Last month was Cookie Connection's fifth birthday, believe it or not! (My, how time flies!) We've grown by leaps and bounds since our inception, thanks, in no small part, to all of you and your wonderful contributions. What's more, there's no sign that we're slowing down! Our membership now tops 12,760, up from just 981 back in June 2013. And our monthly page views exceeded 3 million in June 2018, a record 38% increase over the preceding month. Again, none of this fabulous energy and activity would be possible without your contributions, views, comments, and likes, so I thank you all for making this five-year milestone an especially memorable one for me (and, hopefully, you too!). 
Speaking of views, comments, and likes . . . they determine who makes our hot list* each week, and, speaking of our hot list . . . let's put aside our birthday celebration for a sec and see who's on it, shall we? It's hard to detect a theme among the honored cookies this week, other than that each and every set is impressive! And, collectively, they make the most awesome Cookie Connection birthday gift! 
#1: Sweet Dreams by Dolce Flo
#2: Rainbow Mandala by Aproned Artist
#3: Vintage Travel-Themed Cookies by Doshia Freeman
#4: 3-D Cottage with Birds by Edyta Kołodziej [EDITOR'S NOTE: Special congrats to @Edyta Kołodziej on her first Spotlight appearance! Well done!]
#5: Woodland Cookies by Cookieland
#6: Bug Life Mini Cookies by Annelise (Le bois meslé)
#7: Fragment of Folk Scarf by E. Kiszowara MOJE PIERNIKI
#8: Bridal Shower by Cookieland
#9: Boho Style by Teri Pringle Wood
#10: Ba-By Q Cookies! by The Partiologist - Kim H.
Congrats again to this week's honorees! Now, let's all raise a virtual toast to another great year ahead on Cookie Connection! (I'm sipping some real bubbly as we speak, so it may be a few hours before I get to distributing the usual "I was featured" badges. 
Hang tight, honorees!)
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.
Comments (18)
Happy Birthday!!!! 🎉🎊🎁🎈🎂
Happy Birthday and congratulations to you Julia for all that you give to make the Cookie Connection a success ! Awesome work of love❣congratulations to all the featured artists and their beautiful creations. Thankful to all who liked and commented on my cookies. Have a blessed weekend all💖
You are right, Teri!
I am so grateful for this amazing group. I haven’t been around that long and have started my business in a serious way only some months ago. Each of the creations posted here are unique and we all learn so much from them. And especially the tutorials which are so generously shared.
Thank you, and congratulations to all!💕
Happy Birthday to your wonderful site @Julia M. Usher 🎉🥂🍾 and many congrats to all the cookiers featured!
Thanks for the well wishes, @Heather Bruce Sosa, @Manu, and @Teri Pringle Wood. As with my own birthday year after year, this one nearly slipped past me without any fanfare! Glad I remembered it in the nick of time! Thank you to all of you too for how you contribute to this site, each in your own unique, but incredibly supportive way. It truly takes all of us to keep this community vibrant, active, and educational. I really appreciate your support!
Congratulations to the top 10 and on 5 years! Thank you for all you do. The group is wonderful and a great inspiration to all.
Thanks Julia, it' s always an honor for me to be featured in your Saturday Spotlight and particularly in this special edition. Happy fifth birthday to your wonderful site and for the great job you do. Thankful to everyone who appreciated my work and many congrats to all featured for their beautiful cookies. ♥
WOW, what a collection! Congrats everyone!
Happy Birthday Cookie Connection!
We celebrate with you and wish you many more years of success.
Congratulation Julia on this milestone. CC has given our work a voice! Your efforts have not gone unappreciated.
Congrats to this week's cookie stars.
Happy birthday, Cookie Connection! I love this site and feel inspired every time I visit.
Beautiful cookies, everyone! I’m honored to be included this week.
Happy Birthday to CC and congratulations to everyone featured!!! Those numbers are very impressive, Julia! Thank you for such a wonderful site! 🎂🎇🎉
Congratulations on 5 years of running a great website. A wonderful place full of inspiration. Thank you for the reception and the award on Saturday Spotlight. :heartHappy Birthday CC!!!! What a wonderful way to celebrate by sharing these gorgeous cookies that made the top 10 list. Wahoo!!! Congrats to all
. Your work is awesome and I so appreciate being able to see such creative and beautiful art day in and day out ❤️❤️
Special thanks to you, @Julia M. Usher for all your devotion, dedication and hard work that makes this site possible for SO many to enjoy and learn!! You're one amazingly talented lady ❤️
Aww, thanks again, Carol! Your kind words have made my day!
So sweet of you to say! Thank you for contributing so beautifully!
Thanks, everyone, for the very kind words!
Thank you so much for the feature and congratulations to Julia on five great years!
Happy birthday Cookie Connection!!! 🎂