Okay, so hopefully this departure from my normal Saturday Spotlight will be a fun excursion for everyone, including the cookiers featured here! Seeing as the 2016 Cake Masters Cookie Award finalists (pictured below) were just announced this week...
For some reason, no one ever wants to eat beautifully decorated cookies! Usually I hear, "they're too pretty to eat", and so I find myself giving advice about how to store and display them for optimal longevity...
It's that time of year when many of us cling to the last lazy days of our summer routine while simultaneously longing for the thrill of change signaled by the coming of fall. I'm no exception...
Now that I’m about to start my summer vacation, I have more time to do one of the things I love most: going for long walks with my pet Bruno...
I like tiny and sweet things, which obviously means I was meant to like cookies. And I like them more so if they have even tinier and sweeter things on top of them – stacked cuteness, so to say...
Oh, what a wonderfully active cookie week it's been! I think that mistakenly sent lapsed member email spurred some of you into posting overdrive. Just goes to show that every cloud has a silver lining!
Judging from your posts this past week, there's been an outbreak of spring fever! And it's a downright epidemic - with spring-y cookies popping up everywhere!
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...
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...
Well, you clearly decorated your hearts out - literally and figuratively - this week! We've had an impressive influx of heart cookies since our last Saturday Spotlight, all in anticipation of Saint Valentine's Day.
Wow, did you all kick off January with a bang, or what?! If the cookies on this week's hot list* are any indication of what 2016 has in store for us, then it's going to be a banner cookie year!
Oh, no, no, no . . . I hadn't forgotten about this very important annual event! I just got a little waylaid (and that's putting it euphemistically) by the launch of our new site! But with the dust now settling on site launch matters, it's time to turn our attention to celebrating those in the cookie community...
Phew! I have no idea how Thanksgiving crept up on us as fast as it did, but I just ordered my bird and I'm already planning all of the fixin's to go along with it! It's currently a toss up between pumpkin- and pecan pie-flavored cookies for...
As I promised last night, I'm back with a belated, but much anticipated Saturday Spotlight: the grand reveal of the 2015 Cake Masters Magazine Cookie Award winner! (Some of you may have already caught the official Cake Masters reveal on...
Bye bye, sun. Bye bye, sunsets on the beach. Bye bye, mojitos! Fall is almost here, and we have to start thinking about changing our bikinis and beach hats for something warmer. Nope, I'm not speaking about a...
This year's Sugar Show at CookieCon offered the following categories into which cookie entries could be submitted: Back to School, Wildlife, Super Heroes and Comic Books (a nod to Comic-Con, going on the same weekend, across the street...
There is a small part of me (meaning every fiber of my being) that wants to stomp my feet, curl my hands into fists, HISS, levitate, and blow steam from my pores. Everyone, just reflect on that image for a second. It's not because I am home . ....
Today (Friday) was class day at CookieCon, and I have been tasked with passing along some of the nuggets of wisdom that each of the instructors shared with us. First up was Nadia of My Little Bakery. Nadia did a demo in real-time of her...
Here in Missouri this past week, the weather vascillated between summer and fall, apparently not able to make up its mind. But as of this morn, I can happily declare that all of that wishy-washiness is gone and autumn is definitively here! My black...
T-minus eight days until my official arrival at my first ever CookieCon in Salt Lake City, Utah. My husband swears it's called "CookieCon" because he's being conned into taking care of our four kids for four (okay, almost five) days. I endeavor to...
Hi, all, as you may or may not know, to mark the site's two-year anniversary, I recently conducted a survey to collect feedback about how to improve your overall experience on Cookie Connection. At the same time, I also gathered input on the desire...
Holy cow! Where DID the summer go? Before you know it, it will be time to take out those Christmas cutters and start using them for (gulp) Christmas cookies! Before I get on with announcing the winner of Practice Bakes Perfect Challenge #11,...
There are some things about being in business that need to be done no matter what size or kind of business you are running. You've got to do the official paperwork for a business in order to be properly set up as a business...
We've barely had a ray of sunshine here in Missouri in the last few months, so what a pleasure it was to see such cheerful and summery cookies topping this week's hot list.!* I'd love to take a leisurely stroll in the cookie scene below...
I know the anticipation has been building for some time, so today I finally announce the outcome of Building C. In all honesty, I hope this post does not let you down, or leave you frustrated or feeling sorry for me. Instead, I want you to think of it...
In just two weeks, it will be that time when Dads everywhere are regaled with gratitude and gifts. And what better gift than one of cookies, right?! Though not in this week's top 10, this cookie posted in 2013 by Belleissimo Cookies was...
Well, hello there! I was BLOWN AWAY by how many of you were up to the test and participated in Practice Bakes Perfect Challenge #9! Who knew there were so many different ways of piping lettering on cookies? Apparently, you all did, because the...
