Blog: Trending Over Last 24 Hours

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?!...

With winter now in full effect, I've been thrilled to catch a rare glimpse of snow on the far hills across the valley. Snow angels are an iconic and joyful celebration of the winter season. I imagine happy children thrashing in...

Like everyone else, we’ve been cooped up inside for some time now, feeling anxious due to the uncertainty of recent events. The view from my front window, however, remains largely unchanged...

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...

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...

In my area, we're entering the dog days of summer when temperatures are at their highest. And, boy, is it hot (and humid!). The uptick in heat started about a week ago, and will continue for...

School is finally out. The days are long, and the nights are warm. Let’s go camping...

When my kids were little, every Halloween we would make ghost decorations from cheesecloth and laundry starch. The process was simple: soak cheesecloth in the starchy liquid, drape it over a rough form of compacted aluminum foil, and allow it to dry. The gauzy cheesecloth would harden, creating spooky, semi-transparent specters. In this project, naturally-starchy rice paper stands in for cheesecloth to make an edible version of this Halloween craft.

This tutorial combines two of my favorite things: miniatures and Halloween. The result is a spooky play on my previous miniature projects, Breakfast in Bed for Mom and Dad’s Breakfast. Complete with...

Thank you all for participating in the most recent questionnaire in my Sugar Dot Surveys series. In it, I wanted to find out how thick you roll your cookie dough. I also wanted to know if you use any tool(s) to help achieve a consistent thickness, and why you use the tool(s) that you do...

Hey, all! The news I have for you today is SOOOO BIG that I thought it merited its own special blog post. Its aim is to celebrate our amazingly talented cookie community and to spread the love of cookie art to every nook of our country, if not the world! First...

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...

First off, congrats to our entrants! As I've said before, you all should consider yourselves winners just for having successfully landed your entries on the virtual judging table by the June 30 deadline! You certainly are a...

Hi, everyone! For this challenge, I have a special guest, someone you know very well. She comes from Italy, and she has been one of the most active members of Cookie Connection for years...

Fall and its vibrant colors are a joy for the heart and a great source of inspiration to me. Mums, pumpkins, and wagons surely have been my favorite things to “cookie” in past years...

This is not my first project with cookie spools. The first one, back in 2017, was my entry for Practice Bakes Perfect Challenge #21 (the bimonthly challenge series organized by Bakerloo Station here on Cookie Connection). On that occasion, I learned to...

A few months ago, I made a water lily pond cookie set inspired by a couple of real ponds that I saw during a trip. One pond had pink flowers, and the other pond had white ones. That set was my...

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...

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...

The Fourth of July has officially come and gone, but I love the holiday and have so many wonderful memories of it that I plan to revel in the occasion at least through this weekend! Back in the day, my...

My head was spinning with every walk down the runway at last week's Paris Fashion Week. Cutting-edge (crazy?) new fashion has the same gaze-stopping effect on me that...

Ready for it?! The complete set of rules and theme description for the third virtual edition of Julia M. Usher’s Cookie Art Competition™ are here, which means you can safely start planning and even making your entries! And, since the competition is online, anyone (13 years of age or older) anywhere in the world can enter!...

I wasn’t trying to pick favorites when I made a cookie inspired by one of my dogs. But ever since, my daughter has been campaigning for our cat to get a cookie of his own. I’m not surprised; they have always had a special bond. We’ve had our cat since my daughter was little, and they’ve been an inseparable pair. While the décor in her room...

I'm back after a week off, and what a refreshing sight it is to see the marvelous cookies that made it onto our hot list tonight. Some have been dancing around the top ten photo feed for several days due to their ongoing popularity, while others are...

My first child is packing for college as we speak. Her once overcrowded room is looking practically stark as more and more boxes accumulate in the hall. These visual reminders of her departure have me thinking excitedly about where this new journey will take her...

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...

As much as I love Christmas – the time spent with family and friends, all those smells, and, yes, even "Last Christmas" by Wham! – there is always the thing about the presents...

This post is all about my introduction to meringue powder, one of the subjects that initially spurred the idea for this Toolbox Talk column. Questions about meringue powder come up regularly on Cookie Connection, as there seem to be many differences between brands...

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...

    It's funny how there often seems to be a space for a little honeybee or two on  my cookies, and on occasion I've made a honeycomb for them to sit on. In this two-part tutorial, I'm going to show you how to create a honeycomb cookie...

Things are heating up around me. Literally. Like most of the United States, we're in the midst of a rather impressive heat wave. It makes outdoor activities unbearable. As a result, I am...

When I made the unicorn royal icing transfer for this cookie, I didn’t have a firm plan for the background. A fairytale setting seemed fitting, but...

I know, I know, this post has been a long time coming, but it's well worth the wait, I assure you. Though the winners in Julia M. Usher’s 2023 Cookie Art Competition™ were announced at That Takes the Cake Show in Austin, Texas on April 2, they were only...

Woo hoo! I’m back with another Cookier Close-up! I beg your pardon for being so tardy with these interviews (this month’s Q&A is with our April site artist!). My excuse...

My husband gifts me a new orchid every year for our wedding anniversary. Needless to say, I’ve amassed quite a collection. This time of year as I...

I have been living in Southeast Asia for almost two years now. The flowers and plants here are really fascinating in their shapes and vibrant colors, and have often inspired my tutorials. Moreover...

This year's 3-D Christmas tree cookie was inspired by a project that my kids made in elementary school: a Christmas tree composed of stacked cardboard tubes (like those inside rolls of paper towels), all stapled together. Here, I made thick cookie rings and baked them close together so they would fuse into a sturdy structure. I then...

In real life, my tastes verge on plain. I’m a no makeup, jeans-and-t-shirt sort of girl. Naturally, my wedding ring is a simple gold band, and that’s exactly how I like it. Despite these tendencies...

A second week of special Saturday Spotlights! And this one couldn't be more special, as it's our big 2017 Cookiers' Choice Awards winner reveal! (Okay, so it's Sunday now, but who's keeping track?!)...

Wow, just as I thought we were hurtling full-throttle toward Valentine's Day, you guys threw me for a loop! The artists behind this week's ten top-trending cookies seem a little divided about whether...

This Toolbox Talk tackles an ingredient that is so fundamental to rolled cookie recipes that maybe it should have been the first in this series. I'm talking about flour, people! Even an ingredient as common as flour has its differences around the world, which impact baking results...

Cold weather got you down? Well, I'm about to warm you up with a wonderfully cheerful giveaway brought to you by the talented illustrator Claudine Hellmuth !* Thank you, Claudine!   If you haven't yet had the pleasure of "meeting" Claudine's...

So, it's that funny (not "ha"-funny, but odd-funny) time of year when it's not quite Halloween, but our minds are already jumping forward to the excitement (and preparation) of holiday season and all of the friends, family, and great food that it...

This edition of "How Would You Cookie This?" is being brought to you by Dana  (aka Dana’s Daydreaming Cookies on Cookie Connection )!   Just a little background info for all of you who are new to my blog – this fun segment is...

Ok, it’s not really that dramatic. But it’s also not a fabulous, perfect tutorial with a happy ending either. Despite the fact that this is one technique that didn’t work out as well as I had hoped, I do want to share what I learned...

With tomorrow being the official first day of spring, it seemed only appropriate that we celebrate with a giveaway! Woo hoo!     Thanks to the very generous and talented cookie cutter designer  Michael Bonne , dubbed America's Favorite...

I would like to start by saying thank you. I was nervous about my first post, but you guys gave it an overwhelmingly positive response. For that, I thank you. And because of that overwhelmingly positive response, I wrote up a tutorial to answer the...