Annual PB baking contest yields yummy holiday treats
Dec. 6—Just when you thought there could be no more cookies to tempt you, it happens.
Last week's 15th annual Post Bulletin Holiday Treats Contest brought an array of creative, unusual holiday goodies ranging from a Polish deep-fried specialty to a fruitcake cookie to a star-shaped confection. It's amazing to me that with just four basic ingredients — flour, butter, sugar and eggs — plus additions that distinguish one from the other — will yield literally hundreds of holiday sweets to bake and enjoy.
This year's finalists submissions were among the best we've had in some years. Many thanks to Sammi Loo, owner of four local restaurants including Bebap, 1928, Ootori Sushi and Mezza9 Café & Desserts; PB staffers John Molseed, Kelsey Hawley, Beth Krohn and Brian Todd ... and me ... for handling the judging duties. It was a tough job, but someone had to eat all those cookies.
As usual, the treats were judged on taste, texture and presentation.
Everyone of the finalists tasted like a winner, but that's not how it works. Here are all the finalist recipes, with the top three winners in order.
First place went to Tammy Tauferner for her Choco-Caramel Delight. That confection had most of us at first bite. The combination of chocolate, a melted dollop of caramel with finely chopped nuts around the outside and a chocolate drizzle over the top had just the right amount of sweetness and crunch.
Tauferner is one of those cookie geniuses who bakes a new one every day during the holidays and when it came time for her to choose what to enter, her family insisted she submit this. She wins a $150 gift certificate to Silver Lake Foods, which provided prizes for this year's winners.
Denise Leapaldt was the second-place winner with Cranberry-Coconut Tassies. These could well be a cousin to Pecan Tassies from years ago, only better. Here the cranberries and coconut are sitting in a bite-sized crust that literally melts in your mouth. I can see these on a cookie tray already. She was awarded a $75 gift certificate.
Third place went to Renee Saxman with her unique Star Bread. Bread you ask, not a cookie? We had specifically asked for holiday specialties — not just cookies, but any sweet treat — in our a contest announcements and this definitely is that. Formed into a star shape with raspberry jam filling, she bakes this with both sweet and savory fillings. It's a beautiful holiday bake, and tastes as good as it looks. For her effort she gets a $50 gift certificate to Silver Lake Foods.
While not among the top three, you cant go wrong with most of these. Just missing out on "the money" were honorable mentions such as Sharon Swayze's Eggnog Snickerdoodles — the name alone sings "holiday treat" — Mary Kruse's Pistachio Cranberry cookie and Patti Feuerhelm's Lime Christmas Tree cookie.
Now fellow bakers it's up to you to look over the recipes, here and online, and gather the necessary ingredients together. We've got baking to do.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg, separated
2 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup finely chopped pecans
Caramel Filling (recipe below)
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon shortening
In medium bowl, beat butter, sugar, egg yolk, milk and vanilla until blended. Stir together flour, cocoa, and salt; blend into butter mixture. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour or until firm enough to handle. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease cookie sheet or use parchment paper. Beat egg white slightly. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Dip each ball into the egg white; roll in pecans to coat. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Press thumb gently in center of each ball. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. While cookies are baking, prepare Caramel Filling. Remove cookies from oven; press center of each cookie again with thumb to make indentation. Immediately spoon about 1/2 teaspoon Caramel Filling in center of each cookie. Carefully remove from cookie sheets; cool on wire racks.
Caramel Filling: In small saucepan, combine 14 unwrapped light caramels and 3 Tablespoons whipping cream. Cook over low heat stirring frequently, until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth.
Chocolate drizzle: In small microwave-safe bowl, place chocolate chips and shortening. Microwave at High (100%) 1 minute or until softened; stir. Allow to stand several minutes to finish melting; stir until smooth. Place wax paper under wire rack with cookies. Drizzle chocolate mixture over top of cookies.
