Do you have questions? Hopefully I have answers. Check out some of the most frequent questions below. Don’t see the answer you are looking for? Send me an email with your question and I will get back to you.
General Information
Do you ship?
I only offer pick up from my home in the Greater Cincinnati area. In Ohio, cottage food producers are not allowed to ship their products.
When do I have to pay for my cookies?
For cookies ordered via the website, all items are paid in full at the time of ordering.
For custom orders I ask for 50% up front to confirm your order, and the rest due before pick up.
For any rush orders (1 week lead time or less), I ask for full payment up front including the rush fee.
Why do I have to pay for some of my cookies up front?
I don’t bake the cookies until you order them. Because they are made to order, I ask you to pay up front so that I don’t end up spending the time and money to make them only to have you decide not to take it at the last minute. I am doing this out of my home as a small side business, so I ask for payment up front to minimize my risk.
What do you consider a Rush Order and why is there an extra fee?
Any order that comes in less than 1 week before the date you need the cookies is considered a rush order and will have a Rush Order fee added to the cost. The amount of the fee will depend on the size of the order and the complexity of the design. In some instances, I may choose not to take a rush order due to the time constraints.
This cookie business is not my full time job. I work full time and have 2 small kids at home, so my cookie baking time is limited. If I need to prepare a rush order, I may have to re-arrange my schedule at home, work around existing commitments, or stay up late to get things done. I don’t want to give you inferior cookies, but delivering the perfect cookie takes time. I really want you to order a head of time, but I understand that sometimes you can’t. Hence the fee.
What type of payment do you accept?
I accept cash, Venmo, or credit card.
All credit card payments are processed on the website via Stripe with the option to also use Google Pay or Apple Pay.
What if I need to cancel my order?
Contact me! We can work something out. If I haven’t baked your cookies yet, we can cancel the order and refund your total (less any credit card fees). If I have baked it, we can work out a solution for us both. I want you to be happy!
What if some of my cookies are broken?
Sometimes cookies break. I do everything I can to prevent breaking, but I can’t control everything. If a cookie is broken, let me know and I can try to replace it or work out another solution.
Allergy Information
What flavor are your cookies and/or icing?
I bake all my cookies (both decorated and for my cookie kits) using my grandmother’s basic sugar cookie recipe. I find them to be one of the best tasting sugar cookies out there (but I might be a bit biased). The cookie are simple “sugar cookies” with no added flavorings or emulsions.
The royal icing I use is unflavored as well, because I find that it pairs well with my cookies.
Are your cookies and icing allergy friendly?
All of my cookies are peanut/tree nut free, but I do cook with tree nuts and peanuts in my kitchen at other times. I do my best to prevent contamination, but I can’t guarantee there is none. Only you can decide if that level of risk is acceptable for you.
My regular cookies are made with wheat flour. The cookies also contain butter. Both the cookies and the icing contain eggs or products made from eggs (meringue powder). If you are allergic to eggs or dairy, these are not the cookies for you. They are also not vegan.
Vegan
I currently have a vegan cookie recipe, have not yet found a vegan icing recipe that like. Once I find a recipe that works well, I expect to have a vegan/diary free option for all of my products.
Decorated Cookies
How much time do you need to prepare my order?
This really depends on what you want. If you are ordering one of my pre-designed sets, I usually ask for a minimum of 1 week to prepare your order, but would require more time if you are ordering more than 4 dozen. For smaller orders (1-2 dozen) I can reduce that down to about 1 week, but for any order that comes in less than a week ahead, there will be a rush charge added to the cost.
For custom cookies, I ask for a little more time so we can work together to figure out what you want and I have time to perfect the design. I don’t want to give you cookies that aren’t up to my standards, so I need time to practice and make everything perfect. For these orders I ask for a minimum of 2 weeks, but I prefer 4-5 weeks if possible. Again, a rush charge will be added to any order with a lead time of less than 1 week. During peak seasons (Christmas, Graduation, Mother’s Day) I may have to close down ordering if I hit my max capacity. I suggest ordering as far ahead as possible during those times.
