For the last year and a half, The National Cookie Network has grown from a tiny little wordpress.com blog (The Cookie Blog) with only 50 readers a month, to a self hosted network with over 25K readers every month.

This has been such rapid growth, that I thought I would take a moment to share a few different ways that new and loyal readers alike, can connect with the National Cookie Network. It is my hope that by doing this, new readers will learn a bit more about myself and the National Cookie Network, and that long time readers will be better kept abreast of what’s going on around here.

Please leave a comment below to let me know how I’m doing, and give me feedback on anything you’d like to continue to see, or even on anything you’d like to see change around here. I welcome constructive criticism of all kinds, and will use it to create a better site and resource for all you cookie lovers out there.

The Blog

The National Cookie Network is, at it’s core, a blog. It’s written 100% by myself, Tiffany McCauley (with the exception of a guest blogger or two now and then.). It is intended to be a resource for the cookie world at large. Whether you are an avid home baker, or a professional starting your own cookie business, It is my hope that you will find something on this site that will be of help to you.

• 7 Days A Week: I post about recipes all over the web, from many different blogs and web sites. And on occasion (when my little munchkin allows me the time), I’ll even toss in my own recipes that I bake in my own home kitchen. Some are recipes I’ve created myself, while others are recipes I’ve adapted from other recipes found somewhere on the Internet. Occasionally, I’ll also throw in a review of a product or small cookie company around our great nation.

I am by no means, a professional baker. But I do have years of cookie baking experience. 30 years, to be exact. Please read my About page to learn more about me and how I got started on this cookie baking journey.

How To Connect

There are several ways you can keep up to date on what’s happening here at the National Cookie Network:

• Bookmark it - many of my readers simply bookmark the National Cookie Network home page, and check back frequently to keep abreast of the latest postings and goings on around here.
• Email Subscriptions – This is probably the most user friendly way to receive regular post updates from the National Cookie Network.  All you do is enter your email address (I NEVER share your information… EVER) in the box at the top left of this page, and you will receive a daily email containing the newest post on this site.
• RSS Feed – this is also a great way for people keep up to date with what’s happening around here. By subscribing to my RSS feed, you will automatically receive updates via your choice of news aggregators such as Google Reader, BlogLines, My Yahoo, and many more.To better understand what RSS is, you can click here to be taken to a page at the ProBlogger web site which explains in plain English what an RSS Feed is and how it’s used. This page will open in a new window so you don’t lose your place here.
• Social Networking– There are lots of ways to keep in touch around here via social networking. At (almost) the top of this page on the left, you will see the many different social networking icons linked to the sites where you can interact with me. Admittedly, there are a lot of them, and I don’t always get the time to tend to all of them the way I should. But I do eventually get around to them all at some point. So don’t think I’ve forgotten about you! The sites I spend the most time on are Twitter and FaceBook. So if you’re looking to connect with me right away, either leave a comment here on the blog, or contact me via Twitter or FaceBook. In most cases, I’ll get back to you right away.
• Social Bookmarking – And last but not least, don’t forget to bookmark the content you enjoy here, using social bookmarking sites such as delicious.com and digg.com. At the bottom of each post, you’ll notice there is a “share button”. I encourage you to use this button to share a post or recipe you really like. It is only through your help that this blog will continue to extend it’s growth into the Internet based cookie world.  Please support the National Cookie Network by sharing the content you enjoy with as many people as you can. This site’s growth will ensure it’s survival. You will find more social bookmarking icons near the top left of this page.

The Forums

The National Cookie Network forums are not well known features of the site. I’ve been careful not to grow them to fast so as to be able to keep up with everything around here! But I suppose now the cat is out of the bag, so here is the low down on the National Cookie Network forums.

The first forum is open to all my readers. I encourage you to join. It’s called the National Cookie Network Baking Challenge. Every month, you create your own recipe, take a picture, and then post the photo and recipe to be judged. The winner is featured here on the blog along with their photo and a link back to their web site. At the end of the year, I select one winner from all the monthly winners. This person will win a $25 gift card to the coffee house of their choice (either Starbucks or Peet’s Coffee).

My second forum is for cookie business owners. More specifically, for people starting a cookie business. When I had my own cookie business, I found it very difficult to find any truly helpful information out there that was specific to starting a cookie business. So I wrote an eBook and started a forum.

My disclaimer is that I’m certainly no business expert. I’m more of a “learn-by-the-seat-of-my-pants” kinda girl. Everything I share is based on my own experiences and knowledge I’ve gathered outside a classroom in the real world. I don’t claim to know it all, but it is my hope that I can create an atmosphere of learning in my forum so that those seeking help can find the information they need.

So Now I Need Your Feedback!

How do you keep in touch and up to date with the National Cookie Network? Your feedback will only help this site to grow and improve as both a resource and and online home for cookie lovers the world over.