about them.
http://www.cincicakeandcandy.com/product.php?pID=4607
hth!
Laura.
manatee - thanks for the tip. when refridgerating icing, how do you get it back to the right consistency/temp for icing? I mean do you run the bottle w/ icing under hot water, or just remove from frig and let set out until room temp?
the bottles I used are the wilton ones I bought some 16 oz ones from michael's and smaller 8 oz from wal-mart.
Let the bottles sit at room temp for a while (maybe an hour or 2) and they should be fine. Be ready with a straight pin to poke the tip. And SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE. Hopefully the red little cover is on the tip. If it's not covered they might be too dried out.
I have the same bottles from Wilton, I love them. I use the Wilton ones for the dam and the flood icing. I use my smaller ones (I got from a local craft store-Beverly's) to decorate. A little icing goes a long way.
I've never put the bottles under warm water, but I don't think you should try it (or maybe as a test only). The heat might change the consistency or maybe shock the icing. I don't know, but I wouldn't try it if you need that icing on cookies.
If you have any other questions about cookies you can email me anytime.
Good Luck,
Steph
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