Hi, everyone ! Today we travel virtually all the way to Tokyo, Japan to meet Noriko Forster aka @mintlemonade (cookie crumbs), the featured guest of this Watch-Learn-Create Challenge #56. Noriko is best known in Japan as Cookie Crumbs, the name of her blog, while mintlemonade is her handle on social media and how she is best known outside Japan. Hence, her hybrid business name here on Cookie Connection and in her logo below!
I am sure we all agree that Noriko's dainty, picture-perfect cookies are her signature. Recognizable at a glance, her cookies are further distinguished by their sophisticated use of color, meticulously piped tiny flowers, delightful birds, and unique ruffle borders - the subject of this challenge! I have highlighted just a few of Noriko's gorgeous cookies in the collage below.
Of course, the cookies shown here are just the tip of the iceberg. Noriko's portfolio runs deep, as she first started decorating cookies back in 2012. By 2016, she was teaching six cookie decorating classes per month, all while raising two girls and working as a book editor. Noriko estimates she's taught 1,000 students in total over the years! In addition to being an accomplished instructor known across the globe, Noriko has had her cookies featured in the calendar of a famous Japanese cosmetics company (two years in a row) and in countless Saturday Spotlights. But perhaps the best reason that Noriko is a perfect challenge guest is because she knows our challenges inside and out! Having participated actively in our prior challenge format as early as 2013, Noriko has a deep appreciation for what it takes to put together a challenge entry!
To learn more about Noriko and her cookie art, please check out her Cookie Connection portfolio and her in-depth Cookier Close-up interview with Julia from a few years ago.
Topic
Over the past few months, I've seen growing popularity of piped royal icing borders on cookies, very likely a spillover from the vintage-style cake trend that features elaborately piped buttercream ruffles, swags, ropes, and other borders. That being said, I am very happy to bring you an of-the-moment challenge topic focused on piped borders - but not just any borders! The royal icing ruffle borders that Noriko pipes on her cookies are very special. Classy, delicate, and timeless, they will bring your cookies to the next level.
In her kickoff demo for this challenge, Noriko showcases three types of royal icing ruffle borders that are made in a variety of ways. Some use conventional pastry tips; others use cellophane cones or tipless piping bags cut in unique ways to simulate pastry tips. Some are solely piped, but in a very particular manner; others are piped and then modified using brush embroidery methods to give them their distinctive looks. No matter the method used, each border is one-of-a-kind. See the screenshot from Noriko's video, below, for the ruffle borders she covers in her demo. As I say many times in the video, Noriko’s cookies are tiny work of arts, like little pieces of jewelry. It was so inspiring to watch her work!
A clarification is in order! I keep calling this kickoff video a “demo”, but it is truly an in-depth online class that provides every detail needed to recreate Noriko's borders. She discusses the best icing consistency for ruffle borders; she shows exactly how to snip bags to get certain ruffles when you don't have the necessary pastry tips; she even provides a resource list with links to all of the key tools used in the video.
Of course, this challenge is about more than replicating Noriko's three ruffle borders, as you'll see in "Rules" below. Noriko's video also provides an excellent launching pad for creating ruffles of your own design!
Noriko’s Kickoff Video
Below is a sneak peek of Noriko's kickoff video.
I was stunned to watch Noriko decorate as I was capturing her video. Seeing all of her incredible cookies displayed on one plate left me speechless. Her years of experience in the cookie classroom also shone through; she is truly a wonderful teacher. I am sure you’ll be left with the same feelings when you watch the full-length challenge video.
To read more details about what this 1 1/2-hour video includes and to purchase it, just click the button (photo) below to grab your Cookie Connection members-only discount code. This code will give you Noriko's video for a mere $5 (normally $30) if you purchase before the close of the challenge on March 24 (5 pm central time). Once you've gotten the code, follow the prompts on the discount code page to go to Julia's site to purchase the video. (Don't forget to apply the discount code at checkout!) You can also go directly to Noriko's video on Julia's site by using Noriko's affiliate link, but don't forget to grab your coupon code first.
If you're not a Cookie Connection member and want to watch the video at a discount, that's fine too. Just click the same button below, and you will be prompted to sign up for this site first (it's free). Then follow the exact same instructions above.
Remember, Noriko's resource list is also included in the video price, and will automatically be delivered to you once you purchase the video. And, of course, a video purchase does not obligate you to enter the challenge. You can watch the video without ever creating a challenge entry (though I certainly hope you do 
).
[MARCH 24, 2024 UPDATE: This challenge has now closed, so the following discount code is no longer available. However, you can still get Noriko's amazing video for a mere $30 by visiting her tutorial in the "Guest Series" section of my site! Enjoy! ~JMU]
Julia and I thank you in advance for purchasing the full-length video. Your video purchases support our featured guests, and make it possible for us to continue to bring top-notch guests and content to these challenges.
