BROOKINGS – Holiday cookie recipes that have been family favorites for generations won top honors Thursday at the second annual cookie contest during the Festival of Lights.
Winning first place was Kathy Block with her Eggnog Thumbprints. Second place went to Terri Colgrove with her Bon-Bons and third place to Betty Johnson’s Jam Jem’s.
South Dakota State University students who serve on the Register’s social media team organize the competition at The Carrot Seed Kitchen Co. each year as part of a community engagement project.
This year’s contest started with about two-dozen recipes, which were then narrowed to 10 finalists who baked cookies for the community to sample and vote on. Recipes ranged from fruity to chocolatey, and more than 150 people turned out to cast ballots for their favorite cookies.
Block said it felt good to win the competition and that her winning recipe is festive.
“This cookie is handed down from generation to generation,” she said. “I’ve made them for 20 years.”
Block entered the contest to be involved in the community and to get into the holiday spirit.
“It’s a great event to get the community involved and to do stuff,” she said.
Block’s recipe wasn’t the only one with a long history. Colgrove’s second-place Bon-Bons recipe came from her 99-year-old grandmother.
“When I tasted them today, I thought, ‘Oh, these aren’t going to win,’” Colgrove said. “We love them because they’ve been in our family for generations.”
Johnson’s third-place recipe has also been around for years.
“It’s a recipe I got 45 years ago when I lived in Zanesville, Ohio,” she said. “It’s been my family’s favorite recipe, and I only make them at Christmas time.”
Carrot Seed owner Kirsten Gjesdal said she was pleased with the event and hopes to continue the tradition for downtown Brookings.
“One of our big things is we want to be a community builder,” she said. “So to have an opportunity to bring people together around food is really nice and fits in well with the Festival of Lights.”
