Project 11: End of the World Cookies

As we all know, the world is ending tomorrow.  So I decided to make cookies for an End of the World party I'm attending tonight.

I tried a few variations on the background...

One of the things driving me crazy about my cookies lately is this weird splotchy fading.

It's been happening more and more lately, and I can't quite figure it out.  I've done a bunch of research on my favorite cookie blogs, and altered the recipe and humidity and all kinds of stuff, but to no avail.  They still do it.  

I use the "glaze" frosting, which basically consists of confectioner's sugar, milk, and flavoring, with some corn syrup if you want to add a bit of shine.  I didn't add corn syrup here, so maybe that's adding to the splotchiness?  I just can't figure it out.  Incidentally, the first cookies I ever frosted with this recipe, the teal blue snowflakes, never did this.  It was before I got "serious" about making cookies and just used plain ole food coloring.  Maybe it's the fancy gel food coloring...hmm.  Something else to try.

Below is my WORST cookie of the bunch, with both the weird splotchy fading and some super bad bleeding.  I can't quite figure that out either, as I tried a couple of different approaches here as well, and both ways I get the bleeding.  Oy.  Again, maybe that's something the corn syrup would help.  Too bad I got a C in Chemistry.

All that being said, they taste freakin' fantastic.