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Saturday Spotlight: Top 10 Cookies

Julia M. Usher 4/13/1910:18 PM

There's nothing like a little challenge to get the creative juices flowing and to push oneself to new design heights! With five Practice Bakes Perfect Challenge entrants and one Cake International gold award-winner on this week's hot list*, this Spotlight is certainly testament to this fact. But, regardless of whether you were competing or just decorating for fun when you created these cookies, you all impressed me with how you pushed the boundaries of cookie decorating this week. Well done, honorees!

Now, buckle up, everyone else! You're in for an exciting ride, as today's featured cookies are more spectacular than ever.

#1: Vintage Lambeth by GinkgoWerkstatt [EDITOR'S NOTE: The first of the five Practice Bakes Perfect Challenge entries on this list.]

#2: Forest Cookie Display by Vanilla & Me [EDITOR'S NOTE: The Cake International winner - as you can see why!]

#3: Quilled Flowers by swissophie [EDITOR'S NOTE: The second challenge entry this week!]

#4: Antique Clock with Lambeth Overpiping by Annelise (Le bois meslé) [EDITOR'S NOTE: The third challenge entry!]

#5: Henna Tattoo Icing Cookie by thickfinger [EDITOR'S NOTE: Not a challenge entry, but definitely banner material! Congrats, @thickfinger, for being our cover artist this week!]

#6: Spring Cookies by Evelindecora [EDITOR'S NOTE: These cookies are making their second appearance in a Spotlight; they first appeared here last week! Way to go, Evelin!]

#7: Quilled Peacock by swissophie [EDITOR'S NOTE: Our fourth challenge entry, and what a beauty!]

#8: Little Bunny House by Teri Pringle Wood

#9: In My Easter Bonnet by Teri Pringle Wood

And, what you've all been waiting for . . . our fifth and final Challenge entry . . .

#10: Traditional Building with Lambeth Overpiping by Dragana

Congrats again, honorees! Really remarkable work.

Now . . . while we're on the topic of challenges, please humor me as I pause for a brief PSA about my 3-D cookie competition at the Show Me Sweets show in July. As you've probably heard by now, it's going to be a landmark event for cookiers everywhere. All who enter have the chance to win $5000 in prizes and to appear in a documentary on a MAJOR TV network! But regardless of who gets on TV or takes home the goodies, everyone wins by virtue of rising to the occasion, trying something new and different, and learning (hopefully) a lot along the way. If the thought of this competition intrigues you, don't delay . . . casting for featured spots in the documentary is already underway and closes on May 1. For more entry details, please read the poster below.

'Til next week, I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone by trying a technique or medium you've never used before! Then please share your creation with all of us so we can ooh and ahh!

* 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.