Can this Kentucky woman bake sweet success on Food Network's 'Christmas Cookie Challenge?'

When a talent scout from the Food Network contacted Versailles, Kentucky resident Lauren Jacobs about participating in its annual televised "Christmas Cookie Challenge," she thought she was being pranked.

Jacobs, a former art teacher, had been baking cookies in her kitchen for years but she wasn't exactly a household name in the baking world. Despite nearly 50,000 Instagram followers, Jacobs, who is known professionally as The Cheerful Baker, considered herself a small-town businesswoman.

Besides baking for customers, she and her husband Stacy have also started The Cheerful Box, a cookie class in a box that is delivered monthly to her customers.

“One of my joys in life is helping people find their creativity," the Kentucky baker said. "Our Cheerful Box gives people the tools and instructions to make the same beautiful and delicious cookies at their house that I make at my home. ”

Food Network executives were so impressed by Jacobs' numerous how-to videos and professional cookie decorating skills, they invited her to be one of only five bakers from across America to compete for $10,000 in one of the network’s most highly anticipated and most-watched competitions of the year, "The Christmas Cookie Challenge."

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"One of the most enjoyable things about preparing for the show was learning about the science of baking and recipe development," Jacobs told the Courier Journal.

Jacobs will appear on the Food Network "Christmas Cookie Challenge" on Dec. 11 but the show was actually taped last spring. That's a long time to keep a secret!

In April, Jacobs traveled to Food Network headquarters, and along with four other cookie creators, competed for the coveted title of Christmas Cookie Challenge Champion and that $10,000 grand prize, which will buy any baker a lot of frosting and sprinkles.

While Jacobs was thrilled to be invited, there was one catch. Of course, Jacobs could bake delicious cookies and decorate them beautifully, but for this competition, she needed to develop and use her own original recipes, which she had never done before.

"I bought books on the science of cooking and experimented for weeks with all kinds of recipes," said Jacobs. "My friends and family had never eaten so many cookies."

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She finally settled on four original cookie recipes and off she went to fulfill a life-long dream. Judging the Food Network competition were Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond and Celebrity Chef and former NFL player Eddie Jackson.

Of course, we can't reveal who won the competition, but Jacobs can proudly say Drummond thought her cookie was so delicious that she carried it off the stage with her.

"I have watched Ree Drummond a thousand times on Food Network," said Jacobs. "She's my absolute favorite, so to hear her talk about how much she loved my cookie, I can't even put into words what that meant to me."

The Christmas Cookie Challenge airs on Food Network on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. You can find Jacobs on Instagram or Facebook at The Cheerful Baker and cheerfulbaker.com or cheerfulcutters.com.

Reach Features Reporter Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky baker competes on Food Network 'Christmas Cookie Challenge'