I love the way cookies look with "dragees" placed on them. The problem I have is locating them in Illinois. None of the bakeries here use them and there never on the shelves at the grocers. I see there a law against using these in California, and some companies won't ship them there. I want to order them over the internet, but I don't know what size to use for cookies. 4,5,6 0r 8MM . Thanks for any help.
Carleen

I know I've seen them on cake decorating sites, do a google search maybe. I used silver until someone here on CC pointed out they are not really edible. I looked at what I had and they said safe but not recommended for eating, so I just threw out the silver ones, and I use white and pink now, what I have is completely safe to eat.

What size to use depends on the size of your cookie and the look you're going for. I use a lot of 3-4&6. Bought some little pink ones for Easter cookies.

There was a major lawsuit filed by some guy against stores that carried dragees in California. He started suing any store outside of CA that shipped them there. I think Martha Stewart was on his list at one time because she uses them, too. Because of all that nonsense, retailers will not ship to CA. Such a waste of time.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/12/23/MNGS03SUEM1.DTL

You can find all sorts of colors and sizes here:
http://fancyflours.com/site/dragees.html


Shiney, what's the deal with the silver ones?

Honey, here's a link, I think that's what I read after someone on CC told me the silver ones were not for consumption, after I made a comment about not putting BBs on cookies. So, when I saw the bottle of silver I was using had something like the link said, I stopped using them, and just use my pink and white.
http://www.thebakerskitchen.net/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=70&gclid=CIHrnsbR_ZcCFRNOagod7nd_Cw

This link has a huge assortment of beautiful sugar pearls, no silver or gold, but shimmery colors as well as other colors. http://www.countrykitchensa.com/catalog/SearchResults.aspx

This link has a huge assortment of beautiful sugar pearls, no silver or gold, but shimmery colors as well as other colors. http://www.countrykitchensa.com/catalog/SearchResults.aspx

If you're looking for something local, I can find them at any of our Amish stores around here. When they didn't have silver, which is what I specifically loked for, I ordered from Fancy Flours and Kitchen Krafts.

Where in Illinois do you live? There is a shop in Rockford, Il that sells them.

I buy them at the local Co-op supermarket. What's the deal with them? Do they kill you?

They're not actually food.

Remember that kid in your kid's daycare who always, but always, ate the paste they were supposed to use to stick macaroni on something for crafts? Little Jennifer the paste-eater grew up to eat dragees.

I have heard somewhere, if it's real gold it's fine, but fake gold or silver isn't. Anyone else hear that?

Oh good grief! That's such a load of codswallop - we've been using them in Europe for generations and they haven't killed anyone yet! Then again we don't sue people for nonsense (or much at all actually!), either!

Bonjovibabe, I got some beautiful pink shiney ones in Morrisons in UK and there's no disclaimer on them. So I use them a lot. Hope I don't run out before my next trip there!

Yes, I grew up in the UK and 'silver balls' were something of a delicacy among my group of kids. Must be a European thing.

i have to hide the my silver balls from my bf - he eats them all if he gets a chance! mmm so tasty when they go soft on icing!
xx

Wow, now with everyone saying they use them, I'm sorry I threw them out. It was after I made some smart a$$ comment on here about someone eating one of my cookies and asked if they were edible, I said, yeah, like I would put BBs on your cookie. And I got a response back that they were, in fact, not edible. Then looked at that website I put up in this thread, and I threw them out. I really loved to decorate with them!

my first homemade birthday cake (and actually the only one I remember) was a pink frosted (store bought, yum lol) in a lasagna pan and then my mom took her hand and outlined it in pink frosting and filled the entire inside of the outline with silver dragees making..........yes you guessed it, a Michael Jackson glove (hey, I didn't know what he was all about back then lol) and she must have used 2 whole bottles of those things, I mean it was just PILED up on there and I ate EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!!! My brother's weren't allowed ANY portion of the "glove"..I ate them over the course of a couple days and nothing EVER happened to me......well nothing the doctors can put their finger on anyhow lol. I use them and my customers love them, they add so much to a cake.....besides, you're lucky if any one customer gets more than 2 of the things on their slice of cake anyhow!

My question is can you take regular white dragees and paint them silver with luster or will they dissolve?

My cousin told me that they can't get them in Cal., so I'm taking some to her when I go visit her in Los Angeles this summer. Such a shame that a some people (lawsuits) ruin it for others.

Very good question, Hipnot! I may have to try that....which begets the questions, if luster dust is edible, why not silver dragees

That settles it! I'm going to order all the colors I want over the net. But before I do I need to know what size for a 5 inch cookie. Thanks for all the replies.
Carleen

When I was kid I used to pour my mouth full of them. I loved the way they felt rolling around. All the silver would come off and then I would crunch them. i don't have any problems and I haven't started glowing. I think you would have to eat 40 bazillion to have any effect!

Jibbies

Yes you can paint them. I needed gold & only had pearls & silver.
I have no problem getting them here in CA. They don't sell them in grocery stores still, but both my cakes shops have quite a selection!

Have to say I was completely shocked when I was placing an online order and first read that they were "not for human consumption." Thought they had to be kidding- I've eaten probably a million of these in my lifetime and never had a single issue! In fact, my sisters and I used to fight over who got the cookies with them on it!

I understand that they are considered FOOD SAFE in the UK. However, the US FDA does not consider them food safe and has not approved as FOOD. Thus, the little "decorations only" clause on the jar.

As far as painting them, remember that your gold and silver dust is also, not food safe. (Sugarpaste.com has some that are, but are not that high gloss metallic look)

I too love them and enjoyed eating them as a kid. I would not include them on anything I made for someone one else. I would be worried about the liability. (It is the US peoeple will sue over anything.)