Aaron Snyder: AARON SNYDER -- Baking the best: Winners named in first holiday cookie contest

Aaron Snyder, The Daily Independent, Ashland, Ky.
·2 min read

Jan. 3—I must say, The Daily Independent's inaugural holiday cookie-making contest was a sweet success.

And I don't say that simply because I was one of the three lucky judges who got to gobble up the scrumptious goodies.

A few weeks ago, our previously anonymous "Appetizing Ashland Area" columnist approached me with a wonderful idea that would get a few area children engaging with the newspaper — and supplying us with perfect snacks to accompany our newsroom coffee.

The contest was limited to chocolate chip cookies that had to be made from scratch. It consisted of three divisions: ages 5 and under, 6-9 and 10-13.

The participating children were required to be involved in the baking process — with pictures to prove it.

Columnist GG, aka Norma Meek, Publisher Lisa Callihan and I served as judges ... and we were all so happy to have signed up for that duty!

All of the young, talented bakers did an exceptional job. There was not one bad cookie in the batch!

But there could only be three winners, and we have a prize for each of the victorious trio.

Each of us savored every bite and enjoyed every chocolate chip morsel as, separately, we wrote down our No. 1 pick in each division.

Although results weren't necessarily unanimous, each winner received two out of the three votes necessary to propel them to the top.

The winners are as follows:

—5-under: Olivia Wright

—6-9: Avery Gullett

—10-13: Owen Caudill

Truly, though, all of these kids were winners. They all have a bright future in the kitchen if they so choose. Our youngest cookie maker is just 3!

We hope each of the children (and their parents/guardians) enjoyed participating in this contest, which we hope to make a regular event. As Norma said, we thought it would be a great way to have fun during the Christmas season while reinforcing math and reading skills over the holiday break.

Congratulations to Olivia, Avery and Owen — and to all of the awesome kids who whipped up some yummy chocolate chip cookies for this contest.

Now ... it's time to hit the treadmill.

Reach AARON SNYDER at asnyder@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2664.