Why Bakeries Charge $4 per Cookie

This was my first time icing cookies.  Any experienced “icers” out there would know this by looking at the pics.  Because no one who knew what they were doing would undertake such a crazy project.

I’ve baked loads of cookies before, but when it came to decorating them, the most I’d do was toss on some sprinkles and call it a day.  I’ve always loved buying iced sugar cookies in a bakery- the colors, details, and the whimsical themes always make me feel like I’m having a very special treat.  And for a whopping $4 per cookie, it really ought to be a special treat!  But I never got up the courage to try making them myself, until now!

While pondering over what to bring to my husband’s annual fraternity picnic, it struck me that their official seal would translate perfectly to cookie form.

  After venturing out and spending way too much money on sugar, food coloring, icing bags and other assorted implements of destruction; I spread my spoils out on the dining room table.  There they sat for days while I agonized over which recipe to use for icing- royal icing…decorators icing…butter icing….??? 
Finally, after a semi-successful test run, I cobbled together inspiration from many sources and created an icing I was happy with. 

And it began.

After baking and cooling the sugar cookies (why do recipes for cookie dough always make about half the amount they say they will?!)  I mixed the icing colors I would need- dark red, old blue, and golden yellow.  I used Wilton paste icing colors- they produce a much richer hue than the regular liquid food coloring you find on the shelf in the grocery store.   I mixed a tiny bit of black in with the red to get the red I wanted.  More black was added to a royal blue to get the “old blue”, and I mixed in a hint of orange with yellow to get my golden color.

Icing was done in four phases so colors wouldn’t bleed.  It took a long time once all was said and done, but I was really happy with the results.  This was really a special occasion cookie- it was a lot of work, but the end result was impressive.
 I made fifty cookies, and they were a huge success at the picnic!  The brothers posed for pictures with the cookies and admired them for a while before actually digging in. 
I have definitely been bit by the frosting bug- but next time, I think I’ll choose a decorating concept that is a little less complicated!