Blue Ribbon Baking: Aspiring Bakers Make Creative Cakes, Cookies & More
Minnesota State Fair Blue Ribbon Baking Contest Winners

Aspiring Bakers Win Accolades with Creative Cakes, Cookies, Breads & Pies
Minneapolis-St. Paul, August 26, 2021 – Baking competition winners fared well at the 2021 Minnesota State Fair with a variety of inspired recipes and perfectly prepared baked goods. The Blue Ribbon Group, the contest organizers behind this site and Blue Ribbon Foodies on Instagram and Facebook – sponsored a special baking contest series. They called for creative coconut cakes, drop-style cookies, banana breads, and fruit pies, and also arranged for $25 bonus prizes for select 1st place winners. This is blue ribbon baking, at its best.
This coconut cake with garam masala and tumeric was among the first place winners (pictured above). One winning cookie featured Chambourd liqueur and another had ginger, molasses and 100% pure cricket powder in it. Yes, cricket powder. A perfectly-baked pie combining strawberries and rhubarb won top honors also. Another stand-out was this Elvis-inspired Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Bread.
Here’s a list of all first, second, and third place winners in all four Blue Ribbon Baking contests. For a complete list of winners across all Creative Activities general baking classes and categories, click here. Also, stay tuned as we’ll share a sampling of winning recipes and how-to stories in the coming weeks. You can follow along by liking Blue Ribbon Foodies on Instagram and Facebook.
Best Coconut Cake Winners:
1st Place: Maggie MacIntosh of Minneapolis for Coconut Curry Cake with Mango Filling
2nd Place: Renee Janas-Johnson of Brooklyn Park for Coconut Orange Cake
3rd Place: Mallory Leitinger of Aitkin for Coconut Raspberry Zinger Cake
Best Drop-Style Cookie:
1st Place: Rachael Hood of St. Louis Park for Rachie’s Razzies (Chewy Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies)
2nd Place: Kurt Zinda of Braham for Dark Smoked Candied Pecan Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies
3rd Place: Gwen Benson of Minnetonka for Susan McNamara’s Sugar Cashew Cookies
Best Banana Bread Winners:
1st Place: Karen Cope of Minneapolis for Elvis on a Stick (Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Bread)
2nd Place: Catherine Young of Minnetonka for Peanut Butter & Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread
3rd Place: Kent Kaiser of St. Paul for Alpha Sigma Banana Bread
Best Fruit Pie Winners:
1st Place: Kathleen McCarron of Roseville for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
2nd Place: Fay Peterson of Apple Valley for A Fruit Special Pie (Blueberry Rhubarb Strawberry Pie)
3rd Place: Randy Ferguson of Minneapolis for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
A special thank you to our Prize Partner, King Arthur Baking Company: