ive never professionally made cookies before, but my neighbor is having a Fall themed party, and she wants leaf cookies, i have cookie cutters, but i have no idea how to make these cookies. whats the best sugar cookie recipe for a soft cake like cookie? im afraid this is going to be a disaster, everytime i make cookies, they are always hard, and almost burnt on the bottom, and i always take them out a few minutes ahead of time to finish baking on the sheet!!!!! help me please!!! is there a secret???? also i need a recipe for icing, is it just like buttercream?? haha im in need of some seriouse help!!!! ahhh!!! 
Here are the tricks-
Use the No fail sugar cookie recipe (NFSC) and Antonia74's royal icing. This icing does not set as hard as regular-break-your-teeth-icing.
Roll your cookies 1/4-1/2 inch thick depending on what you prefer. The cookies roll and bake the best if they have sat in the fridge for a few hours or in the freezer for about 1 hour.
Bake until they are just starting to turn golden brown at the edges. About 14 minutes for a small 1/2 cookie. Let them cool for about a half hour before you ice them.
You can use vanilla, but I prefer almond extract in my cookies.
I have leaf cookies in my album if you need a pic.
HTH, PM me if you have any specific questions!
GOOD LUCK
step-by-step "how-to" article with photos.....
http://www.cakecentral.com/article54-How-To-Bake--Decorate-Cookies.html
Is this thread out of order?
I'm pretty new to cookies too and have a couple of questions.
Megamere, do you like the NFSC recipe better than Penny's cookies? That's the only recipe I've used and thought it was pretty good, but then again I'm not that experienced. I'm really glad you explained about Antonia's recipe being a soft icing. That's exactly what I'm looking for. I've heard other people talk about it on other threads but didn't explain the texture.
Can the NFSC recipe be used to do cookie bouquets? The ones you put a stick on?
My sister is thinking about doing cookies for party favors at her wedding and I told her, "Oh, don't order any cookies. I can totally do them." What was I thinking?!?! 
I'm going to bake some this weekend to see if I'm up to the job. Besides, with the cold weather coming in (i live in tx), it's perfect weather to bake cookies.
Thanks Ya'll for any help you can give.
I had never tried the royal icing cookies until I read and followed Antonia's how to article. They turned out great and I am now in LOVE with making them. They aren't hard, but they are time consuming. I have my own cookie recipe that I use, sorry don't want to share it, but so many people have talked about how great the no fails are that I would recommend those. It's fun and you can do it!!
Toba's Glace is good also. I've never used royal icing, so I can't compare, but the glace is nice because it doesn't set up rock hard, but does set up
how thick do you roll your dough for cookie bouquets? and do you ccok them a bit longer so they are firmer?
Thanks for all the great info. I can't wait to try them.
penguin- I always make my cookies a half inch thick. I do bake them longer when I know they will be on sticks. If they are too soft, the stick will pull through the cookie and pop out in the back. Make sense?
Yes it does-- thank you! I made my first cookie bouquet earlier this month. I used a very yummy cream cheese cookie recipe. My hubby said that they may have boon too soft (but they tasted soo darn good!) anyway, after readying what you wrote-- i deffinately made them too thin! How deep do you insert the stick-- i put the stick on the back thinking that the cookie would surround the stick. I also added a bit of dough behind the stick thinking it would meld into the cookie-- it didn't. 
I just finished the NFSC recipe and Toba's Glace (or glaze). They turned out really yummy but not so pretty. Now I'm going to do Penny's recipe with Antonia's icing.
How do you get the leaf cookies to look "real"? Ya'll's cookies are so pretty. I had a friend's 4 year old helping me but I kept her away from a few cookies and they still don't look nearly as good as the one's I've seen here.
Here's a pic of my "best" ones:
Oh. I forgot. The two bottom ones are fondant covered and painted with the icing.
cwcopeland- They look great!
penguinprincess- I put my sticks in after my cookies are through baking. I can bake more at a time this way. I let them cool for about one minute, then slide the stick in- about half way through the cookie. Sometimes this will cause a bump through the cookie from the stick, so I just pat the cookie down flat with a spatula. This way I have a nice flat surface to work with.
cwcopeland- They look great!
penguinprincess- I put my sticks in after my cookies are through baking. I can bake more at a time this way. I let them cool for about one minute, then slide the stick in- about half way through the cookie. Sometimes this will cause a bump through the cookie from the stick, so I just pat the cookie down flat with a spatula. This way I have a nice flat surface to work with.
Thank you so much for your help! I may try to make one for halloween! Wish me luck!
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