I need to make very large sugar cookies for a cookie bouquet - my first. What is the very best recipe to make these large cookies. I hope all of you with all that wonderful experience will help. Also, is it better to put the stick in before or after baking and what is the best way to keep it there.
Thanks. Joanne

How large are your cookies? I've used the NFSC (no fail sugar cookie) recipe on this site for cookies up to 6".

I put the stick in before baking. I've read where others do it after baking, but I've never been successful at that.

Thank you. I will try that one. How thick do you make your 6" cookies? Do you need to bake them at a lower temperature to be sure they cook completely through or just longer at 350 degrees?
Joanne

Well, I felt compelled to answer you since you are Joanne1944, and I'm
Joanne914 How uncanny is that! I agree with showshoe1...use the NFSC recipe, it will work great for large or small cookies. I have made cookies
as big as 7 inches across, and it works fine. My advice would be for a large cookie, over 5 inches, you might want to use 2 sticks in each cookie for support, instead of just one. I did a bouquet over the weekend, and one of my cookies was 6 1/2 inches across, I used two sticks and it worked out great. I usually put my in before baking, and I roll out my cookies 3/8 of an inch thick. I always check the back of the cookie after inserting it into the dough, and if I can see any of the stick peeking through, I roll out a "worm"
of dough (like when you were a kid playing with playdough) and lay it over the stick peeking through and smoosh it down a bit. Then I flip it back over onto the tray. The extra "worm" of dough will bake right into your cookie, and give it extra support so the stick does not come out. If for some reason the stick is loose after your cookies cool, just carefully take out the stick,
insert the tip of your royal icing into the hole, and give a small squirt of royal, then carefully replace the stick and let dry. Your stick will not move after that! Don't forget to bake your larger cookies for a little longer, but I would bake at 350 for 8 minutes then start checking for "doneness" (is that a word?lol) after that since everyone's oven is different. Feel free to contact me if you need more help. We all look forward to seeing your bouquet when it's finished! Best of Luck Joanne!

Joanne