ENTER THE DAYTON DAILY NEWS COOKIE CONTEST
The holidays are right around the corner and that means it’s time to get ready for holiday baking!
Do you have a favorite cookie recipe that your family can’t live without every year? Or do you want to test a new recipe?
If so, you’re invited to share the recipe with the Dayton Daily News during our annual cookie contest.
Prizes are awarded for first, second and third place and the prettiest cookies. Winning recipes will be published on Thanksgiving Day.
What? Dayton Daily News Annual Cookie Contest
When? Judging on Monday, Nov. 10
How do I enter? Just bring one dozen of your most special cookies to the Dayton Daily News lobby, 1611 S. Main Street, Dayton, between 9 a.m. and noon on Monday, Nov. 10. Judging will be in the afternoon.
What needs to be included with my entry? One dozen cookies, a copy of the recipe with exact ingredients and directions, your name, hometown, phone number and email address. Please send in a container that you do not need back.
What if I don't want to share my recipe? We're sorry, but entries without recipes attached will not be eligible.
May I enter more than one kind? Absolutely! Enter as many varieties as you'd like.
When will the winners be published? Winners and winning recipes will be featured in the Dayton Daily News Life section on Thanksgiving Day.
What happens to the extra cookies? Staff donate money for extra cookies. Money raised is donated to Valley Food Relief.
Who should I call with questions? Arundi Venkayya at 937-225-2274 or Michelle Fong at 937-225-2271.
The book: "Holiday Cookies: Prize-winning Family Recipes from the Chicago Tribune for Cookies, Bars, Brownies and More" by the Chicago Tribune ($24.95).
What you get: More than 100 kitchen-tested, award-winning cookie recipes from the Chicago Tribune's annual holiday cookie contest are organized by chapter: Simple Drop Cookies, Sugar & Spice, Fruit & Nut Treats, Chocolate Delights, Sandwich Cookies and Brownies & Bars.
In their own words: "Follow the recipe exactly. Be patient when shaping and cutting cookies. Be sure not to over-bake cookies (ovens may be different). And sometimes, simple is better." — Carol Mighton Haddix, retired food editor of the Chicago Tribune.
What we made:
CRANBERRY COINS (P. 84)
2013 first place recipe, by Kim Koenig
(adapted)
2½ cups flour
1½ cups sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
2½ teaspoons cinnamon
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup dried cranberries, chopped
¾ cup pistachios, toasted, chopped
Decorative sugar
1. With your mixer at low speed, beat all the ingredients (except the cranberries, pistachios and decorative sugar) until just mixed. Increase speed to medium; beat 3 minutes, scraping the bowl when necessary. Add cranberries and nuts; mix on low until just combined.
2. Divide dough in half; form into two logs about 1-inch in diameter. Wrap each in plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours.
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or use a silicone mat.
4. Remove wrap; slice logs crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Sprinkle with decorative sugar; place on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake until light brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool. Repeat with remaining cookies.
Our assessment: Reminiscent of the Girl Scouts' Trefoils Shortbread, this cookie is crisp, buttery and not overly sweet. The addition of dried cranberries and pistachios gives it a more complicated, grown-up taste, and decorative sugar — we opted for gold cupcake sugar — provides a glittery opulence as well as another textural dimension. This cookie looks and tastes like the holidays.
We experimented with chilling the dough. We chilled the first batch for about 90 minutes, and the cookies turned out great. We tried another batch after 4 hours, and the cookies turned out great. We tried a third batch after the dough had been refrigerated overnight, and guess what, the cookies still turned out great.
About the Author