Saturday Spotlight: Top 10 Cookies

As we approach the middle of summer's last month, my thoughts are all over the place. Some schools have already resumed classes; vacationing family members are still coming to visit; and fall plans are starting to take shape. When people ask me what's going on with me, I'm inclined to say, "A little bit of this and a little bit of that."

How fitting it is that this week's hot list* is also a blend of a little bit of this and a little bit of that! We have summer fun, fall festivities, and all sorts of things in between. Included in the mix are a couple of entries from Watch-Learn-Create Challenge #57, which featured stenciled royal icing transfers. In case you missed @Manu biscotti decorati's recap of that challenge, you can read more about it here.

In the meantime, let's take a look at the ten top-trending cookies from this past week.

#1: A Birthday Cookie "Puzzle" for Mom's 90th Birthday Today! by Cookies Fantastique (I love all of the techniques that @Cookies Fantastique used to create this cookie puzzle. Quite the gift, wouldn't you say?)

#2: Chocolate Marzipan Arrangement by Icingsugarkeks (This cookie was an entry in Challenge #41 back in 2020! How awesome for it to be trending yet again. Well done, @Icingsugarkeks.)

#3: Embroidery Cookies by mintlemonade (cookie crumbs) (I love the stark color contrast here, which is a perfect showcase for @mintlemonade (cookie crumbs)'s impeccable piping.)

#4: Dimensional Stars by iSugarfy (aka swissophie) (Another entry from an earlier challenge - #31, to be exact - these beauties were created almost six years ago and have understandably returned to our Spotlight. Congrats, @iSugarfy (aka swissophie)!)

#5: Medieval Manuscript with Wax Seal Cookie by Dixie Dust and Powdered Sugar (This gorgeous creation appeared last week in the challenge recap and continues to quickly accumulate likes and views! Julia and I still can't get over how beautifully it's piped, which is why we selected it for this week's cover image! Nicely done, @Dixie Dust and Powdered Sugar!)

#6: Hitting Balls! Happy Birthday, Manu! by Ryoko ~Cookie Ave. (This set is so much fun! @Ryoko ~Cookie Ave. has given us an ode to the Olympics and Wimbledon, a challenge entry, and a birthday salute all in one!)

#7: Fall Miniature Food Cookie by Evelindecora (What a delicious reminder that all the fall feels are right around the corner!)

#8: Watermelon Cookies by Evelindecora (Full of creative texture, this set marks @Evelindecora's second appearance this week. Many congrats!)

#9: Lunar New Year 2024 by Petra Florean (Though created in January, @Petra Florean's collaboration cookie has all the vibrancy of summer blooms.)

#10: Plaque Designs for a First Birthday by Little-Fancies (These birthday cookies are sweetly sublime. Incredible piping, @Little-Fancies!)

There you have it! A little bit of everything. I hope everyone's final weeks of summer also provide a little bit of this and that, or whatever it is that you may need.

Enjoy and stay safe!

* As a reminder, a word about how the rankings are determined: The rankings are not at all subjective. In fact, they are determined essentially by you, our members, and the activity (number of views, likes, and comments) you've bestowed on each photo. The site uses a top-secret algorithm that weighs these various factors to determine which photos are trending most quickly (i.e., are the "hottest") over specified periods of time. As such, the hot list at the time of this announcement may look a little different a few hours or a day from now as more photos are added to the site.

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. 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.