The sooner, the better. I can book up quickly since I only take one order per week, so send me your event date to reserve a slot as soon as possible! **Please keep in mind, I will message you with confirmation because if I'm already booked for the week you requested, I may not be able to fulfill your order as requested.

You can use the order form link at the bottom of the page, but I’m also fine with you messaging me directly through my Facebook page which is also linked at the bottom of this page. I’ll message you either way, because I’ll have additional questions and I’ll want you to send me any inspiration pictures you’ve found

Prices may vary based on what kind of materials I need for your order. General pricing goes as follows: 1-3 dozen custom cookies: starting at $30/dozen 4-6 dozen custom cookies: starting at $25/dozen $30-$40 per 9” cookie cake $25-$35 per DYO kit depending on amount of cookies

Look at some decorated cookies on Etsy! I charge less than most experienced cookiers charge. But here's why they cost so much: One batch of cookies takes me anywhere from 3 to 6 hours of hands-on labor to mix, cut, bake, mix icing, color the icing, and then actually decorate. The process also takes at least 3 days because the cookies need to sit in a container for one day before decorating (so the butter doesn’t bleed into icing), then the first, or “flood” layer of icing needs to dry for 12 hours so that’s a second night, then the final layer needs to dry 6-12 hours as well. There’s overhead to consider too- buying cutters, piping bags, packaging, marketing materials, sprinkles/decorations, food coloring, cookie ingredients, and SO MUCH powdered sugar for icing. Not to mention, meringue powder (dried egg whites for the icing) costs about $20/lb which is the main ingredient in the icing. All in all, I usually break even on supplies with most orders and end up paying myself about a few dollars per hour for labor.

I take payment upon delivery. Cash or check is always fine, but I also have CashApp, Venmo, and Paypal! Venmo is preferred- @cookiecottage Just let me know if you're paying cash so I make sure to bring change

They’re great! Soft and buttery with just the right amount of crunch. The icing crusts over on top, but stays pretty soft inside and it melts in your mouth. My favorite is the butter-vanilla flavored icing, and the lemon is very popular. I use Lorann all natural flavors/oils, they are excellent quality.

Long answer, but it's important if you want them to stay pretty! First, you actually want to leave them in the bakery box or loosely covered on a tray for the first 12-ish hours after receiving them to make sure the icing fully sets. This prevents the butter in the cookies from bleeding into the icing and ruining the color (see the picture for an example of "butter bleed") DO NOT REFRIGERATE!!! Simply seal them up in an airtight container or a Ziploc! The experts say they keep for about 2 weeks in an airtight container, but I've kept mine sealed up for over 3 weeks and they still tasted fresh! **The doilies are more than just decoration! They are made from "grease proof" paper, so I use them between layers of cookies to prevent the butter bleeding into the cookies below. I recommend using them if you are going to stack your cookies for more than a couple of hours.

Yes! I can do chocolate (they taste like the edges of the brownie pan), lemon, rainbow chip, and many other seasonal flavors such as gingerbread and pumpkin spice

Contact me with your theme/vision and I'll let you know what cutter shapes I have available. I can also sketch up some designs and send you those to reivew. I also suggest checking out Instagram! Pinterest and Google are fine, but Instagram has the highest concentration of cookie artists sharing their work. Try searching hashtags such as #royalicingcookies or #decoratedsugarcookies or specific to your type of event such as #babyshowercookies

I look at other cookier’s designs on Instagram as well as pictures of the actual object if it applies. It’s really helpful when you send me reference pictures such as your party or event decorations/theme! My goal is to meet your expectations as closely as possible, so the more pictures you have to send, the better. I'll also look for inspiration and send you pictures that I find to make sure my ideas match yours!

Royal icing! It is made of dried/pasteurized egg whites, cream of tartar, corn starch, sugar, a bit of corn syrup and natural flavoring. I use gel food coloring from ChefMaster and AmeriColor to color the icing.

Eggs, gluten, milk*, food dyes *There's no lactose, but the butter may have trace milk proteins

Yes! I finally found the perfect recipe using King Arthur's gluten-free flour.

Yes! I use aquafaba as an egg replacement in both the cookies and the icing, which is actually just the brine from canned chickpeas, but I buy a powdered version. Please let me know if "baked in egg" is safe- then I will only adjust the icing recipe to be egg-free.

The story is a little lackluster… the Maryland regulations that allow me to run this business out of my residence are called “Cottage Food Business.” I thought a Cookie Cottage sounded cute, so there it is!

Another sort of boring story… I previously had a dog-sitting business, but when COVID-19 hit, that dried up. So, I decided to start selling cookies because I love baking. When I realized that there was a lot of interest in the decorated cookies, I decided to teach myself! I watched hours and hours of YouTube and Instagram tutorials then took a stab at it… it didn’t go as horribly as expected! I can’t tell you how terrified I was with the first few batches, but my coworkers thoroughly enjoyed being my guinea pigs.

Sally’s Baking Addiction! https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/ I love the science behind baking, and Sally is a true chemist. Test-kitchens are vital to creating usable baking recipes, and she not only tests and tweaks her recipes, she’ll openly admit when she no longer likes a recipe/method then share her new method with us! Her recipes are great because they give you useful tips. I highly recommend buying her cookbook if you want to bake tasty treats every time.

Frederick, MD! I bake in my home kitchen but I borrow my dad's much bigger kitchen when I have massive orders to whip up!

In Maryland, it is legal for me to prepare and sell non-potentially hazardous foods from my residence. Since my cookies don’t need refrigerated, they’re considered not “potentially hazardous.” You can read more here: https://phpa.health.maryland.gov/OEHFP/OFPCHS/Pages/CottageFoods.aspx

I can do local deliveries only, within the Frederick area. Anyone outside of that area can schedule a porch pickup or I can meet you somewhere in Frederick.

TEMPERATURE IS EVERYTHING. Bringing your butter (and eggs!) to room temperature first so the ingredients mix properly is crucial, but refrigerating your dough before baking is probably the most important step if the recipe calls for it. I also highly recommend getting an oven thermometer- my oven runs 15 degrees cooler than the temperature it is set to!! sallysbakingaddiction.com is the best- she gives tips and tricks for the perfect batch every time.

Fun fact! The likelihood of you getting sick from eating raw eggs is significantly less than you getting sick from eating raw flour- yeah... raw flour can contain dangerous bacteria! If you make your own “edible cookie dough” make sure you "heat treat" the flour by microwaving it!