I use buttercream. It does remain soft but if you use a crusting buttercream it will "set". I also wrap mine. you just have to make sure you let them dry. THey will mess up easier than the others but this is what my customers prefer (for now, until I can convert them lol) I have posted some pictures of a few cookies that I have done.
I use buttercream. It does remain soft but if you use a crusting buttercream it will "set". I also wrap mine. you just have to make sure you let them dry. THey will mess up easier than the others but this is what my customers prefer (for now, until I can convert them lol) I have posted some pictures of a few cookies that I have done.
Your cookies (and cakes) look great! So all of yours is just regular crusting buttercream..I am not looking to do any fancy bouquets or anything I just love to make...and give them away!
If you like the buttercream taste, you would probably like Alice's cookie icing recipe. It dries hard enough to stack, but stays soft when you bite into it. I've used it for my flower cookies in my photos. It's delicious.
Here's the recipe:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-1961-Alices-Cookie-Icing.html
And if you want to see my cookies, they are here:
http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=679223
Personally, I don't like royal icing on cookies. I'd like to try some fondant covered ones, though. Just cut the fondant (or rolled buttercream) with the same cookie cutter and place on the baked cookie while still a little warm.
Then you can add any additional accents with piped icing.
sisita, you can use most any sugar cookie recipe to bake and decorate. Lot's of CC'ers use the No Fail Sugar Cookie recipe found here:
http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-2055-5-No-Fail-Sugar-Cookies.html
I don't know nothing about cookies, but I see in the morning in the galleries a beautiful cookies, and now I want to do some recipes,.... Someone there can tell me what kind the cookies I can bake and decorate???
Penny's cookies are wonderful. I got her recipe from a cookie demonstration I went to at a bakery in Richardson. It's in the recipe section of this website.
Good Luck!
I second Alices recipe. It's tasty and dries enough to stack. I also use Toba G.'s glace icing and love it too.
That's what I used on the scooby and spongebob cookies in my photos.
CharlieinMO wrote: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I use buttercream. It does remain soft but if you use a crusting buttercream it will "set". I also wrap mine. you just have to make sure you let them dry. THey will mess up easier than the others but this is what my customers prefer (for now, until I can convert them lol) I have posted some pictures of a few cookies that I have done.
I was just looking at your cookies and I'm amazed that you were able to do them with a regular crusting buttercream. How did you get them to look so smooth using bc? Also, how long do you let them dry before packaging? TIA. Jodie
Thanks Jodie! I use a viva paper towel. I just ice them like a cake basically, let set for a minute or two and then use a viva paper towel. Then I decorate and usually since I am doing them late at night after kids are in bed I just let them sit over night and bag up in the morning. Hope that helps. If you have any other questions just let me know. 
The recipe I use is very similar to the Cookies by Design recipe. It's basically a shortening-based butterceam with meringue powder added to give it extra stability. You can see my recipe here:
http://www.karenscookies.net/shop/recipes/info_11.html#recipe09
And you can see examples of cookies done with the icing here:
http://www.karenscookies.net/gallery/index.php?cat=12
This recipe is pretty much all I use, and the frosting dries well enough to stack, package, shrink wrap, etc.
I use Rolled Buttercream and royal icing for any details.
Also, when I do use butercream on my cookies I will add some meringue powder to stiffen up the icing.
I use royal icing if I'm going to package the cookies, but for my flowerpot arrangements I use buttercream because customers like the taste so much. In my pics I have two cookie flower arrangements. One is tulips and the other is large flowers. For the tulips, I used a large pastry brush and thinned my buttercream and used the brush to "paint" the cookies then I sprinkled them with sugar crystals. For the larger cookies I just iced them like I would a cake.
Oh, I also dye my cookie dough when I make these arrangements so that they are colored all the way thru and the back looks pretty also.
Karen,
Have you ever tried using butter instead of the shortening?
I've taken a buttercream recipe that I love and added meraigne powder to it. I then piped it just as I would flood if I was using royal icing. They didn't turn out too bad. They dried ok to package but you needed to be a little careful. I'm just wondering if you've ever tried it with your recipe and what the results were.
Thanks!
Karen,
Have you ever tried using butter instead of the shortening?
You know, I never have, but I keep meaning to.... Old habits die hard I guess! 
BUT.... someone wrote to me once that they had tried it and it worked really well, so it might be worth a shot. I really am going to try it one of these days (if I can get out of automatic pilot mode long enough to try something different!)
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