I’ve gone through 12 pounds of flour, 6 pounds of sugar and 15 pounds of butter. Not to mention countless hours of late night baking and photo shoots for BiteClub’s 2009 Holiday Cookie Contest. (SEE ALL COOKIE RECIPES) Suffice to say that if there weren’t such sweet rewards for the newsroom (and my boss and his boss, the publisher), this contest would have been given the kibosh long ago!
In its inaugural year, I received only about 10 recipes. In this second year, I’ve received more than 60 viable recipes, had time to test 30 and was able to photograph and post 23 (there were a handful of failures). Nearly all of them sounded fantastic, but some required special gear or ingredients I just couldn’t acquire in time (but will try to make during the year) or were too similar to other entries to make again. If your didn’t make the cut, apologies.
Suffice to say it was with much input from co-workers, friends and family that I made the final decision, but the following are my TOP FIVE RUNNERS UP based on popular sentiment:
- Marshmallow Blondies
- Spiced Fruitcake Jumbles
- Apricot Cream Cheese Cookies
- Denise’s Best Ever Gingersnaps
- The World’s Best Cookies (or what I call the cornflake cookies)
But there can only be one winner, and this year, I’ve selected Stephanie Wrightson’s Shortbread Cookies. These melt-in-your-mouth cookies are ridiculously simple, but absolutely perfect shortbread. Stephanie will receive a $90 gift certificate to Relish Culinary Adventures.
Meanwhile, continue to enjoy the rest of the offerings and stay tuned for a special BiteClub Holiday Cookie Contest Cookbook next fall as we gear up for year three.
Check out a slideshow of ALL the recipes I tested, plus links to all the recipes. Happy Holidays!
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Your list says “Marshmallow Blondies” but I don’t see that recipe in your photo samples. Is it possible that you meant “Marshmallow Brownies” as one of your photo’s shows or “Butterscotch Blondies”?
The winning recipe is very similar to the shortbread recipe my Scottish grandfather brought over. His was a little shorter on the butter and sugar, and the shortbread was pressed into a pan and cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick bars after cooking. One year I made them with only rice flour for a gluten-intolerant friend, and they were so good I’ve been doing them that way ever since.