Seems like I have been gone forever. Last week I was busy cooking and baking for competitions at the fair and then the weekend came and I wanted to update my blog and tell you all about my winnings and my Internet was out. Problem solved now, I had to go to town and buy a new router this evening and we are back in business.
I did very good at fair this year. I entered 6 different dishes and I placed on 5 of them. I won 1st place on Peach BBQ Pork Tenderloin, 2nd place on Root Beer Float Cheesecake, 3rd place on Butterscotch cookies, 4th place on Raspberry Cheesecake and 5th place on Scalloped Potatoes. I made my Real Buffalo Chicken dip but it did not place.
Today I am going to tell you about our Butterscotch Cookie contest. In this contest we were all given the same recipe to make. We were told to follow the recipe and bring 12 of our best cookies for judging. Cally talked Nikki and Laura into doing this contest with her. So the night before the contest the girls all made their cookies here at my house.
The recipe says to mix the cookies up, form into a log, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator over night. The next morning the girls all took turns baking their cookies. Then I baked mine after I got off work. These are a few things I know we did different. Me, Nikki and Laura used salted Butter and Cally used unsalted butter. I used vanilla extract while the girls all used vanilla paste. I took my cookies right off the cookie sheets and put them on cooking racks while I think the girls let theirs cool some on the cookie sheets before transferring them to the cooling racks.
Even though they were all mixed up and baked from the same kitchen they all looked and tasted different. Mine were the most pale, Cally's were a little more golden than mine and then Nikki and Laura's were a nice golden brown. Theirs were a little more crunchy while mine and Cally's were more chewy.
When we go to the fair we are assigned a number and we put our cookies up on the judging table with our number. Then we take a seat in the audience and we can watch the judges taste our cookies (or dishes for the other contests) and make their decisions. It is fun to watch them as they judge and interact with each other. For the cookies there were 3 judges. They would look the cookies over, see how done they were on the bottom and then taste them. They were back and forth with our 4 entries. Before I noticed them make their final decision I saw them turn over all Nikki and Laura's cookies and examine the bottoms. Usually this means they are so close they are looking for one to have a better appearance to place one above the other.
It ended up that Nikki took 1st place, Laura took 2nd place, I took 3rd place and Cally took 4th place. They placed 1st thru 5th and we received kitchen gifts for winning.
Cally had a lot of fun having her friends compete in the cookie contest with her. I will post more of my winning recipes as the week goes on.
Butterscotch Cookies
1/2 C butter, softened
1 C light brown sugar
4 t white sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
Mix together the following:
1 1/2 C flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
Beat butter, sugars, egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Form into a roll, refrigerate until next day or until ready to use.
Cut into slices about 1/4" thick. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.