Seeing as this is my last Spotlight before Christmas (more on the Cookie Connection holiday schedule below), I'm just going to say this now in case I miss you on the 25th: MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! May you have a...
In this edition of Toolbox Talk, I'm zooming in on another ingredient that can mystify cookiers outside of the United States (US): corn syrup. It is sometimes listed in royal icing recipes, but it is not available all over the world...
Ah, summer. When my kids were in grade school, those first few weeks of summer vacation were like paradise. Sleeping in, staying up late, slumber parties, and lazy days - summer was everything they thought they wanted. As the days passed, however, they’d always reach a point when...
After two 3-D cookie tutorials in a row, I wanted to make something flat but with some easy added depth and dimension. So I decided to create a simple two-color winter cookie wreath, where the cookies are...
I just returned from my first holiday party of the year, and, boy, did it ever put me in the Christmas spirit! (And solidly remind me that I need to get cracking on my decorating!)...
There's no ignoring the fact that 2020 has been a year like no other. It was the year that we went from living life outside of our homes to living life within our homes. Home became the place where we were...
With the frenzied prep for my next video shoot (next weekend) coming to a close, it's nice to finally be able to relax for more than a sec and to really savor what's on this week's hot list. And savor I have - this week's roundup is...
With one of the year's biggest cookie holidays barely behind us, it's already time to get the creative juices flowing for the next big one - Valentine's Day! Phew! The work of the cookier is never done...
Our homes have never been more important than in this unprecedented year. They've not only been the roofs over our heads, under which we routinely take shelter to eat and sleep; they've also been our workplaces, the schools for our kids, and the sanctuaries sought...
I don’t know about you, but I have faced many challenges in my lifetime, the biggest of which knocked me down so hard I thought I would never survive. Oddly enough, it was through that challenge that I found my true calling and built a small...
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday and is ready to jump right back into cookies! I took a few days off from decorating cookies myself to...
I'm back from Japan - and from the associated jet lag (I think)! Thanks, everyone, for granting me a little reprieve from Spotlights as I tended to my cookie courses. While the classes and whole experience were magical, it is nice to once again feel home turf underfoot and to be...
There is something about painting on a cookie that I can't resist. People say it's a great stress release and outlet for self-expression and creativity. For me, painting is not only a very accessible and enjoyable...
What makes the difference between a cookie aficionado and a cookiepreneur? Profit! Remember we are talking business here, and the bottom line is the bottom line. I am going to dive right into this two-part series. Part I, Creating a Successful...
When I was a small child, we had a family friend who was very old and well-travelled. I loved to visit her house because she kept a display of souvenirs from the various countries she’d visited. There were...
Hi, all! Happy fall! We're in that inexplicably odd time zone where people tend to jump from Halloween cookies right into Christmas ones, forgetting about that wonderful Thanksgiving holiday that falls in between! Fortunately for us...
Ooh, I just love this time of year on the site, don't you? I mean, who needs visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads when there are so many glorious Christmas cookies dancing across our screens?! Tonight, I'm featuring this week's top ten cookies, but it should come as no surprise that...
The first time I heard about shortening was when an American colleague couldn't find it for a recipe she planned to make for Thanksgiving dinner. When she served sweet potatoes covered with melted marshmallows, I wasn't immediately...
High on spice yet relatively delicate in texture, this dough is perfect for 2-D cookies and small-scale 3-D construction projects, like my sandwiched baskets and Fabergé egg cookies shown in the attachments. It also spreads less than my...
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!
Hello, all! I’m Hallena and this is the Fantastic Bakes and Where to Find Them 's first tutorial. I will be showing you how to create your own Kopykake copycat for a fraction of the price. What is a Kopykake? According to the...
It used to be, not long ago, that cookiers hopped from Halloween to Christmas, bypassing turkeys, pilgrims, and all other Thanksgiving themes without skipping a beat. But with the explosive interest in cookie decorating as of late, Cookie...
This month, I'm sharing a different idea for a cookie platter where the cookies are propped vertically. I've displayed the mushroom cookies close together and used segments of a paper straw to connect them through holes cut into each cookie. This way...
Happy Saturday, everyone! Well, what can I say . . . it's full-on Valentine's Day here! Almost everywhere you look on this site, including this Saturday Spotlight, you'll see hearts, hearts, and more hearts! You name the heart, this hot list has it...
Hello, my name is Violet, and I love making needlepoint (aka cross stitch) pattern cookies. What you are looking at here is a large (8-inch) heart cookie decorated with a needlepoint rose pattern - my first cookie of this magnitude...
With one week 'til the big day, it's still all about Christmas cookies here on Cookie Connection! If you're like me - with all of your shopping and baking left to do - then you're in luck, because this week's Spotlight has plenty of ideas for both...
