I'm in the ACS Relay for Life in June, and am making cookies to sell at the event. I'm planning on making about 300-400 cookies. Would you decorate ahead of time, and then sell $1.50 - $2.00, or would you bring different colors of frosting, let people frost their own, and probably get more sales, selling for $1.00 each? I'm thinking of the different frostings, just because that way people can choose their own ribbon color? If I do the "color your own" option, I will have disposable knives, and we do have a way to keep the frostings covered and chilled.

I'm not seeing this as a $$ making offer at all - i'm calculating my costs for ingredients, and taking that back from the sales. But all proceeds are being donated.

TIA

If it were me I would make,bake and ice several color ribbons to signify the different types of cancer and then package them and sell them like that.People can then choose their color.It becomes too messy at a large fundraiser to have people ice their own etc..I myself don't like getting my hands sticky and then have to carry it around and take it home.There is too many people and hands getting into things and you just can't watch everyone.JMO

I agree with KK! Esp. if there's kids involved! Coz they LOVE to lick their knives and then get more frosting! *ack* Past expierence with a large crowd and kids! Id do exactly what KiddieKakes said ... Good Luck with your project!

I have to agree. Even though it seems more work for you to ice them yourself, it will be more work in the long run if you take the icing and let them do it themselves.

Sounds like a great cause tho.

If you did ice them in a variety of colors, you could always 'personalize' them there by putting names on them or "In remembrance of..." for an extra charge. Then you are the only one touching the icing and supplies, but will make it just extra special for those purchasing.
Last year I was on a Relay for Life team and we sold frosted ribbon cookies and they were gone in the first 2 hours. I think we did 300 or so. It was a good fund raiser. A lot of work up front, but really helped our bottom line.

I bet it was good advertisement for your company as well.

I like the idea of personalizing them there. You could use the food coloring markers.

Now that I think about it, you're all right. I will ice ahead of time. Any clue on how early I can start making and decorating the cookies? And I can't freeze (much) at all. My freezer won't fit a pizza, it's so small.

Not sure freezing would be a good idea at all because of the sweat when it thaws might make the cookie soggy or make the icing runny. I'm pretty sure that iced cookies can stay fresh for a good while in an air tight container on the kitchen counter. So, you could make them at least a week in advance, I'd say. Though, I have seen people tell others on here that even a month in advance is fine.

Freezing decorated cookies will work just fine. Use and airtight container and separate the cookies with wax paper. Thaw with the lid on. If you're using Toba's icing, be sure to use white gel to avoid spotting.

You can also freeze the cookies, rolled and cut. Airtight container/ wax paper. Put right onto the cookie sheet and bake when needed. It might add a minute or so to your baking time.