Tag: Blue Ribbon Recipe

Cha Cha Chai Energy Balls

These Cha Cha Chai Energy Balls are essentially “healthy no-bake cookie bites.” They come together easily – as in minutes – and have a rich, complex and completely satisfying taste.

With vanilla protein powder, chia seeds, and peanut butter, you have key ingredients that help you power through the day.

They make a both a great daytime snack or a bite-sized after-dinner dessert.

These chai energy balls were inspired by a 2022 Minnesota State Fair blue ribbon winning recipe by Amy Ellenberger, so recipe credit goes to her.

Chai Spice Blend

To make these chai energy balls, you start with a chai spice blend. I make it in bulk with this combination of ingredients and amounts.

4 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons cardamom
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons freshly ground nutmeg

If you make it in bulk, you’ll have the chai spice blend any time you want to make these. And believe me, you’re going to want to make these chai energy balls again and again. You can make them ahead of time and freeze the “dough.” Just bring it to room temperature before rolling them into balls. With the extra chai spice blend, you can use it for an additional batch or put it your coffee. I make a chai iced coffee with it by adding the blend to leftover coffee, and adding half and half or cream, plus some ice. Delish!

What’s also great about this recipe is you can make it as spicy or mild as you like by increasing or eliminating the cayenne in them. If you wanted to “skip the rolling into balls” step, you can instead press it into a wax-paper-lined 9″x13″ inch pan. You can easily cut them into whatever size you like.

Enjoy!

-Cyndi

Oatmeal Cookie Sliders

Oatmeal Cookie Sliders: chewy oatmeal cookies sandwich a creamy rich filling in this blue ribbon winning cookie from the Arkansas State Fair.

Oatmeal cookies are a classic. The reason why is they are delicious and easy to make. So are these oatmeal cookie sliders.. I love it when winners put a fun spin on an quintessential cookie. A couple other all-time favorites are these “slider-like” sweet treats and these “twisted” peanut butter cookies.

Recipe credit goes to Rhonda Hull, who took first place for them back in 2014. One taste and you will agree: they are a winner! The mouth feel of these cookies are marvelous and you will not want to stop at one.

-Cyndi

Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

The classic peanut butter cookie is reinvented with these Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies. Minnesota State Fair contester Loretta Ratajczyk created these. The simple but inventive additions of chocolate, chopped peanuts, and crushed vanilla wafers, paid off! Loretta won 1st place and blue ribbon bragging rights in our special cookie contest back in 2013 .

What also makes these peanut butter cookies so incredibly tasty is her addition of almond flavoring. Just wait until you try these! They are also easy and fun to make. In fact, my daughter Olivia enjoyed helping me this time around. Check out the steps below to see how we put together these award-winning cookies.

Step-By-Step: Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

While your oven warms up (set to 375 degrees F), mix together the sugars, butter, shortening, peanut butter, and egg.

Here comes what I like to consider the “secret” ingredient- almond flavoring, instead of typical vanilla. Once the batter is mixed, add it in. It really gives the cookie a fantastic flavor. Next combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt to the mixture. Get everything mixed together and shape dough into walnut sized balls. Olivia was a fantastic helper during this step.

Dip tops into sugar. Place sugared dough balls on a baking sheet, sugar side up. Crisscross tops with a fork. This step in making peanut butter cookies always makes me think of making them as a child. It’s classic.

Bake 10-11 minutes, or until lightly-browned. Allow to set 5 minutes on cookie sheet. Remove and fully cool.

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

While cookies are cooling, prepare the topping ingredients. Grind together the peanuts and vanilla wafers. I used a food processor for a finer texture. You could also put the ingredients in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second increments. Loretta has a great tip: to thin the chocolate she adds a generous tablespoon of solid shortening when melting the chocolate. Here is my toppings station.

Dip half of each cookie in the melted chocolate. To apply the peanut and vanilla wafer topping, you can either dip the cookie into the mixture, or set the chocolate dipped cookie on a parchment lined baking sheet and sprinkle with topping. Refrigerate a few minutes for a quick set. I recommend this, because you won’t want to wait to bite into these cookies!

Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

Another great winner’s tip is to save any leftover peanut/wafer mixture. It can be frozen and used for other desserts. Bonus!

Here’s Olivia proudly displaying her hard work:

Thank you Loretta for a wonderful recipe!

-Crystal

Note: This was previously published on our former website, StateFairRecipes.com. Find another all-time favorite from our archives with this epic cookie here.

Great Chocolate Cake Contest Winner: MN Blackout Cake

The Kowalski’s Great Chocolate Cake Contest Winner at the 2022 Minnesota State Fair was this phenomenal “MN Blackout Cake.”

With its three layers, pudding filling, chocolate drip, and decoration, this cake is a chocolate lover’s dream come true. It’s intense color and flavor are going to wow you, just like it did us and the judges.

Replicating it as we did, takes time, but every bite makes it worth the effort.

Kudos to Michelle Seywerd who was the Great Chocolate Cake Contest Winner at the 2022 Minnesota State Fair with this inspired creation.

