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:

1^st Place: Maggie MacIntosh of Minneapolis for Coconut Curry Cake with Mango Filling

2^nd Place: Renee Janas-Johnson of Brooklyn Park for Coconut Orange Cake

3^rd Place: Mallory Leitinger of Aitkin for Coconut Raspberry Zinger Cake

 

Best Drop-Style Cookie:

1^st Place: Rachael Hood of St. Louis Park for Rachie’s Razzies (Chewy Raspberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies)

2^nd Place: Kurt Zinda of Braham for Dark Smoked Candied Pecan Chocolate Chip Drop Cookies

3^rd Place: Gwen Benson of Minnetonka for Susan McNamara’s Sugar Cashew Cookies

 

Best Banana Bread Winners:

1^st Place: Karen Cope of Minneapolis for Elvis on a Stick (Peanut Butter Bacon Banana Bread)

2^nd Place: Catherine Young of Minnetonka for Peanut Butter & Chocolate Swirl Banana Bread

3^rd Place: Kent Kaiser of St. Paul for Alpha Sigma Banana Bread

 

Best Fruit Pie Winners:

1^st Place: Kathleen McCarron of Roseville for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2^nd Place: Fay Peterson of Apple Valley for A Fruit Special Pie (Blueberry Rhubarb Strawberry Pie)

3^rd Place: Randy Ferguson of Minneapolis for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

 

A special thank you to our Prize Partner, King Arthur Baking Company: