I'm a CAKE decorator. I have done the occasional cookie order in the past, for small amounts of cookies. Well this past weekend I had agreed to do 75 daisy cookies to accompany a sweet 16 cake.......

These were simple, nothing fancy at all, outlined in white with white centers, flooded with yellow and a big 16 in black on top. I've tried to figure it out and I think all in all, mixing, baking, decorating, and putting in bags tied up with simple little bows, they took me 8 HOURS TO DO..... They ruined my whole weekend. Set me back hours, and I only charged $1 a cookie..... I know, I know, I'VE READ the threads and should have done $3, but it just seemed steep to me....well NOT ANYMORE.

So to those of you who does these amazing cookies so well, you have earned an entirely whole new respect from this little lady. I bow out to you humbly and respectfully. YOU GUYS ROCK.

I wish I had a pic to show my humble little cookies, but I was so over them that I even forgot to snap a pic of them before shipping them off.

It seems to go quicker over time, but cookies are definitely labor intensive. I had someone want to buy my 3D cookies once, and she seemed surprised that I couldn't turn out a couple dozen with just two days notice. (Umm, the icing needs to set for a good 12 hours alone!) I hope you don't give up on cookies...they're such little works of art...especially by some of the decorators on this site.

Wow geminiRJ, your cookies are great. I love your 3d ones.

Thank you! I became obsessed with cookies because of this website, and my very first post had to do with how to decorate 3D cookies. I finally gave up and worked on my own designs! Now due to the encouragement of other CC decorator's, I'm getting ready to launch my own business selling cookie cutter kits for the 3D cookies. Funny where life leads.

i wish some of the people who think our cookies should be $1.00 each could hear you. Oh well, good thing there's still a lot of people who know how much they're really worth. thanks!!

let me say i wouldnt make cookies for 1.00 it takes a long time to bake and decorate i give to my sisters school 2.50 but everyone else 3.00, its hard work.but you learn from your mistakes..

I feel your pain. I am not good with royal icing. I prefere fondant covered cookies. I even like the taste better. Don't give up. Try the fondant on the cookie and see how you like it. I too was aboout to give up until I realize I could use the fondant on the cookie.

I agree- cookies seem to take me a long time- but at least it's cut up into segments!! I love doing both, but I love the individuality of cookies, too... and they're less stressful to me- if you mess one up- just chuck it in the trash!

I agree with Sarah-If I make a mistake decorating a cookie, oh well. But a cake-I think you have to be not only an artist, but a structural engineer as well!

Chuck it in the trash!!! How about chuck into your mouth! They are too yummy to just toss! I personally like it when I mess one up right off the cookie sheet...no icing...just broken and warm!

My husband says that he and the kids are like the cobbler's family...everyone else has shoes but the children of the town cobbler...he says everyone else gets cookies but he and the kids. Don't let him fool you...none of them are hurting in that area!

lol, you guys are very funny. I agree with everything that was just posted. It can be a love hate relationship those cookies and I.

I have been practicing cookies lately, and is $3.00 a starting price. I have been trying to find costs of cookies on the websites locally and on CC. I just can't seem to find a good pricing guide. I agree though it is a lot of work, but I think they are a fun alternative to the cakes.
Lorene

... I should have added my ordeal with making 200 cookies for a fundraiser for our highschool. A friend asked me if I would be willing to do them for Valentines Day. Their budget could only afford 1.00 per cookie. She asked if I thought they could have fondant and then writing on top. It took my sister and I at least 12 hours. (One person would have been 24 hours). I guess I should wear a sign around my neck. "Will work for free". Oh, forgot to mention I told her they would have to be individually wrapped, and I was volunteering not to do that for that price. She ended up doing that herself. I believe it took her some time. I know it was for a fund raiser for the school, but hey, I don't think I could do that again. That seems to be the only requests I get, family, friends. I guess I've learned a lot in all that I do but some day it would be nice to make some profit.

I, too, have complete respect for those of you who use all RI! I use RB with RI decorations and that's fun for me but to flood them all!!!! I don't think I'd have the patience! I greatly admire those of you who spend hours flooding cookies. You have a patience that I can only imagine.

