"And the Winners Are..."

It's that time of year here in North Carolina.

Time for the State Fair!

Which for us, means time to do some baking and enter our best recipes in the Youth Culinary competitions.

 

We've had a lot of fun with this over the years and have tried to downplay the competitive aspect (for those of you who know me you know that's no easy task-ha ha).  But it sure is nice when the kids' efforts have been rewarded with a ribbon and perhaps a little prize money attached!

 

So, without further ado...here are the recipes we entered this year and the ensuing results:

 

Josi is working hard on her Ginger Snap batter which was entered into the "Drop Cookie" category for her age group (13-15)

"Mom, I can't concentrate on my baking if you're going to keep taking pictures."

Some of the yummy finished product. 

This recipe is Jim's Mom's and it brought home the 2nd PLACE RIBBON for Josi this year!  Woo hoo!  



She also entered a new recipe called "Pecan-Toffee Treat Bars"

Here she is pressing down the crust before adding the caramel mixture and pecans before baking.



Once it was baked, she added chocolate chips, let them melt, and then spread them to make the final chocolately layer.

She earned a 4th place ribbon (Honorable Mention) which was pretty nice for trying a recipe for the first time.

Michael also entered this year in the 10-12yr. category for 2 types of baked goods.

The first was another new recipe that we've decided is a keeper and will definitely be part of our Thanksgiving Dessert Table this year!

This is a pumpkin cookie that also went into the "drop cookie" category. Once you bake the cookies you put a delicious icing that glazes onto the cookie while they're still warm.  We had to quickly put the 9 entries onto the plate before we ate them all...they were that good!

He won a 4th place ribbon for this outstanding cookie.  I'm thinking the competition was pretty stiff in this category because these cookies were some of the best I've ever tasted!

He also entered fudge which happens to be my Mom's famous recipe. So, it was cool that both kids entered a grandma's recipe in the fair...and both kids ended up with a 2nd Place Ribbon with those recipes!!!

Here are the finished products... plated, bagged, and tagged and ready to be taken to the judges.

Can't think of a better way to start off the Fall Festivities than with baked goods and a few ribbons to boot!

 

Happy Fall!!!