How do I store the decorated cookies? Do I need to keep them in the refrigerator?
My cookies do best when stored at room temperature. Keep them away from warm places (like in the sun, in your car during the summer, or near the stove) and you should be fine.
If they are heat sealed into individual bags, they will stay fresh for about 2 weeks.
If they are not individually bagged, you can store them for a day or two in the box . If you need to store them for a week or so, you can place them in an airtight container and keep them at room temperature.
If you need to keep them for longer, you can place each cookie in a small zip-top bag by itself, and then place them into an air tight container and freeze them for up to a year. When you are ready to eat them, just allow them to thaw completely on the counter before you open the container.
Please do not store my cookies in the refrigerator as this tends to change the texture of the cookies and make them seem stale faster.
What kinds of cookies can you make for me?
I have done all types of decorated sugar cookies over the years. My very first set of cookies ever were jungle animals for a friend’s baby shower. Since then I have done cookies for most holidays, birthdays, wedding showers, and just because.
I have also designed sets in all sorts of different themes from Mickey Mouse to Minions, First Birthdays, rainbows, ice cream, barber shops, and more! Most recently I did a set of Harry Potter Cookies which I loved! Check out the gallery for more ideas. If you have an idea of what you want, send me an email and I’m sure we can work something out!.
Cookie Decorating Kits
Can I eat the cookies after I decorate them?
Yes! Cookies are meant to be eaten. You can let them dry first or eat them right away. You can even eat them before you decorate them! Unlike the “cookies” that come in gingerbread house kits or other pre-packaged decorating kits, my cookies are baked fresh using my Grandmother’s recipe which was made for eating, not for storing and/or shipping.
How do I store the cookies? Do I need to keep them in the refrigerator?
When I package the kits, the cookies are heat sealed in a cellophane bag. They will stay fresh in the bag for about 2 weeks at room temperature. If you need to keep them longer, remove the cookies from the bag and place them in a freezer bag with wax paper or parchment paper in between the layers. You can freeze the cookies this way for up to a year, just leave them at room temperature to thaw and make sure they are at room temperature before you decorate them!
While you are decorating the cookies, leave them out, uncovered, at room temperature so they can dry properly. Once they are fully dry, you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature.
What about the icing? Do I need to keep that in the refrigerator?
I use meringue powder in my royal icing (rather than egg whites) so my icing can be stored at room temperature. If you are going to use the kit within in 2-3 days, just leave everything at room temperature.
If it is going to be more than 2-3 days before you use the kit, you can store just the icing in the refrigerator (not the freezer!). At least 2-3 hours before you plan to use the icing, remove it from the refrigerator and sit it on the counter to allow it warm up. Cold icing is stiff and hard to use. DO NOT microwave the icing bags. If you need to warm it up more quickly (hey, life happens, I get it), you can use your body heat to warm the icing by holding the bags in your hands or run warm water (from the tap, not the microwave!) into a bowl, and place the unopened bags into the bowl for a few minutes.
Unopened, the icing will last at least a week to 10 days. Some of the color and/or liquid may separate in the bags, but this can be resolved by gently kneading the icing in the bags before you remove the tip.
Once you open the bags, if you need to store the icing, gently squeeze the icing from the tip back up into the bag and fold the tip of the bag over and close with a clothespin, paperclip or piece of masking tape. Keep the bags laid flat on the counter or in the fridge to keep the icing out of the tip.
Do you have any tips for decorating my cookies?
Check out my website and/or Facebook page (@kimscookiescincy) for some posts on decorating tips and design ideas. I also post images of cookies I have decorated on Instagram (@kimscookiescincy) for inspiration.
Some other great resources exist on the web. Googling “sugar cookies royal icing” should bring up some great links for you to check out.