Mixing Bowl - www.mixingbowl.com
A relatively new addition to the social networking scene (but what social network isn’t?), this Better Homes and Gardens venture connects bakers of all skill levels through groups, blogs, and an extensive and rapidly growing recipe file. There are also some great baking contests (with cash prizes to boot)!

Dessert Professional - www.dessertprofessional.com
Interested in elevating dessert to art? Then there’s no better place than this site, a network comprised primarily of pro bakers and pastry chefs. With eye candy galore and a special group where dessert luminary Tish Boyle dishes about sweets, this site is fully equipped to teach even the veteran baker new tricks.

The Daring Kitchen - www.thedaringkitchen.com
Other online baking challenges have come and gone, but The Daring Baker (a group within The Daring Kitchen) has soared past the two year mark. Founded in 2006 after an online pretzel-baking showdown between founders Lisa and Ivonne, the site has grown to close to 2,000 members. If you’re eager to see how your skills match up to those of other passionate foodies, check out their monthly challenges. But be warned: You’ve got to be in this game for personal growth and gratification. There are no prizes, cash or otherwise, and the rules are rigorous. Miss two months, and you’re out!

Fancy Flours - www.fancyflours.com
Not only does this site have a wonderfully broad mix of specialty baking and decorating items (from dragées to stencils to confetti of all kinds), but it also has one of the most original selections online. Pre-printed wafer paper (usually impossible to find) is available here in patterns too many to count. Likewise, their readymade royal icing flowers and tiny sugarcoated roses are one-of-a-kind! To see some of these products at play, look for the pink toile paper-covered cookies in Cookie Swap’s garden party chapter.

H. O. Foose Tinsmithing Co. - www.foosecookiecutters.com
With over 700 cookie cutters and kits to handcraft cookie cutters of your own design, this site is a must-see for anyone seeking to expand a cookie cutter collection. (Thanks to this site, Julia's collection is 500 cutters strong - and growing!)

House on the Hill - www.houseonthehill.net
If the size of their catalog is any indication, House on the Hill (HOH) could very well have the world’s largest collection of springerle molds and rolling pins! Even if you’re not a regular springerle baker, HOH’s artfully carved products are collectibles in their own right. BTW, their old-fashioned moss rose and pansy molds were also used in Cookie Swap’s garden party chapter.

International Association of Culinary Professionals - www.iacp.com
Be sure to visit this online home of the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), the world’s largest multidisciplinary culinary organization and the best resource around for networking with culinary leaders of all professional persuasions. The site contains information about the IACP annual conference, a calendar of local and regional IACP events, message boards, and the invaluable IACP membership directory. But the latter is for members only, so you’ll have to join now if you want to rub shoulders with the food world’s best and brightest!

Les Dames d' Escoffier International - www.ldei.org
This invitation-only association of professional women leaders in the culinary field has a unique philanthropic charter. If you don’t qualify for membership just yet (it’s trés competitive), be sure to take advantage of their mentoring and scholarship opportunities offered through their local chapters.