The hazy days of summer have arrived early in my area. Unlike the mid to late summer stretch that is supposed to be "lazy and crazy", these days are just hazy. With smoke! We have been blanketed with smoke from the wildfires in Canada, and our air quality has plummeted. We are in the mid-Atlantic of the US - quite a distance from the fires - but I can still smell smoke all day and all night. My heart goes out to everyone directly impacted. Indirectly, the air quality has kept me from going outside for any length of time. And, inside, the last thing I want to do is anything - even accidentally - that could generate more smoke!
Fortunately, there is Cookie Connection! Scrolling through so many gorgeous photos may be one of the few things that doesn't make my eyes water! Enough about me already; let's get on with this week's hot list.*
#1: Floral Wedding by Tina at Sugar Wishes (@Tina at Sugar Wishes has perfectly captured the spring wedding spirit through this set.)
#2: Seagulls by the Bay by Petra Florean (This week is the second in a row that @Petra Florean's stained glass creation is trending. Congratulations!)
#3: Pug on a Wall by Cookies Fantastique (This adorable set makes me smile each time I see it.)
#4: Nudist Camping Set! by lulubakes (@lulubakes has created quite the cheeky take on summer fun! 
This set made Julia and me chuckle so much that we decided it deserved this week's cover spot! Extra congrats, lulubakes!)
#5: Flowers and a Bow by Cookies Fantastique (This set marks Carol's second appearance in this week's hot list. Well done, @Cookies Fantastique!)
#6: Dinosaur Rainbow Cookies by Art of Cookies (These cuties hit our Spotlight for the second week in a row, and their charm explains why! Congratulations, @Art of Cookies!)
#7: The Rose Cottage by Teri Pringle Wood (This stunner is a good reminder that gingerbread houses aren't just for Christmas. @Teri Pringle Wood first posted this house almost seven (!) years ago, and it is still trending. Congrats, Teri.)
#8: Macaron Cookies by Evelindecora (These exquisite treats were posted over five years ago and are still as divine as when I first saw them. Amazing work, @Evelindecora!)
#9: Red Flowers in Thanks by Edyta Kołodziej (Gorgeous work, @Edyta Kołodziej. BTW, Edyta is also our featured June site artist, which means you'll see more of her glorious cookie art in our site banner and backdrop for the next few weeks. You can also learn more about Edyta in her official site artist introduction by Julia.)
#10: Životní Jubileum (aka Anniversary) by Dita (This striking cookie combines the best of two techniques: intricate piping and handpainting. How wonderfully executed, @Dita!)
Congratulations to everyone who was spotlighted. Thank you so much for sharing your work!
By the way, the new Watch-Learn-Create Challenge #54 is up, and it's another amazing one. This time it features Anna from Sunday Cookers who shows how to make ultra-lifelike corn flowers and provides great tips for piping and assembling cookie flower bouquets. You can read more about the challenge here. Personally, I can't wait to dive into it and, more importantly, see what everyone else comes up with!
Until then, I hope your week is filled with cookies, inspiration, and a lot less smoke!
So that no one has an unfair advantage in making it onto a hot list, the algorithm is secret even to site administrators. Only our platform developers know the code, which has been exhaustively tested by those developers and Cookie Connection staff.
All photos shown here are the courtesy (and copyright) of the designers listed.
To check out our other hot lists, at any time of day, visit our Hot Spot, also found in the site's main navigation line.
___________________
Lisa Foss is a hobbyist cookie decorator. After careers in corporate communications and freelance writing, she focused her attention on the nonprofit sector. She spent more than a decade at various soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and prison reentry programs throughout New York City. Lisa’s cookie journey began in 2011 when she started making gingerbread houses. After getting a handle on construction, she focused on improving her decorating skills through books, videos, and online tutorials. This exploration brought her to Cookie Connection, which has provided her with an incredible community to learn from and grow with. Though she enjoys making cookies for family and friends, Lisa’s main focus is cookies for charity. For more information about Lisa and her work, please check out her Facebook and Instagram pages.
Byline photo credit: Shutterstock
Note: Saturday Spotlight is a weekly Cookie Connection blog feature written alternately by Lisa Foss and Julia M. Usher. Its primary intent is to cast a spotlight on the week's top-trending cookie posts, as determined automatically by the site algorithms described above. This article expresses the views of the author, and not necessarily those of this site, its owners, its administrators, or its employees. To see all of Cookie Connection's past Saturday Spotlights, click here.
Comments (9)