OMG....cookie are amazing to make but do so take a little time when you are not used to doing them. I too CHEAT and use Fondant..I actually like the taste of it...like little mini frosted cakes Anyways, people like gemini and paulkjan make it look so darned beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!

Perhaps next time I will try the fondant ones. Do you place the fondant on when they're warm or cooled? This is of course if there is a next time....

Everyone does it differently. I put mine on when they've cooled, dotting each cookie with corn syrup and laying the mmf that I have cut out with the same cutter on top. However, some cut the mmf while the cookie is in the oven and then place it on when they come out.
HTH

Everyone does it differently. I put mine on when they've cooled, dotting each cookie with corn syrup and laying the mmf that I have cut out with the same cutter on top. However, some cut the mmf while the cookie is in the oven and then place it on when they come out.
HTH

Just plop it on when they are warm and then you don't have an extra step. It melts right onto the cookie and won't come off.

I love cookies.. in small doses. I don't think I could do them full time. Too much space needed and the mess.. LOL. I'd ratehr do a 5 tiered wedding cake with stringwork.

I love doing cookies too..I'm just getting stuck a rut right now...doing the same type over and over..my last three orders have all been trains and the 3 before taht were all baby....something else please !! lol....I only charge $1.25 per cookie also as it only costs me $9 to make 4 dozen with supplies..like others i had no idea where to price them either...if it aint broke...lol

Oh sweetie.. but it IS broke.. you know how much work they are.. you know how many HOURS they take. It might only cost you $9 in supplies but people are paying you for WAY more than your supplies. They are paying you for your TIME and know-how and artistic ability. It's worth WAY more that $1.25 per cookie. I wouldn't touch cookies for less than $1 per inch.

I like the $1 per inch, is that at the biggest side??
Lorene

jkalman...thanks for your compliment....I tried sellling them at $24 and didnt get an order for 8 months! So I tried to figure out how much I could get them to sell for and still make a profit. Also the problem I'm running into is that, for example..the baby ones I did...there was a 5" onesie and then a 3" rattle and then a 2.5" pacifier...how can I price them if the sizes are different? I also live in a very rural area ( my town has 240 ppl!) so I have to make sure i'm making a profit AND im appealing to all the "podunk-ites"

Do it per inch.. that explains the price difference. Per inch (you can make it less than $1.. just don't kill yourself) and add on for special details like fondant flowers and that jazz. If you made a 5" cookie for $1.25 your customers must LOVE you. Tell them to look it up.. Cookies by Design charges a ton and their cookies taste like crap.

Time to up those prices.. even if it's little by little. With the cost of ingredients going up and up and up you can't afford to undersell yourself.

I have really learned a lot on this site about cookies and I am addicted too. I really just intended to do them for my kids, but have been selling them off and on to different people over the past few months. I live in a rural area also and I had to learn how to produce them as fast as possible. I can do about 2 dozen an hour on average and some can even be faster if they are a simple design. I definitely agree that I need to raise the price this next month with food prices increasing so much.

It gets easier each time. In the past year I have really improved. I don't prefer the fondant, but I want to try it a few more times before I completely decide not to do them.

I did 270 3 inch scalloped edged cookies last night in 6 hours...I baked the night before in a tad less than 2 hours. They were decorated with a sage green background, monogram "H" in the center, and then a ring of chocolate brown around it. They are being bagged now, and tied up...my mother assists me with this end. Regardless...once you get rolling with them, you can move them. I love doing cookies...I make it a contest in my head of how many I can get out at one time.

my biggest frustration with cookies is waiting for that first RI layer to dry so i can get on with the details-i'm a notorious procrastinator(so not good for cookie decorating) so when i made a batch of "sample" cookies to bring to a party my friend was hosting the packaging stuck to them, the ink smeared and some were just smooshed!! aaahhh!! i want them to look great but i want the cookies to be fresh too and you do have to let that layer dry for HOURS...love hate is a great way to sum it up (i really love it but i'm definately going to charge more i'm sticking to my guns!!)

you don't have to wait for it to dry completely. you just have to wait for it to crust over. i have outlnied filled and detailed in a matter of 2 hours.

I've done the same thing...base icing everything, and then go back in an hour or so, and detail them out. I do however let them then sit overnight before I start packaging them. It is definitely not a quick process, but so worth it in the end!