The wonderful Manu Pezzopane once again hosted this 61st Cookie Connection Challenge (the eleventh in Julia’s new-ish Watch-Learn-Create series). Manu has gained the well-deserved reputation of picking the perfect featured guests and topics, and of asking them the perfect questions at just the right time! Speaking of perfect featured guests . . . the guest for this challenge was award-winning cookie artist Noelle Le-Lê Phan Viên Hy who virtually eliminated all of the entrants’ fears about piping and painting portrait cookies. In her kickoff video tutorial for this challenge, Noelle showed how to create a charming chibi character, paying particular attention to painting the hair and eyes, which are often the most difficult features to master. Noelle’s thoughtful choice to render a chibi made her video lesson all the more approachable, particularly for beginners. Piping and painting a chibi-style portrait is arguably easier than piping and painting a regular portrait, because chibis have relatively few facial details, and drawing them cutely doesn’t require precise feature placement and proportions. Plus, Noelle provided three chibi templates in her resource list (which comes with the tutorial) that could be used as cookie-cutting and piping guides, as well as plenty of tips for transferring images, especially without use of a projector. After a brief intro, the bulk of Noelle’s demo focused on her layered piping methods using two different icing consistencies, and how she paints hair and eye highlights/lowlights to add lifelike depth and dimension.

At the end of the video tutorial, Noelle and Manu encouraged viewers to create chibi portraits of their own for Challenge #61 using Noelle’s methods and any one (or all!) of her three chibi templates as guides. Though this challenge is over (it closed for entries on January 11, 2026), you ought to check out all of the cute chibi entries in the challenge recap. You’ll see firsthand how entrants’ skills progressed over the challenge, as many made multiple entries, and you’ll also learn a lot from the feedback that Noelle provided under each entry. But, before you head to the recap, be warned: it’s cuteness overload! 😉

As with all of Cookie Connection’s Watch-Learn-Create challenges, entrants to Challenge #61 had the rare opportunity to expand their cookie skills with one of the industry’s best, but they also got the chance to win incredible prizes! In this case, Julia gave away one free tutorial from her “Guest Series” of past challenge tutorials. And the lucky winner got to pick exactly the one she wanted!

More about this challenge guest: Noelle Le-Lê Phan Viên Hy (aka Cookies by Hy) is a Vietnamese cookie artist and international cookie decorating instructor specializing in royal icing and realistic dimensional cookie art. With a passion for edible storytelling, Noelle brings cookies to life through intricate designs that blend creativity, precision, and emotion. Her work has been recognized for its innovation and craftsmanship with multiple international awards, including, most recently, Cookie Artist of the Year Finalist in the 2024 D’licious Magazine Awards. As an instructor, Noelle has had the honor of teaching in the United Kingdom and the United States, and sharing her techniques and vision with artists and enthusiasts around the world. Noelle’s classes are not just about decorating cookies, but also about inspiring others to find joy and meaning in their creative journeys. To explore Noelle’s portfolio and to follow her life as a cookie artist, please visit her Instagram and Facebook pages.