I've been asked to do a cookie buffet, with 3 or more types of cookies. My question is, does anyone else do this, and if so how much do you charge? Do you do it by the cookie or by the person? How many cookies should be allotted for each person? Sorry, this is new to me so any information you have would be helpful. Thanks!

I do this at my school all the time. We use a small scoop for the cookies and charge .25 each cookie. You need to ask them how many people and how many cookies they think should be perperson. I usually say about 3 cookies perperson. But that is school pricing so you may have to raise the price up abit.

Figure out how much one batch of cookies costs to make and figure it from there. I'd charge by the cookie.

$3/doz for cookies?

I've done a couple and I charged my standard $6/dz for drop cookies (choc chip, snickerdoodles, etc) and standard price for any decorated cookies. The client then decided how many cookies they wanted.

Will there be other foods? Desserts? served before or after dinner? All of this impacts how many they will need.

I made 1800 cookies for a graduation ceremony once and they had about 1200 left over (which they happily packed up and took back to school with them!)

They are saying they want to do 4" drop cookies giving 2 per person. I suggested 3 per person and smaller portions (how would that look to only have two choices?). They are having a dinner and a cake, plus they want my signature cookie favors (also 4"). This is a friend of family, so I don't want to take advantage, but I don't want to be cursing myself for not charging enough. Thanks for your help

a 4" cookie is HUGE! i dont' think they realize how big that is. For a buffet, "petite" is a good look. People are looking for a "bite" of something. A cookie is not a meal.

continue your efforts to push the smaller cookie.

I didn't either until I made a couple hundred hand decorated ones for my sister's wedding Thanks Deb, I will for sure. Any idea where I can get pictures of how to set something like this up? Table ideas?

Flat tables are unattractive. Think height. use 3-tiered silver trays; cover some styrofoam dummies with tablecloths for varying heights to set trays of cookies on. Greenery and florals around the trays of cookies for accents. Small trays that are constantly swapped out look better than large trays that are half empty.

("Swapped Out" means you never remove an empty tray, take it to the back to refill it, then return it to the table. Always, always ALWAYS bring a full tray to the table, pick up the half empty tray and immediately replace it with the full one. Then take the half-emtpy one to the back and refill it. Never leave a void on the table .... guests will think they are missing out on something. Man, I really chewed out one of my staffers one time when she did this wrong with the veggie tray! She was holding up the line because people were waiting on her to bring the filled tray back out! aaauuggghhh!!!!)

How about placing them in nice fabric lined baskets?

oh ,.. and tongs. Lots and lots of tongs for picking up the cookies. Half the people won't use them, but have them there. Stacks of napkins among the trays, not just at one end of the table.

Do a google images search for "dessert buffets." They're the trendy thing in wedding magazines now, so there are tons of photos out there.

Wow! Thanks so much! I have lots of ideas now, and I'm going to talk about it with the bride (and my go-between) Yay!