Hi, I'm back as promised this week with another Spotlight on cookiers who have risen to the Bake to Defeat ALS challenge that is ongoing through the month of August! As a reminder, this challenge has been spearheaded by Anita Cadonau-Huseby...
There’s never a dull moment on the CookieCon interview circuit! With a little under two months ‘til the big event and still three instructors to interview, I’m kicking into high gear with Q&A. On August 8, we live-chatted with Dotty of Sugar Dot Cookies, and on September 12, Bridget from Bake at 350 will...
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...
Ho, ho, ho! I know many of you are wearing shorts, swimsuits, and sunnies, but here in the Practice Bakes Perfect kitchen, it is Christmastime! Well . . . sort of. You see, for this latest challenge, you will be asked to repurpose your...
With just one week 'til my teaching trip to Israel, I can't help but think about how small the world has become - and all because of cookies! Less than two years ago, Cookie Connection had 984 members across 24 countries, and now we have a colossal...
You've heard the mantra before. It echoes the thought that a structure's location is the most important factor in its value, both now and in the future. And while there is absolute truth to this thought, along my journey I realized...
Widely regarded as one of YouTube's favorite cookiers, Hani (aka Haniela's ) has been producing cookie videos for us at the rate of about three per week since January 2013. That's 387-plus videos in total, folks, and speaking from...
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...
As moderator of Cookie Connection , I have the unique vantage point of seeing every cookie photo that hits the site - and that's a lot! Most of the time, it's the season that dictates the dominant cookie subject matter . . . like right now, we've got...
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...
Seeing as it was a 60-degree (Fahrenheit) day here in St. Louis, and we're on the verge of springing forward tonight in the US, I thought I'd get us all in the mood of the imminent season by spotlighting the week's most popular spring creations....
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...
I hope that those of you who celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah had a wonderful time off last week, enjoying family and friends. (I sure did!) But celebration time isn't over yet! Nuh, uh. No sooner than those holidays pass, we're kicking into...
[EDITOR'S NOTE: If you didn't see my recent forum post about changes to our team of contributors, let me quickly catch you up! Aymee VanDyke, writer of From Dough to Dollars , recently departed Cookie Connection , much to our dismay. But we've been blessed with the addition of a new business correspondent - the talented Rebecca Litterell of Litterelly Delicious Cakery . We're thrilled to have her join the team! Today marks the debut of Rebecca's Storefront Diaries !
Alas, National Cookie Month is drawing to a close in a few short days. I hope you've had your fill of cookies and cookie tutorials over these last few weeks. But if not, no worries . . . there's still time for cookie sustenance! This week, in the last...
Let’s wrap up this texture challenge so that we can all start brainstorming the " frankencookie" challenge !! I don’t know about you, but I love a good frankencookie . . . First of all, thank you so much to Rebecca for allowing me to play...
Well, I've got a bit of exciting news - for me and for you! Admittedly, this announcement feels a little anticlimactic, as I've been privy to this information for close to a year. Around about January, my book Cookie Swap , first published in 2009,...
It's that special Saturday time again - and boy, have I got a wide-ranging lineup of beauties for you! Of course, it's the season for pumpkins, so there are a few different (and quite original) takes on those. You'll see a fair bit of black and...
It's that time of the week again - when we celebrate the most popular cookies (or subset of cookies) on the site! Since I'm unaccustomed to the unusually cool Missouri weather that we've been having (brrrr!), I've decided once again to spotlight those...
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...
At a loss for clever St. Paddy's Day designs? Got angst about coming up empty-handed at next weekend's big céilidh (psst . . . that's pronounced kaylee)? Worry no more - the cookies celebrated in this post could very well be your lucky charm!...
[EDITOR'S NOTE: As many of you learned this week, Jill will not be appearing at CookieCon as planned due a death in her family. We at Cookie Connection send Jill and her family our love and sincerest wishes for comfort and healing at this most difficult time. We also believe that Jill's message of uplifting others - expressed here and in all she does in the cookie community - rings louder and clearer, now more than ever. With Jill's permission, we share these words from our earlier...
Day 18 (February 20), 10:30 am to 2:00 am. My teaching days here in Portugal (three of them) don't start until Saturday, so the next two days are designated sightseeing days! And it seems as if my host Teresa has a lot planned for us to do. Woo...
Today marks my last day of classes in Spain, and it's bittersweet. Sweet, because my host Claudia Cetro and her team of assistants (aka mis amigas queridas) were absolutely fabulous in every respect. I don't even know how to express the joy of...
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. ...
Maybe it's my non-stop cookie decorating of the past week. Or the fact that all of the projects I'm doing are ones I've done before . . . Or the sheer quantity of cookies (about 3,000) that have passed before my eyes, hundreds of which are the EXACT...
We’re back again with another amazing CookieCon 2014 instructor – Anne Yorks of Flour Box Bakery! I first stumbled upon Anne’s cookies about two years ago – and then promptly fell head over my gaping-to-the-floor...
And just when you thought all the fun and games were over (I'm referring to our recent Christmas Countdown Challenge), we've got another opportunity to win for you! Yes, you, our Cookie Connection members and cookie-loving public, will be...
Hello! Thanks for waiting patiently for the Week 3 finalist reveal. I was tied up with other work (not a good thing) and house guests (a very good thing) this weekend, so couldn't steal away to write this blog post 'til now. But I think you'll find it...
Hello, everyone! As you may have noticed, this week's Saturday Spotlight is appearing a touch ahead of schedule, because like many Americans, I'm jumping on a plane tomorrow to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family! (Can't wait!) So . . . it is in the...
What the heck is dual-mode stenciling, you ask?! (So sorry - it's the former engineer in me who loves to make up pseudo-scientific names to explain cookie decorating techniques!) Anywho . . . it's a term I coined (I think) to indicate multiple,...
Phew, I see light at the end of the top-coating tunnel! After icing another few hundred cookies this week for the Oklahoma State Sugar Art Show (I'm doing a large-scale cookiescape with the help of Cookie Connection members Charlie's Cakes and...
Just like last week, I'm loving the eclecticism (and immense skill) displayed in this week's hottest cookies. So much so that I'm honoring those in the big, broad hot list again - as opposed to choosing any special cookie subset. (Though heads up: I...
Cookie Connection has quickly grown into a large and incredibly diverse international community (woo hoo!), and this week's Top 10 cookies truly underscore this point with their wide-ranging styles, techniques, and design perspectives. The...
Who better to feature in this week's Saturday Spotlight than our Vintage Vacation contest finalists?! Though the finalists were announced in our forums last night, it seemed only fair to let these fabulous entries bask another whole week in the...
Woo hoo! I'm thrilled to announce that Karen Anderson has joined Cookie Connection as a regular featured blogger, with her very own blog category called, "How DID You Do That?" Every few weeks or so, she'll be featuring compelling cookie work...
