Hello! Novice cookier here, wondering how far in advance everyone else makes their cookies for an order? Like, let's say you need to have an order ready on a Friday, when will you make and decorate them?
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Hi, A.rad.cookie, Congrats on making your first post. I look forward to many more to come!
I don’t take cookie orders, but I try to make them as close to when they are due.
I don’t sell my cookies anymore, but when I did, I wouldn’t allow the cookies to sit after baking more than three days. In my taste tests, I found the cookies would maintain their quality once bagged, but would become stale much faster if they were just drying in a covered sheet tray. When the order quantity or my schedule made it an impossibility, I would decorate the cookies in batches, bag and seal them individually, and freeze them. I’d pull out the cookies the day of the delivery, let them defrost in their bags, add bows and tags, and they were ready to go.
I don't sell anymore either, but when I did (ha! I'm sounding a lot like @Aproned Artist, aren't I?), I would bake as close to delivery as possible, while allowing enough time to decorate on the tail end. I typically would try to make the entire process take no longer than a few days, and would enlist help (one of my employees) on the decorating end if I expected that part to take longer. I always made my cookie dough in advance, froze it, and then baked it off to order. Still do.
@SugarDotCookies also has an online course about planning your baking and decorating, I believe, so you might check that out. She might also have some quick tips to share here.
Do take Sugar Dot's courses and get all her books if you're thinking about being in gutter cookie business.... they are super helpful and useful. 👍👍👍👍 I have all of them and I'm not even in the cookie business yet... although im thinking about it 💖
Mia P posted:Do take Sugar Dot's courses and get all her books if you're thinking about being in gutter cookie business.... they are super helpful and useful. 👍👍👍👍 I have all of them and I'm not even in the cookie business yet... although im thinking about it 💖
Thanks so much Mia! 
Julia M. Usher posted:I don't sell anymore either, but when I did (ha! I'm sounding a lot like @Aproned Artist, aren't I?), I would bake as close to delivery as possible, while allowing enough time to decorate on the tail end. I typically would try to make the entire process take no longer than a few days, and would enlist help (one of my employees) on the decorating end if I expected that part to take longer. I always made my cookie dough in advance, froze it, and then baked it off to order. Still do.
@SugarDotCookies also has an online course about planning your baking and decorating, I believe, so you might check that out. She might also have some quick tips to share here.
Thank you Julia! I do have an ebook/class all about the steps involved in my dough process. Basically - I bake on Mondays then decorate Tues, Wed, and Thurs for weekend orders. Whatever I decorate, I finish that day and bag up the next. My dehydrator is what allows me to always finish what I start the same day. Hope that helps.
Thanks everyone for the helpful tips! I am just trying to get my sealegs lol
I make cookies on the side, (i have a job and also 2 littles to take care of) so i like to prepare myself way ahead of time. Freshness and softness of the cookie are very important to me. Does anyone have any luck with individually wrapping and heat sealing their decorated cookies if they have to be made like a week in advance?
A.rad.cookie posted:Thanks everyone for the helpful tips! I am just trying to get my sealegs lol
I make cookies on the side, (i have a job and also 2 littles to take care of) so i like to prepare myself way ahead of time. Freshness and softness of the cookie are very important to me. Does anyone have any luck with individually wrapping and heat sealing their decorated cookies if they have to be made like a week in advance?
Yep. Do it all the time.
I’ve had to do large orders for friends, family and non-profits. I would make the cookies in advance, do two layers with was paper between them and double ziploc bag them. They layer nicely in the freezer and ziploc bags are reusable. Any way that’s how I do it.
SugarDotCookies posted:A.rad.cookie posted:Thanks everyone for the helpful tips! I am just trying to get my sealegs lol
I make cookies on the side, (i have a job and also 2 littles to take care of) so i like to prepare myself way ahead of time. Freshness and softness of the cookie are very important to me. Does anyone have any luck with individually wrapping and heat sealing their decorated cookies if they have to be made like a week in advance?
Yep. Do it all the time.
Do they stay soft and fresh? Have you tested how long? Thank you
A.rad.cookie posted:SugarDotCookies posted:A.rad.cookie posted:Thanks everyone for the helpful tips! I am just trying to get my sealegs lol
I make cookies on the side, (i have a job and also 2 littles to take care of) so i like to prepare myself way ahead of time. Freshness and softness of the cookie are very important to me. Does anyone have any luck with individually wrapping and heat sealing their decorated cookies if they have to be made like a week in advance?
Yep. Do it all the time.
Do they stay soft and fresh? Have you tested how long? Thank you
They are fine, but to keep cookies soft i would also pay attention to other things. When rolling out your dough use equal parts flour and powdered sugar. Your dough will get less tough. Also, when baking remove the cookies when any one corner shows a little tan spot, cookies continue to bake after they are removed from the oven. Last remember that royal icing dries out cookies. I don’t know if it helps but I put a glaze on the outside of my sugar cookies. Good luck!
To add to Econolady's post - You really have to test your own cookies to be sure since all of our cookies are different. I believe that most people say that their cookies stay fresh in favor bags for up to two weeks.
Great question... i wanted to add another question please... i was wondering how to keep cookie pops fresh... since they have a stick in them... because i recently purchased a cookie on a stick here in Kuwait from a well known shop and it was so stale and hard as a rock.. and it was pretty new. It was wrapped and tied twice but that clearly did nothing. Any advice here?
I used to make mine a week before they were due(based on taste tests), I would bake and ice the cookies on the same day and add the finishing touches on the next day wait for them to dry completely and then bag them and then ship them. I think it's best to taste test the cookies and experiment.
abbybakes posted:I used to make mine a week before they were due(based on taste tests), I would bake and ice the cookies on the same day and add the finishing touches on the next day wait for them to dry completely and then bag them and then ship them. I think it's best to taste test the cookies and experiment.
I agree with experimenting to find what works best with your recipe and your personal tastes! (P.S. Thanks, @abbybakes, for commenting so thoughtfully on so many forum posts today. Much appreciated, and some very good advice! )