Rules
Remember, this challenge (like all of our challenges) is open to those of all skill levels because it is not a cookie competition; it is a learning experience and a chance to practice new techniques while connecting with other participants and Noriko. For this challenge, I leave you with three simple rules and the freedom to otherwise create as you wish:
- Your entry must consist of three (3) cookies of any shape/size with three (3) different ruffle borders. You can embellish your cookies however you like, but the ruffle borders should be allowed to shine!
- Two (2) of the three (3) ruffle borders should be among those featured by Noriko in her kickoff video. The other ruffle border should be your own design. We challenge you to get inspiration from Noriko's techniques, to use different pastry tips (or to cut piping bags in other ways), and to get creative!
- Enter as often as you want, but each entry should be a set of three (3) cookies with three (3) different ruffle borders. If you'd like to give all three of Noriko's borders a try, then create a second set that includes the one border of hers not in your first set, plus two borders of your own. Or put your own spin on all three borders in your extra set(s).
Prizes
Each entrant is eligible to participate in the random drawing that will determine this challenge's prize winners. There will be two winners this time. I encourage multiple entries because the more times you enter, the greater your chances of winning - and the prizes are wonderful as always!
The first challenge prize is kindly offered by Noriko, and it's her digital workbook entitled, "Embroidery-Like Piping" (in English). Thank you, Noriko, for offering this terrific prize! More techniques to learn!
A second winner will receive one free past challenge demo of his/her choice from among the past five videos pictured below. (Note: Julia's demo comes in two parts.) As with Noriko's video, each demo is truly an online master class taught by one of the cookie business' best. You're definitely in for a treat if you win!
An Aside: Julia's Demo Sale!
If you don’t want to wait for the random drawing in eight (8) weeks to see if you win the free challenge demo, then you're in luck. Julia is running a sale on all past challenge demos between now and February 14 (5 pm central time). With code PAST20, you'll get 20% off any of them. Just shop here in Julia's tutorial library, and apply the code at checkout. Remember, Noriko's video is not part of this sale, as it is already available for a mere $5 with the special Cookie Connection members-only discount code mentioned earlier.
Now, back to my other guidelines for preparing and submitting your entry . . .
To Enter
- If you have any questions for Noriko as you are developing your entry, that's great! We encourage questions and learning at every step of the process. Please enter all questions in the comments area under this post, so that everyone can benefit from the Q&A. And please tag @mintlemonade (cookie crumbs) so she is sure to see your question and respond in a timely way. Again, Noriko has also provided a resource list that will automatically be delivered to you once you have purchased the demo.
- This challenge will last eight (8) weeks to allow you plenty of time to create. Please post an image of your entry to the site under the Cookie Connection Challenge clip set no later than Sunday, March 24, 2024 at 5 pm central time.
- Because these challenges will be ongoing, we ask that you put "Watch-Learn-Create Challenge #56" in your photo caption (subtitle field) AND in a tag, so we can tell the challenges apart from month to month. Please use the title field to uniquely name your cookies as you normally would.
- Please also assign other relevant clip sets and tags to your images, as you normally would. (Don't use just the Cookie Connection Challenge clip set and leave it at that, or your photos won't easily be found with keyword searches.)
- You can enter more than once, but please post only one clip of each distinct entry. Multiple clips of the same entry are not allowed unless added in a comment beneath the one primary clip.
On March 30 (or thereabouts) in our weekly Saturday Spotlight, I will reveal the 10 top-trending entries (as determined automatically by our site-trending algorithms*) as well as the randomly drawn prize winners. The next challenge will be announced soon after this challenge has closed. *Note: The site algorithms use members' collective likes, comments, and reactions to each entry to determine our Spotlightees.
If you are new to Cookie Connection and need help posting your entry, please let me know and I’ll be happy to assist you. Now, go have lots of fun creating!
Ciao Manu (and Noriko)
Manuela Pezzopane, affectionately called Manu by her friends and family, is the author of the blog feature Made by Manu, where each month she shares the method behind a magical cookie of her own making. In March 2022, Manu also assumed the role of host of our rebranded and reformatted Cookie Connection Challenges: Watch-Learn-Create Series, which debuted in a virtual video format in July 2022. A fan of everything handmade, Manu professes to have tried every possible hobby. However, it wasn’t until the end of 2014, when an American friend invited her to a Christmas cookie exchange, that she first discovered decorated cookies. In 2015, after watching Julia M. Usher's videos and signing up on Cookie Connection, Manu finally attempted her own designs. Since then, cookie decorating has become Manu’s passion, and her mesmerizing video shorts have earned her a large and loyal following throughout the global cookie community. Manu harks from Rome, Italy, where she currently resides. You can email Manu at manubiscottidecorati@gmail.com, follow her on Facebook and Instagram, or explore her past challenges and large library of Made by Manu tutorials here on Cookie Connection.
Photo credit: Manuela Pezzopane
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