Michelle’s husband loves Guinness chocolate cake which was her first idea of what to enter. Then she recalled the notorious Brooklyn Blackout Cake. Michelle’s winning recipe is a twist on it. She used this recipe as her base and then adapted a Food Network pudding filling. She added the fun chocolate shards on top too. We were shocked to learn Michelle had barely baked a cookie before the pandemic but really got into it with her daughter, who was a toddler at the time. They started with basic baked goods, watched a lot of YouTube channels, and worked up to more challenging recipes. “It’s been quite a journey,” Michelle shared.

Decadently Dark Cake

In her own words, Michelle describes her MN Blackout Cake here:

A decadently dark cake perfect for the dark chocolate lover in your life! I created a twist on the classic Brooklyn Blackout Cake by featuring black cocoa. Black cocoa is used to give Oreos that distinct color and flavor. Here, I’ve featured chocolate in 4 ways – layers of moist cocoa cake, filled with black cocoa pudding filling, dripping with a semi sweet chocolate ganache, and topped with intense dark chocolate shards. The result – the boldest and richest chocolate flavor possible without use of food coloring. Enjoy with a nice glass of cold milk! Thank you!

Baking Tips: Great Chocolate Cake Contest Winner

Some random tips we got from Michelle and learned along the way, are these:

You’ll want to double the cake portion of the recipe if you want to recreate Michelle’s 3-layer version she won with at the fair. You’ll have an extra single layer that works great to taste and decorate separately. We did crushed salted peanuts on ours (4th unused layer) and loved it. You could also go for a 4 layer cake, but that’s mighty big.
If you opt to not double the cake and don’t want extra of the pudding filling, you’ll want to cut that recipe portion in half or do 2/3. The thick filling layer makes this cake a show stopper in our opinion. I would eat that pudding filling as a solo dessert. It’s that good.
We got our black cocoa from King Arthur and loved the results. Get yours here.
Using black cocoa over the buttered parchment helps the cake keep its intense color.

With chocolate drip, if you’re starting with a chocolate bar (versus chocolate chips), chop it into small pieces until they’re about the size of chocolate chips. You’ll get a smoother, more efficient melt.
If you can’t find 90% cacao chocolate, use 100% (2 ounces) and semi-sweet chocolate (1 ounce) as a substitute.
When we did the chocolate drip, we started with the edge. We worked by the spoonful for more control and to get the drizzle/drip look we wanted.
Michelle says this cake is not a fast one to make, but the payoff is totally worth it.

We invite you to re-create the magic of this MN Blackout Cake. Be sure to share on social media and tag @blueribbonfoodies. We want to see what you’re baking!

Enjoy!

-Cyndi

1st Place Creative Cookie at Minnesota State Fair

These Crispy Creamy Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies are a 2022 blue ribbon winner, a 1st Place creative cookie at the Minnesota State Fair.

Betsy Faber created these for one of the new 2022 special contests. Here’s what hers looked like. Perfection!

Betsy won $100 in King Arthur Baking Company gift cards and lots of accolades.

These Crispy Creamy Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies are exceedingly delicious. The cookies themselves are candy-like and the filling is magical. They are said to blur the line between candy and cookie.

Recreate these award-winning cookies today! Be sure to follow the recipe because Betsy gives lots of tips and tricks. Here are a few we found to be extra important.

Using no oil peanut butter is key. You want a brand that is 100% peanuts. No sugar, oil or anything else added. Otherwise the oil makes them spread out to thinly. You want them thin and solid but definitely not brittle.

Be sure not to overheat the “dough” part. It will harden once it’s heated by the time in the oven.

The dough really spreads out when in the oven so spread them out when baking.

Admittedly, this cookie takes some finesse to make. We botched our first batch and had to chop them into chewy toffee cookie chunks. They ended up being a perfect mix-in for homemade ice cream.

You are going to want to make these time and time again!

Enjoy!

-Cyndi

p.s. We updated this post with additional text and new photos after our testing activities.

Minnesota State Fair Baking Competition Winners Announced

Minnesota State Fair 2022 Baking Competition Winners Announced

Blue Ribbon Group special contests celebrate the best in home baking & cooking
Find the complete Creative Activities Building winner list here
Take in daily live demos/tasting Events in the Cambria Kitchen, starting with Kowalski’s Markets opening day

Minneapolis-St Paul, August 25, 2022 – Please join the Blue Ribbon Group in congratulating all the talented and creative entrants in our Blue Ribbon Special Contest Series at the Minnesota State Fair.

