Blog: Trending Over Last Week

Hi, everyone and, in particular, my wonderful Stencil of the Month Club members and stencil customers over time. In case you missed my big announcement in my March 2022 stencil release post, I wanted to repeat it here in plainer view so everyone sees it. So, without further ado, here it is . . .

Hi, everyone! If you've read the most recent Practice Bakes Perfect challenge recap, you know that our beloved host Sweet Prodigy has decided to move on to bigger and better things. While I couldn't be more delighted about the work Christine (Dutcher) has done to develop and support these challenges over the last two years, I am just as...

Since it will soon be spring (wishful thinking maybe?), I tried to imagine a delicate and dainty cookie with decorations featuring a flower, leaves, and lace. I got inspiration from many different embroidery techniques like cutwork and hemstitch; then I...

Hello and welcome to a very special Practice Bakes Perfect Challenge #50! In recognition of this extraordinary milestone, I thought it only fitting that we mark the occasion by giving you an opportunity to participate in not one – but 50 different challenges! This means you have...

Hi, everyone! I posted the following comments as a footnote to the recently released Practice Bakes Perfect Challenge #49 recap. They're pretty important, so I wanted to be sure everyone sees them and takes a moment to respond. The future of Cookie Connection and our challenges depends on your input...

With many cookiers owning dozens – even hundreds – of cookie cutters, losing track of the identity of one or two is bound to happen. And, trying to decipher those "mystery" cutters can be a challenge all on its own. Fortunately, our Practice Bakes Perfect challenge entrants have shown...

You may have caught this awesome news already in my September stencil release post, but, if not, let me break it to you first, here and now...

Happy weekend, everyone! This week's Spotlight is a textural triumph, as many of the honorees also happen to be entrants in our ongoing Practice Bakes Perfect Imprinted Icing challenge! In fact, three (yes, three!) of...

This cookie project is meant for a dad who plays or loves to watch tennis (or for anyone who does). I used the Needlepoint Mat from SugarVeil® to make...

Hi, all! It's that time again when we celebrate the ten top-trending cookies on the site this past week! Since it's nearly Sunday (yikes!), I'm going to keep this Saturday Spotlight intro brief and...

It's almost that time to ring in the New Year, and I have the perfect celebratory drink for you! A dessert cocktail! Yes, these scrumptious delights by Artisan Craft Cocktails are...

There’s no debating it: Halloween is one of the best, if not THE best, cookie seasons of the year - which is why I’ve got a second Halloween-themed release for you this month! This time, it’s a...

A couple of months ago, I re-posted my “old” Easter Cookie Box, a tutorial I wrote two years ago. The idea was that the sides of the box would look like a fence that had its vertical planks replaced with Easter cookies. I was surprised to see how much love this box has still...

It's that time again - that wonderful moment when you can set aside COVID-worries, social media drama, and the too-often-crazy news of the day and simply focus on cookies - lots of beautiful cookies...

Hi! I hope everyone is remaining safe and healthy, and that the required social distancing isn't driving you too stir-crazy. I had the first great day I've had since the quarantine began, and I think it was due, in large part, to...

Happy New Year! Perhaps (wink, wink), your New Year's resolutions include improving your cookie game by entering more Practice Bakes Perfect Challenges in 2020. In fact, on the Cookie Connection calendar, I believe 2020 is the Year of the Healthy Risk!...

Happy 2020, Cookie Connection members! We've most certainly had an auspicious start to the new year, judging from the caliber of cookies hitting this week's hot list. Naturally, we see some...

What could be more basic than water? On one level, water is so essential that no life would exist without it. And yet, on the other hand, few things are as complex as water. It can be...

Vacation is wonderful in so many respects, isn't it? My one last week to the Amalfi Coast not only gave me the opportunity to spend time with my niece and to explore a new place, but it also gave me a newfound appreciation for the stunning work that you all routinely do...

Thank you all for participating in the most recent questionnaire in my Sugar Dot Surveys series. In this one, I asked you a bunch of simple, quick-fire questions that covered a whole host of mini topics. The primary aim was to...

