open dyslexic mode

At long last, the 2025 winner reveal in my annual virtual cookie art competition is here! This year's competition (once again) surpassed my expectations on many metrics: the final prize tally was $20,650 (with a record-breaking $9,600 in cash); both number of registrants and entrants grew by a whopping 39% to levels we haven't seen in many years; registrants came from 19 different countries; and the caliber of entries was perhaps better than ever, each one filled with so much thoughtfulness, skill, and meaning. Of course, the latter just made the judges' job of deciding pretty darn difficult, but the judging team always amazes me with how diligently and carefully they review each entry.

Congrats to all of the entrants whose passionate expressions of cookie art and the courage to share that art are beyond impressive; thanks to my 17 sponsors for their incredible generosity; and never-ending gratitude to my judging team for applying so much valuable time and expertise to the evaluation process.

Here, you'll see a quick video summary of the final standings and the winning entries. For more information about the winners - including bigger pictures of their entries, bios, notes about their interpretations of the theme ("Nature's Symphony"), and select comments from the judges - please visit the official winner reveal post on my site Cookie Connection (link below). You'll also find the grand Best in Show winner reveal there, as I didn't want to spill all of the beans just yet. A little suspense is always invigorating! 😀

OFFICIAL WINNER REVEAL POST ON COOKIE CONNECTION: cookieconnection.juliausher.com/blog/the-2025-winn…