The results are in. After more than a month of cooking, tasting and testing, we’ve put on several pounds and horrified our dentists while loving every minute of grading Sonoma County’s BEST Holiday cookies for 2010.
Cookies by the Number: Biteclub kept track, and here’s how the numbers for 2010’s cookie bake-off went…
– 18 pounds of butter
– 8 dozen eggs
– 5 pounds of chocolate chips
– 6 oranges
– 1 bag of fresh cranberries
– 9 pounds of sugar
– 7 pounds of flour
– 9 trips to the grocery store
– 29 recipes to the semi-finals
– 35 recipes tested
– 48 recipes submitted
– 5 pounds gained (roughly)
Finalists: (See recipes below) Real Ginger Ginger Snaps, Pecan Crunch (Potato Chip) Cookies, Cashew Crusted Guava Cream Cookies, Cookie Brownies, Saltine Cracker Toffee Bark, Mint Truffles, Date Balls, Ginger Cookies with Togarishi, Cranberry Orange Almond Cookies, Raspberry Ribbons, Bourbon Balls, Graham Crackers with Dulce de Leche
Winner: Cranberry Orange Almond Cookies
Tasters went around and around over their favorites, but ultimately these cookies took the prize for their use of fresh cranberries, a delicious citrus glaze, and holiday perfection. Congratulations Celeste!
Celeste receives a $100 gift certificate to Lucky’s Supermarkets and a $25 gift certificate to Savory Spice Shop.
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