Julia’s 58th Cookie Connection Challenge (the eighth in the new-ish Watch-Learn-Create series) has arrived, and it comes with a bow on top – as a figure of speech. It’s true though – it’s a mighty special gift because its kickoff tutorial contains a lesson in how to create not just one beautiful bow, but four of them! And who better to teach this lesson than the Queen of Bows herself, Delorse Sword (aka Sword’s Sugars)?! As always, Cookie Connection contributor Manu Pezzopane joins this wonderful guest as host and moderator of the challenge, making it all the more special.

More about this challenge guest: Delorse is considered one of the OGs of cookie decorating, having emerged in 2014 as an early force on the cookie scene at CookieCon, the world’s largest cookie decorating convention. After that event, Delorse went all in with cookies and rapidly gained a reputation for her picture-perfect icing, artfully arranged cookie platters, and beautiful bows of remarkable depth and dimension. The world of cookies has given Delorse some amazing opportunities over the years. She has participated in cookie collaborations; designed cookie cutters; entered cookie competitions, including Julia’s 2019 competition filmed for Food Network; served as guest host at numerous cookie retreats; and attended, presented, and taught at CookieCon. When Delorse is not designing and decorating cookies, she enjoys traveling the country with her husband and daughter, working in their garden, and experiencing the wonders of new life on their little farm every spring.

In her challenge kickoff video, Delorse demonstrates four stunning royal icing bows: three outlined-flooded types using two icing consistencies and one smaller piped type using a single icing consistency. What’s notable about all four types is how real they look despite being made entirely of royal icing piped directly on cookies. It may come as a surprise, but no royal icing transfers, fondant, or other modeling mediums are used to lend dimension to Delorse’s bow loops and tails; just some clever under- and over-piping secrets that she reveals in her demo. At the conclusion of the demo, Delorse and Manu encourage viewers to create bow cookies for Challenge #58 by replicating some of Delorse’s signature styles and also by creating brand-new looks using Delorse’s piping secrets. As with all of Cookie Connection’s Watch-Learn-Create challenges, entrants to Challenge #58 have the rare opportunity to expand their cookie skills with one of the industry’s best, but they also get the chance to win phenomenal prizes! In this case, Julia is giving away a free tutorial from a previous challenge guest to two lucky randomly drawn winners!

Again, for more information about challenge rules and how to join the fun, please visit the challenge kickoff post on Cookie Connection. To jump directly to a sneak peak of Delores’s video tutorial and/or to purchase her full-length tutorial, simply click on the “LEARN MORE” button, and you’ll be taken to Delorse’s video listing in the “TUTORIALS: Guest Series” section of this site. Don’t delay in getting the video if you’re interested. Remember: While the challenge is running (through January 19, 2025), the tutorial is only $5 (with the code accessed on the listing page), but, once the challenge is over, the video reverts to normal market price of $30.