Even though it snowed two nights ago, we're lucky here in Missouri to have some flowers emerging, bravely taunting our fickle spring weather. I love the bright, sunny pops of color now polka-dotting my yard! Hopefully, you're also...
They're breeding like rabbits - the Easter cookies on this site, that is! And the rabbit theme is even more prolific! (Only one of this week's top ten Easter cookies doesn't have one, or a part of one.) Turns out, bunnies can be cute as...
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...
Recently I've been experimenting with my old edible food pens. Many times I need a very fine writer, but I have not come across anything readily available, very fine, and, well, cheap. This solution works very well for me using Wilton FoodWriters and...
Hello, everyone! I've got some good news, and some other news for you today! Other news first: After much reflection, I've decided that these Practice Bakes Perfect challenges are too much of a time commitment for me at...
[EDITOR'S NOTE: My apologies for another delayed Spotlight - two weeks in a row. The fault is entirely mine, and, this time, my excuse is recovery from an all-day video shoot on Saturday on top of a world class cold. Waaa! Onward to more pleasant things! ~ JMU] Another outstanding showing from everyone for the Practice Bakes Perfect 3-D cookie challenge! We were so excited to see how people just went for it, inventing new techniques and making cookie dough do amazing...
Subtitle: The Whole Truth About Cookie Events It's been an unbelievable week at Cookie'sCool in many respects. As I write this post, I'm sitting in a hotel room in Milan, where I'm spending the night before my return trip to the States...
Halloween isn't quite over yet . . . Hold on a sec, I think I hear trick-or-treaters at my door . . . Ahh, so cute, a little troll and her baby jack-o-lantern brother . . . Sorry, where was I? Yes, it's not quite over, but I'm scraping the...
What a whirlwind these challenges have been! So fun, and so many incredible cookies as a result! Can you believe we are already on Challenge #4? I still have a lot of challenge ideas up my sleeve, but for this one, let's keep it simple. A...
In this fourth edition of special Cookier Close-up s focused on Cookie’sCool instructors, we visit with Jacinda (aka Jaci) Baynes Harper of Ali’s Sweet Tooth , a cookier widely known for her romantic shabby chic style and predilection for...
Wow, it's been another great week of cookie photos here on Cookie Connection ! Many clips have been sporting rust, teal, and peacock blue in keeping with the ongoing Practice Bakes Perfect color challenge . (BTW, if you haven't yet entered, there's...
In this challenge , we asked you guys to cookie a theme onto a terribly random set of cookie shapes: a gnome, a pear, a skull, a rectangle, and a fleur de lis. I thought for sure you'd either be bored or stumped. Boy, was I wrong. Each and every one...
People ask me all the time about the lettering and painting on my cookies. I use a combination of royal icing effects and colors, and handpainted details. One of the most important things to me when I'm painting my cookies is my palette. I like...
I made these thank you cookies for the "Giving the Gift of Thank You" project with Anita from Sweet Hope Cookies - a wonderful cause of which I was so proud to be a part. If you’d like to read more about the project, which supports those living...
Given the plethora of incredible talent on display at the CookieCon 2014 Sugar Show, it seems only appropriate that I cast this week's spotlight on the very deserving winners announced mere hours ago at the closing ceremony. But before...
OK, so among other things (see my earlier post ), I got my first glimpse of the CookieCon Sugar Show today and, boy oh boy, was I ever blown away! The show won't be judged until tomorrow (Saturday) late in the day, so for now the entries...
Wow, it's been a whirlwind of hugs and kisses and hellos here at CookieCon, as cookiers from around the globe assembled for the kick-off of this long awaited cookie event! Since tomorrow is a busy day of presentations and vendor booths (opening at 8...
The recent plummeting of temperature (from 80F to 30F in 24 hours!) has me hoping and praying, more than ever, that spring hurries up and gets here one day! Normally, I'd be grumpy about this turn of events, but the plethora of spring cookies on...
My hope when starting Cookie Connection was that it would not only be a great place for photo sharing and increasing the overall visibility of the cookie community, but also a vehicle for learning and advancing our skills. To that end, the site has...
Days 12 to 14 (February 14 to 16), 9:00 am to 1:00 am. After debriefing about our first weekend's worth of classes, Claudia (my host) and I have tweaked a few things for this weekend's series. We've decided to eliminate a few cookies in the...
They say “necessity is the mother of invention,” and nothing could better describe the life events of our next Cookier Close-up featured guest - Georganne Bell, creator of the popular blog LilaLoa and CookieCon 2014 presenter. ...
Day 5 (February 7), 6:00 am. iPhone alarm sounds off, but there's no point to re-setting it as I "slept" fitfully all night and, though exhausted, I'm strangely wide awake. The pent-up enthusiasm about the start of today's classes is the clear...
