So, until recently I was a 'go-to-the-store-and-buy-the-already-made-and-cut-out-sugar-cookies' kind of mom. I know, that's terrible. Don't get me wrong, my child has had his fair share of homemade chocolate chip cookies in his 9 years, but I just hated making sugar cookies. Well, I have been reading some really interesting 'tips' on this website and today I decided to put them to the test. I am AMAZED!!! I just pulled out my last batch of perfectly shaped and perfectly baked cookies.
I followed the advise to roll the dough, right after mixing, between two pieces of parchment paper..........PERFECT! I can't wait to share this with others I know.
I also made the no fail dough. I must say, when I still made sugar cookies, I thought Betty Crocker ruled it all. So first I baked a batch of hers, then the no fail. Not even close!!! Betty's cookies plumped up, I can't even tell what shape each cookie is. NFSC-they didn't spread at all! I can't wait to make more!!
If any of you have any other tips that might come in handy....I would love to hear them!! Thanks!
Congratulations!! 
I know how exciting it is! I took a cookie bouquet class at Michael's and it was the first time I'd ever baked and decorated cookies -- I was hooked!
Here's a decorating tip for you. I keep a 3-ring binder with divided sections for sports, holidays, birthday, baby, wedding etc. I "scrapbook" my cookie pictures and print-outs of cookies I find on the web ( I like to keep those on seperate pages.) I have at the back of each of these sections ideas pages. I print clipart and scan stickers. Also look for coloring pages. At Christmas time, I cut out the cookie pics from magazines and paste those in. Don't forget coupon inserts from the newspaper -- sugar, butter and spice companies have lots of ideas and recipes. I love flipping through my book for ideas and then I try to make each cookie "my own."
I keep a seperate binder for recipe pages. I print them out and put them inside those plastic protective covers. I can pull out the sheet for the cookies I'm making and I don't have to worry about messing it up -- it just wipes clean! In my grandmother's handwritten recipe book, she used an evergreen crayon and wrote an "X" in the top corner to note a Christmas favorite and cookie tray must-have. I love doing this!
Here are a coupla pages with lots of info.
http://www.cakecentral.com/article54-How-To-Bake--Decorate-Cookies.html
http://www.karenscookies.net/shop/cookie-decorating-tutorials/info_7.html
Don't miss the CC Cookie Club!:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-497003.html
There are plastic squeeze bottles with top openings that fit decorating tips and rings just like an icing bag. Wilton makes them, but I bought a few no-name cheepies in the candy section of my cake decorating store. Somebody here at CC found them really cheap at Michaels ~ like 30 for $12.
They are PERFECT for icing cookies and they come with a little cap so you can just put them away as-is until you decorate again ~ no more dinking around changing/cleaning icing bags! Antonia says her icing can "sit out on the counter for months".
JanetPlanet...that is such a great idea with the little bottles. I just went and bought some to use to decorate my cookies today. 
Can't wait to try it!
Of the topic....are you a Janet Planet fan?? My dad used to know her, well, I suppose he still knows her, but they are not in contact anymore. I love her.
What I learned about cookies today is that if you make some for work and you tell family memebers that they are for work, you must also specfically state that they are not to eat them too - apparently that is not implied in the first statement!!!
When I made the cookies on Wednesday night, there were 3 dozen...when I took the container out of the fridge this morning - there were 16!!!!!!
Yeah, I was thrilled when I learned about those bottles too! They are SO much easier to handle and you can use the little ones for the colors you don't use so much. Go see some cool cookies posted yesterday by beestreats ~ she used the bottles for them.
Little Janet Planet was the innocent girl corrupted in the Rocky Horror Picture Show ~ so my friends did a Rocky Horror birthday party for me and hung me with the name about 10 years ago lolol! Now they just call me Planet )
Yeah, I was thrilled when I learned about those bottles too! They are SO much easier to handle and you can use the little ones for the colors you don't use so much. Go see some cool cookies posted yesterday by beestreats ~ she used the bottles for them.
Little Janet Planet was the innocent girl corrupted in the Rocky Horror Picture Show ~ so my friends did a Rocky Horror birthday party for me and hung me with the name about 10 years ago lolol! Now they just call me Planet )
Oh duh!! I forgot about her! lol! Well, if you didn't know, the Janet Planet that I was referring to is a singer.
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