Hi I have been making cakes for awhile now but have never made any special cookies (chocolate chip are my favorite) Anyway my little nephew is turning 2 next month and HATES any kind of cake so I was thinking of making cake for everyone else and making him a special cookie and making some for the quests for their loot bags. It is a farm yard theme so am thinking of farm animal cookies. I would really appricate any help with this from what recipe to use for the cookies to what kind of icing ect. Thanks for the help in advance.

Definitely check out www.sweetopia.net. She has amazing ideas, tutorials, and recipes.
For my sugar cookies, I use royal icing for the base and then draw on top with edible marker. I pipe around the perimeter of the cookie with royal meringue buttercream (I think that's what it's called... the recipe is on karenscookies.com.) It crusts, but the inside stays soft so it's easier to bite into. So it packages well.
I did some cookies recently for a birthday party... some were round with a stick figure super hero, and some were shaped like a superman shield with the "s" on it. Of course, I forgot to take a picture of them! The kids (and adults!) loved them. I ended up getting another cookie order for next month from the birthday boy's aunt!
Good luck with your cookies! I"m sure your nephew will love them!

Maria

Well, I always use the NFSC recipe from here - it's easy to work with, holds it's shape well, and everybody loves them. I always pop the tray of unbaked cookies into the freezer for a couple of minutes before I bake them to be really sure they hold their shape perfectly. The recipe also makes a lot of cookies.
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/2055/no-fail-sugar-cookies

I ice them with regular royal icing using Wilton meringue powder.

You could also do a cookie cake. I don't have a link to a specific recipe - but it's just like a giant chocolate chip cookie and you could have that be the main cookie for the party if you wanted instead of a cake.

Elisa Strauss' book Confetti Cakes for kids has some great how-tos for animals...sheep, ducks, pigs, etc. I love that book for kid themed cakes, cookies, and cupcakes and it explains them in great detail. I checked it out from my library and liked it so much I bought it!

I always use this recipe for glace from Carmie00
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/15672/glaze-icing-sugar-cookie-icing

I use the same icing for outlining and flooding. I just put some extra powdered sugar in there to thicken it up. It is a heck of a lot easier and tastier(in my opinion) than the RI alone. I put some flavor emulsions in there as well to make it taste pretty good.

Good luck!

You could also do a cake and decorate with cookie animals - incorporating the two into one. Make a farm yard out of cake, put a white fence around it made out of cookies or fondant and place the cookie animals and a barn inside.

I made farm animal cookies for my nephew's 2nd birthday. I put them on sticks and then put them in cupcakes... that's an idea you might like. I can't seem to get a picture to post in a thread right now, but there are pictures in my photos of them.

I like to make chocolate roll-out cookies and decorate with glace`.

Hi There...

I'm newer to cut out cookies as well. I've been working on it for about a year or so now. It seems that typically, people like the no fail sugar cookie recipe on CC. This cookie does not do a lot of spreading, so when you cut your shape....it stays true. The freezer trick helps too.

I use a sugar cookie recipe that spreads like nobodys business. So, I do the double cut. Cut, freezer for a few, bake. And, cut again right when they come out of the oven.

Since I have no patience, I have a hard time icing the cookie with royal icing. It takes some practice to get the border outline steady. It also takes some patience to thin the royal properly to fill the cookies after you've made your outline. It's NOT hard....just takes some patience.

Since I stink in the patience department....I like to use the 50/50 mix of marshmellow fondant and rolled buttercream. You can cut it with the same cookie cutter & place right on top of a warm cookie. The heat will help it stick. Then, add your details in royal. Less dry time too.

Yes...I'm an avoider. I don't have the patience to do royal icing perfectly, so I prefer the rolled icing. Just my four cents!!