This month, we speak with April site artists, Allegra Crea, who, for the longest time, I thought was one person! But as it turns out, “Allegra Crea” means “create cheerfully” in Italian and is the online moniker for the cookie decorating duo of Ivana Parisi and Giusi Urso...
If there's one thing I've learned over my last several weeks of travel, it's that, while we may all look and sound very different from place to place, the global cookie community is fundamentally connected by the same things: a love of family; a desire for peace, health, and financial stability; and a passion for spreading joy by sharing beautiful cookies.
Everything's coming up roses! (Unless, of course, you live in the Midwest, or Northeast, or frankly anywhere north of the Mason-Dixon Line, in which case, there is nothing coming up, and there is snow on the ground. But I digress)...
When I was a kid, one of my father’s colleagues, Mr. Oshiro, introduced me to origami, the Japanese art of paper folding. Several weeks later, our local summer vacation program offered an origami course for children. That was it - I was lost.
Welcome to our Practice Bakes Perfect Challenge #15 Recap. Spring has finally sprung! Hopefully, you are recovered from both your Easter baking and spring-breaking, and are ready for a whirlwind tour of the amazing Instanbul-inspired cookies that I am about to present to you.
It's curious how our most beloved memories can be a huge source of inspiration. Now that spring is here among us, and we can get out and enjoy the good weather, a wonderful memory came to my mind: my days in Tuscany.
It's that time again to shine the spotlight on the top-trending cookies of the week! Woo hoo! With Easter just one day away, we've, of course, got the requisite number of bunnies and eggs on our hot list* today. But leave it to our Cookie Connection members...
It's clearly the season for hens! After Dolce Sentire's lovely Easter hen cookie box tutorial, I thought twice about presenting my own version. But perhaps you can't have too many hens approaching Easter...
Well, after a brief nod to St. Paddy's day a couple of weeks ago, you all pretty much hippity-hopped right on over to Easter, as confirmed by the abundance of eggs and bunnies hitting our hot list* this week.
Say hello to Stefania Onano of Sweets_by_me in Cagliari, Italy, another of our recent and talented Practice Bakes Perfect Challenge #13 honorees! In recognition of her winning March entry, Stefania’s rose cookies are featured in our site’s banner and backdrop...
Easter is coming, and with it comes warmer weather, bright and lively colors, and (yeah!) lots of baskets full of candy: marshmallow peeps, swirl pops, chocolate bunnies...
Too often here in cookie land, we skip from Valentine's Day to Easter, without giving St. Patrick's Day even a sideways glance. I've never been quite sure why that is, as leprechauns, when done right, can be so darn cute.
This Saturday Spotlight may be late, but it's super sweet! Yes, it's the long-awaited announcement of the 2015 Cookiers' Choice Awards winners!
Cream of tartar is one of the more mysterious yet most common ingredients in baking. It can also be one of the more elusive ones to find in some countries!
When my family and I were living as expats in London, we had the opportunity to do a great deal of travel throughout Europe and Asia. One of our very favorite destinations was Istanbul, Turkey. The exotic mix of people and culture and art was intoxicating.
