Month 1 out of 12- First Batch of Cookies

My challenge is to bake and decorate at least one batch of cookies a month to improve my cookie decorating abilities.  This is month #1 of #12 and beyond.  (I'm hoping to be good in a year....you'll laugh after you see the pictures) 

The pictures I'm about to post are NOT the pretty, perfect cookies that you see on other cookie decorating blogs.  This is literally the first cookies I have ever decorated!

I used cookie cutters that I had, left-over icing coloring and a recipe for cookies and frosting from an amazing cookie decorator, sweetsugarbelle.com.  If you haven't checked her out, you must!  She is very inspiring and of course, super talented.  Since it's October, I used Halloween cookie cutters but the icing that I had was pastel colored.....a very strange combination.

Am I ready for this picture?!

    

I guess I should also mention that I'm not good at photography!  I'll work on that too.  This picture was taken before the icing had dried.  I need to mention that this isn't the classic sugar cookie recipe.  I used a highly rated chocolate chip cookie roll-out recipe from Sweet Sugar Belle. 

I made the frosting on day 1, baked cookies on day 2 and decorated cookies on day 3.

The taste results:  Well, this is funny....I am on a diet that I will not break (right now)  and couldn't taste the cookies!  Can you believe that one?  I used my taste-testers (daughter, son, fiancé and two co-workers) to give me their opinions.  4 out of 5 that they were just-okay tasting.  1/5 really, really, really liked them (and they weren't just being nice).  This is not good-enough results for me.  I will try the recipe one more time to make sure....maybe when I can taste them. 

The visual results:  Well, you can clearly see that I have A LOT of room to grow.  I have never been creative or good at drawing and it shows!  I thought the swirly design on the round cookie was neat but didn't look like a spider web. 

I used chocolate chip roll-outs because my daughter doesn't like sugar cookies and wanted to try this out.  Sugar cookies are definitely coming in the near future.  Although I couldn't taste it yet, I loved the royal icing recipe from Sweet Sugar Belle.  It was easy to make and easy to use.  The only problem is my skill.  So, my apologizes to Sweet Sugar Belle for advertising her recipes on such horrible cookie models! 

First batch down and getting ready for batch #2.  Will there be any improvement?!  Go ahead and place your bets now on whether I will be really good in a year or throw in the towel......