1/2 cut butter, softened
1 3-ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
1/3 cup finely chopped cranberries
1/3 cup shredded coconut
In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with electric mixer on high for 30 seconds. Stir in flower, wrap in plastic and chill in fridge for an hour. Then, shape dough into 24 balls and place in ungreased 1-3/4-inch muffin cups. Press dough evenly against the bottoms and up the sides. In a separate bowl, lightly beat eggs. Stir in brown sugar, vanilla and salt until just smooth. Stir in cranberries and coconut. Spoon about 2 of the mixture into each pastry-lined cup. Do not overfill. Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and remove from cups by running a knife along the edge.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup potato flour or 1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
3/4 cup to 1 cup lukewarm water, enough to make a soft, smooth dough
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Cinnamon filling:
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Sift flour, potato flour and dry milk through a strainer (this prevents lumps in the dough, but if using instant mashed potatoes rather than potato flour you can skip this sifting step.) Combine all of the dough ingredients and mix and knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, smooth dough. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 60 minutes until it's nearly doubled in bulk. Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball, cover the balls and allow to rest for 15 minutes. On a lightly greased or floured work surface, roll one piece of dough into a 10-inch circle. Brush a thin coat of beaten egg on the surface. Sprinkle with one-third of cinnamon-sugar mixture, leaving a quarter-inch bare around the perimeter. Roll out a second circle the same size as the first, and place it on top of the filling-covered circle. Brush it with egg, and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar. Roll out a third layer, repeat the process, but leave the fourth layer bare. Reserve a bit of the beaten egg to brush on top later. Place a 2-1/2 to 3-inch circle in the middle (glass, cup, soda can) and cut from the circle to the edge, making 16 pie-shaped wedged. Take two adjacent wedges, twist them away from one another twice, then join them at the edges. Repeat around the circle until you have eight sections. Remove to a parchment sheet for baking, but let rise for another 45 minutes until puffy. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush top of star bread with egg mixture. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups vegetable oil for frying
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar, or as needed
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons butter, softened
6 egg yolks
1 tablespoon vodka
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 pinch salt
Combine flour, egg yolks, sour cream, sugar, butter, vodka, and salt in a large bowl; mix to form a dough. Knead dough lightly and roll out on a floured surface. Cut into strips 4 inches long and 3/4 inches wide. Cut a slit in the middle of each strip. Twist and pull one end through the slit. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Test the temperature by dropping in a pastry twist; the oil is ready when it browns and float to the surface. Fry pastry until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Dust with confectioner's sugar.
For Cookies
3 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 teaspoon yellow food coloring, optional
For Icing
3 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon green food coloring
Decorative sugar, optional
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and reserve. In a bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed, beat 2 sticks butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Add granulated sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon juice, lemon extract, and yellow food coloring, if desired. Beat until thoroughly incorporated. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated. Form dough into two discs, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least two hours. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Using a tree cookie cutter, cut out dough and place 2 inches apart on prepared pans. Repeat with remaining dough, gathering up scraps, re-rolling and re-cutting dough until all is used. Bake until cookies are set but not hard, 9-10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 2 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. To prepare icing, in a bowl of an electric mixture on medium speed, beat cream cheese and butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to low, add powdered sugar and mix until creamy about 2 minutes. Add lime zest, lime juice and food coloring and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Ice cookies and decorate with colored sugar if desired. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
1 cup butter
1-1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
4 teaspoons orange zest
2-1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1-1/2 cups dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
8 ounces white baking chocolate, melted
Cream butter and sugar, beat in egg and zest. Add dry ingredients. Stir in cranberries and pistachios. Shape dough into two 11-inch rolls. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Slice into 1/2-inch slices. Bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees. Frost when cool.
1 cup margarine or butter
1-1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 ounces red candied cherries
4 ounces green candied cherries
4 ounces candied pineapple
1 pound dates, cut into small pieces
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup filberts
1 cup pecans
In a large bowl, combine fruits and nuts. Use 1/2 cup of flower to dust and coat the nuts and fruit. Separately, cream together first four ingredients. Sift remaining 2 cups of flour with salt and baking soda. Stir into creamed ingredients. Add floured fruit and nuts. Drop rounded mounds onto lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. Makes approximately 100 cookies.
1 cup butter, softened
2-1/3 cups sugar, divided
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup eggnog
4-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a large bowl sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture, alternating with the eggnog. The dough will be thick and slightly sticky. In a small bowl mix together 1/3 cup sugar & 1/2 tsp. nutmeg. Shape dough into rounded teaspoon, roll in sugar/nutmeg mixture. Place on ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes.
Post Bulletin food writer Holly Ebel knows what's cookin'. Send comments or story tips to
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