Valentine's Day may have come and gone, but it's still going strong here on Cookie Connection and in today's Saturday Spotlight!
Nearly all of the key valentine motifs are represented in this hot list*: roses, lace, lingerie, keys (to unlock passion, presumably!), love letters, and plenty of hearts in so many styles! Some stenciled; others painted and intricately piped; some in traditional red and pink; others in bold modern colors! Chocolates may be missing, but who needs them when you've also got an unexpected twist on vintage valentines and a pink and red camera poised as if to capture a pie getting smooshed into a loved one's face!
I adore Valentine's Day and the cookies it brings, so it's been wonderful to savor the holiday a little bit longer, thanks to our honorees' expressions of love!
Let's take a look, shall we?!
#1: Valentine's Cookies by Evelindecora
#2: Sheer Romance by Teri Pringle Wood [EDITOR'S NOTE: @Teri Pringle Wood has retired from cookie decorating and posting to this site, but there was a time when we called her the Queen of Hearts! We could always count on her to share gorgeous cookies, but hearts - like these posted in 2016 - were her favorite subjects no matter the time of year! Lucky us! ~JMU]
#3: Flower Letter by Yazz Ross
#4: Bridal Shower Arizona Style by Cookies Fantastique [EDITOR'S NOTE: Carol always does a great job of seamlessly blending tons of techniques into a single set. See what I mean?! Well done, @Cookies Fantastique! ~JMU]
#5: Heart Cookies by Evelindecora [EDITOR'S NOTE: These cookies underscore what should be every cookie decorator's mantra, "Never put down the piping bag when you're on a roll!" 
Evelin's set in the #1 spot was actually posted after these hearts, which were spotlighted last week. You'll notice that the two sets share similar colors and styling. Evelin clearly knew she was onto something good, so she just kept piping - and aren't we all happy about that?! Congrats on your second mention of the week, @Evelindecora! ~JMU]
#6: Vintage "Haunted" Valentines by lulubakes [EDITOR'S NOTE: As a lover of all things vintage, I am absolutely enamored with this set. Your level of detail is quite impressive, @lulubakes! And how about that unexpected Halloween twist?! I am batty about it too - pun intended! 
~JMU]
#7: Be Mine Always by Bakerloo Station [EDITOR'S NOTE: As you hopefully know by now, all of the photos on this hot list*, and their order, are determined by the site's trending algorithms, not by me. However, I do handpick each week's cover image. Wondering what I look for? Typically it's a combination of lovely cookies with well-executed decorations and a clear eye-catching photo where the focus is on the cookies, not the props or background! This vibrant heart set clearly has it all! Congrats, @Bakerloo Station! ~JMU]
#8: Happy Valentine's Day by yokko [EDITOR'S NOTE: I really appreciate @yokko's sense of humor in her cookie story-telling. However, I can't say my husband was as smitten with this cookie as I was! LOL! 
~JMU]
#9: Lock and Key Valentine Cookie by Jankay [EDITOR'S NOTE: If I'm not mistaken, this gorgeous cookie marks @Jankay's first appearance in a Spotlight. Welcome, and what wonderful work! ~JMU]
#10: Smile! by Yazz Ross [EDITOR'S NOTE: I did, Yazz! Your cheery colors and the sparkly heart detail brought a smile to my face immediately! Also, kudos to you on your second mention of the week! ~JMU]
Well, that's a wrap! I really must skedaddle (I love that word! LOL) to finish prep for my first Zoom class of the year, which kicks off tomorrow at 9:45 am CT! I'm super excited about it not just because I love teaching, but also because I get to see Spotlight contributor @LisaF! Yay! She's joining class as my Chief Tech Officer with the aim of keeping me on track and out of trouble. I look forward to seeing you, Lisa, and everyone else here on Cookie Connection who's signed up. We're in for a fun start to the weekend! I hope the rest of you are too!
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.
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