Wowza! Now if that cover art didn't get your attention, I'm not sure what would! :) The colors just POP off the page, don't they?! I chose @DI ART's photo for this special highlight because it underscores one of the things I love most about our cookie community - and that's...

Thanks to Julia M. Usher and some community members for their inquiries concerning the "interesting" surface texture on my gingerbread cookies made for Halloween, shown above. I've been testing various techniques for a while...

Hi, all! I'm thrilled to announce that Dotty Raleigh (aka Sugar Dot Cookies) is doing a pilot test of a potential new feature for the site called Sugar Dot Surveys. Basically, the idea is this...

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...

Today at CookieCon, I took one all-day class from Shirlyn Leong (aka Cookies Art by Shirlyn), and we decorated one cookie! In the morning, she taught us...

My cookies for the Sugar Show are made and now I’ve started to pull everything together for CookieCon. In the photo above, you can see my cookie containers, my carry-on that I bought at the first CookieCon, and my backpack...

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...

Before I dive into this interview with Berni Solti (aka @Gingerland), please stop whatever you’re doing and give her a huge round of applause! Berni now holds the official record for site art submissions, topping out at five in total with four more still to post...

The vast majority of the year, heart, flower, and lace cookies dominate our Cookie Connection photo feeds. But, come early June, we start seeing tons of cookies that Dads are sure to love too...

Between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and my niece Lara and her new husband Chandler, I've had a weekend wedding extravaganza! It started at 6 am with a livestream from Windsor Castle and ended...

If you saw the following photo from my recent teaching trip to the Dominican Republic, you might think it's what inspired this month's stencil release...

Not to be confused with Mexican Independence Day, which is two-day celebration spanning September 15 and 16, Cinco de Mayo actually commemorates the Mexican Army's win over the French Empire in the 1862 Battle of Puebla. But over time, here in the US anyway...

Happy Easter, everyone! Should the Easter Bunny shortchange you on chocolate eggs or marshmallow peeps tomorrow (God forbid!), consider this Spotlight to be added cookie insurance...

Welcome to Practice Bakes Perfect Challenge #22 where, this month, we switch gears from edible lace to edible paper! I only began experimenting with wafer paper this past year, so I still have a lot to learn myself...

Yes, at long last, here's what you've all been waiting for - the announcement of the finalists in our 2016 Cookiers' Choice Awards! First, before the big reveal, let me extend a sincere thank you to all who took the time to nominate candidates this year...

From time to time, companies gift me with various goodies, hoping that I'll review or feature those goodies in a video tutorial. If the product isn't directly related to baking or decorating...

Once again, we've hopped-skipped-and-jumped straight from Halloween and onto Christmas! Aside: I've never understood why Thanksgiving gets the short end of the cookie-stick each year, but I've got some new Thanksgiving...

I’ve been loving our October site art, haven’t you? The colors and textures are so perfectly evocative of fall...

I know, I know, it's so easy to get distracted by all of the gorgeous cookies gracing our home page galleries each day, and to forget that there's more to Cookie Connection than just photos...

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.

"There is almost nothing that has such a keen sense of fun as a fallen leaf."...

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...

Even as recently as last week, I wasn't completely convinced it was summer, as Saint Louis was still experiencing record rainfalls and unseasonably cool weather. But now, with five straight days of sweltering temperatures, everyone here in Missouri is...

Once you've established that you'd like to be in business (see my previous post for more on that topic), you need to start thinking about the kind of business you would like to have. There can be some financial benefits to keeping a business...

    Spring has not yet sprung (at least not where I live), but hopefully it's just around the corner! In anticipation of the arrival of spring, I decided to make a cookie wreath. Now, I've done my fair share of bird-related cookies, but when...

This week I've got an unconventional and very exciting Saturday Spotlight for you - the announcement of the winners in the 2014 Cookiers' Choice Awards ! After a long couple of weeks of serious deliberation, our panel of esteemed Cookiers'...

There's been such a plethora of fabulous Valentine-themed cookies posted to the site in recent days that I really had no choice but to do another back-to-back Valentine's Day cookie Spotlight ! Frankly, I'm also a little heart happy. You see, I've...