Baked Practice Cookie Recipe

The only thing that comes to my mind is salt dough... but I am not sure if this will be suitable.

But I don't think that a standard cookie dough is that expensive. Flour, sugar, egg, margarine. Where I live, I can make about 50 cookies for about 1 Euro / 1.10 USD. I doubt that anything will come cheaper than that.

Someone posted time ago that she used hardend fondant leftovers to practice. Maybe you can use acetate, wax paper or parchementpaper too and it could be used as transfer if you like it.   

Hello Nutmeg       you could roll out fondant  cut cookie shapes    let it air dry  to harden     proceed to piping on them   even flood them     i let the icing dry and sometimes i'll remove it immediately     if its still wet just scrape off    if its a lot of dry icing it will take a little longer to remove        if its hard to get off    use isopropyl alcohol to wipe clean   this alcohol will also soften icing for quicker removal   don't over douse it    then let them air dry again   or use a fan to dry  them

or you could buy wood shapes at any craft store to practice on     the same process as above      sometimes i just douse them with warm water  then dry them  air dry or fan    these  wood shapes can be bought separately   or by the bag      

i only use acetate or film to make royal icing transfers and/or to practice designs      though i do very well  its when i grab a cookie and blunder   lol         to practice using acetate or film i think you'd have to cut it down to size enabling to rotate for easier designing/decorating        

i have two notta cookies and rarely grab them to practice      i think its because they are too large or that i just don't like the material its made of     

i only use  high proof (bacardi rum) alcohol if i taste my cookies or give them away  

if you make dough      i roll it out and freeze it    then cut shapes   usually one at a time    i'll use that cookie over and over     putting icing on   taking it off    when it gets flaky i flip the cookie over and keep using until its no longer usable     i cut into 3/16 inch   

I would also say fondant.

If you just want to practice piping a design before you do it on a cookie try an index card.

To practice designs when I make cookies I use short bread cookie you roll out its just eggs and flour and butter thats it super easy they dont spread or puff.... I practice and give to the grand kids or make a cookie jar for the church kids... and you can practice different flavors to.... that way your not wasting icing.... try a short bread cookie.... 

Try decorating on a graham cracker. They're not round but you can always eat the corners!!!