Just mention the word "marketing" to a cookie maker, and she'll most likely want to run and hide under a blankie. We all know marketing is really important, and we know we need to do it, but we don't entirely understand what it is or...
Well no one's ordered any autumn cookies from me this year, and I do love a collection of pumpkins and gourds. I always have a few in the window where I work. I particularly love the quirkily shaped, knobbly gourds, both beautiful and funny! Though...
YES!!! It’s time! Early Bird reg for The Cake and Cookie's “One Sweet Christmas” event is now open to everyone...
Easter has been one of my favorite holidays since I was a child. I remember how my sisters and I would spend hours drawing designs on cooked eggs with crayons before carefully dipping them into little cups of dye. Once we had amassed dozens of brightly colored eggs, the treasure hunts would begin. We’d...
My past November tutorials have always been about 3-D Christmas trees. To refresh your memory, below is a small gallery of those projects and their variations, which include...
Just as we’re supposed to be bundling up in thick sweaters and downy coats, I’ve experienced the run of all possible seasons and weather this week – and not just in my travels from Washington, DC to Stonington, Maine, but in my journey through the site in preparing this Spotlight! Naturally...
While fall still lingers on Cookie Connection, Christmas arrived in a beautiful flurry this week! Our hot list features an old-time Santa, a pair of darling birds wearing knit caps, a reindeer how-to (which first posted in 2013 and rises the top of our charts every holiday season), and...
Hi, all! I'm back from my teaching trip and ready to kick into high gear on Saturday Spotlights again! I thank you all for your patience and understanding over the last two weeks as I worked through some big cookie commitments on this end. I think I've finally recuperated...
Valentine's Day is just around the corner and what better opportunity to talk about love? In this case, love for a cookie decorating technique: the crackle effect!
Fellow cookiepreneurs, the holidays are upon us, and I hope this month’s post finds you in high spirits and looking forward to the coming days. Before I begin, I wanted to share that I recently received feedback that some of you would be...
Do you have some extra time on your hands? Are you a perfectionist with the patience of a saint? Do your friends marvel at your love of tedious projects?...
Even though I am now living in Thailand where it is currently 85°F (29°C), I haven't forgotten the cold of winter, which many of you are now experiencing. So, I thought, what better way to get cozy than with felt warmers on hot cocoa (cookie) mugs?!...
As I am nearly on my way out the door for a week of vacation, I decided to bring you this week's Spotlight a day early! And, as turkey day is nearly upon us all (here in the US, that is), there's no more fitting subject matter for this Spotlight than Thanksgiving...
Wow! Wow! Wow! That's the best way to describe this year's Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show (OSSAS)! From start to finish, the show was full of surprises! Heck, it was surprising even before it got started...
Hello! I sincerely hope everyone in the US is enjoying the long Labor Day weekend, and that others elsewhere are finding some time to chill out as well. I too am trying my darnedest to get in a little downtime before the fall sugar show season kicks in next weekend...
I'm thrilled to say that, in recent weeks, I've been spotting a lot of first-time posters to the site and to our Practice Bake Perfect challenges! A few have said that the intimidation of posting here is what had previously held them back. And I get that...
The last several months leading up to this release have been a lot like the road trip my family took each summer to get to our vacation spot in Maine. Every few minutes, a chorus of kids would ring out from the back seat, asking my Dad, "Are we there yet?!"...
Hi, everyone! Thanks so much for the brief reprieve from the Spotlight over the last two weekends. Having a week off did me a world of good! I can finally think clearly enough to resume my cookie work! I sincerely hope you...
The recent Practice Bakes Perfect Challenge #21 about lace was the source of my inspiration for this project. Each challenge is a wonderful experience because it focuses participants...
By now, I'm sure everyone's ovens are cranked into high gear, what with Christmas just around the corner. But before you get all of your cookies safely stowed on cooling racks, I urge you to stop and smell what's been baking here on Cookie Connection ...
This week, our CookieCon 2014 series continues with the talented and oh-so-entrepreneurial Susan Schmitt of The Painted Cookie. As it turns out, Susan harks from Wilton, Connecticut, not far from my...
While contemplating paths in the cookie world, a Cookie Connection member recently commented in one of our forums about the seemingly endless choices for cookie expression. Should she blog? Expand her for-profit cookie business? Teach classes?...
Did you ever imagine that something as simple as decorated cookies - a straightforward mixture of sugar, flour, and a few other things - could connect us so powerfully? When I started this site, I certainly had hopes of making cookie friends outside...
It’s been a particularly brutal summer here in California. Between the extended record-breaking heat waves and the raging wildfires, I’ve never been more excited for autumn. After weeks of...