Splenda Magic Baker “Low-To-No Sugar Showdown” Winners

1^st Place – Gina Walker of Savage for “Gina’s Sugar-Free Gourmet Banana Bread”

2^nd Place – Billie Holterman-Schniepp of Cottage Grove for “Low-Sugar Apple Coffee Cake”

3^rd Place – Christina Bergstrom of Twin Lakes for “Peaches & Cream Coffee Cake”

Kowalski’s “Great Chocolate Cake Contest” Winners

1^st Place – Michelle Seyward of Woodbury for “MN Black Out Cake”

2^nd Place – Erin Dooley of St Paul for “Tribute to Mexican Hot Chocolate Cake”

3^rd Place – Colleen Jensen of Woodbury for “Merry’s Chocolate Orange Cupcakes”

Kowalski’s Supreme Sourdough Contest Winners

1^st Place – Guillermo Guardia of Minneapolis for “Peruvian Sourdough Croissants”

2^nd Place – Karen Cope of Minneapolis for “Beer & Cheese Sourdough Bread Twist”

3^rd Place – Molly Abbattista of Minneapolis for “Sourdough Focaccia Barese”

Blue Ribbon “Best Peanut Butter Cookie” Contest Winners

1^st Place – Betsy Faber of St. Paul for “Crispy Creamy Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies”

2^nd Place – Emily York of Hopkins for “Peanut Butter & Chocolate Macarons”

3^rd Place – Sheila Mullen of Woodbury for “Salted Caramel Nougat-Filled Peanut Butter Cookies”

Blue Ribbon “Best Cream Pie” Contest Winners

1^st Place – Melinda Chapel of Rosemount for “Blueberry Mojito Pie”

2^nd Place – Randy Ferguson of Randolph for “The Pie-phrodisiac” (Chocolate Almond Coconut Pie)

3^rd Place – Rachael Hood of St. Louis Park for “Blackberry Smash Cream Pie”

Blue Ribbon “Salad Bowl Tournament” Winners

1^st Place – Amy Ellenberger of St Paul for “Lemony Summer Kale Salad”

2^nd Place – Mia Bremer of Minneapolis for “Herby Tortellini Harvest Salad”

3^rd Place – Ellen Joseph of Minneapolis for “Peppery Greens with Shrimp, Soba Noodles & Crunch Herbs”

3 Cricketeers “Energy Bars & Power Balls” Recipe Contest

1^st Place – Amy Ellenberger of St. Paul for “Magic Chai Power Balls”

2^nd Place – Tiffany Mainella of Rochester for “Apple Pie Energy Balls”

3^rd Place – Eamon Whiteaker of St. Paul for “Cherry Chocolate Almond Energy Balls”

Find the Minnesota State Fair’s complete Creative Activities Building winner list here. During the fair, visit the Creative Activities Building to view entries across all baking classes and categories. To get involved:

Sign up for Creative Activities Mailing list (Under Participant tab at MNSTATEFAIR.org)
Follow Blue Ribbon Foodies on Instagram or Facebook

Thank you to the brands that made this Minnesota blue ribbon contest line-up possible:

@splenda

@kowalskis_markets

@kingarthurbaking

@3cricketeers

@thesaladgirl

###

Jumbo Peanut Butter Butterfinger Cookies

These Jumbo Peanut Butter Butterfinger Cookies are a terrific twist on a traditional peanut butter cookie. You put chopped Butterfinger candy bars into the cookie itself and sprinkle them over a chocolate topping. Every bite is rich and chewy and absolutely delicious. I’ve had more than one person tell me these are the best cookies in the universe.

This recipe is the epitome of a creative cookie that can win a special recipe contest. In fact, these did and recipe credit goes to Mackenzie Nelson, an Arkansas State Fair blue ribbon baker.

Tips & Tidbits

This recipe makes a monster-sized batch, as in 58 medium sized cookies, or almost 30 in jumbo, 3 ounce portions. It can easily be halved.
We like the jumbo size, like a bakery-style cookie. You can also opt for a smaller size and higher quantity batch.
If you flatten the rolled cookies into discs, you get a nice even bake.
Notice you use egg whites and not whole eggs
This dough works well if chilled before baking. You can even freeze in batches to pull out whenever.
You can alter how finely you chop the candy bars to your liking.
Change up how you top these, either by dipping or by spreading the chocolate on top.

Jumbo Peanut Butter Butterfinger Cookies: Step by Step

We walk you through the process here, starting with gathering and measuring your ingredients. We went with the big 3.7 ounce size candy bars. Once you buy them, make sure “no one lays a finger on your Butterfinger” supply.

You can alter how finely you chop the candy bars to your liking. I did a combo of bigger and smaller pieces, vs all finely chopped or all rough chopped. Any which way is delicious. It’s mostly the overall texture and look of the cookie that changes with how you chop the Butterfingers.

Then you start mixing up the dough, beginning with creaming the butter and sugars.

You’re off to a good start when the mixture looks like this.

Next, you add 3/4 of your chopped Butterfingers.

Once you mix them in…

Get your scoop! We used an ice cream scoop to get the 3 ounce portion.

Make sure you set them apart with ample room to spread out.

Once they’re baked, you microwave the chocolate and remaining butter, for dipping or spreading on top. A flat spatula works nicely to remove extra chocolate on the cookie’s bottom. Do this stage quickly and in batches so the Butterfinger crumbles stay put on the chocolate.

You could also opt to spoon the chocolate across the top for full coverage.

If you love Butterfinger candy bars, you’ll love this epic cookie. And if you’re into candy-bar-inspired sweet treats, check on this cake!

-Cyndi

Best Banana Cream Pie Recipe

This winning “Best Banana Cream Pie Recipe” is a banana lover’s dream come true. You use 5 bananas to make it, including an early step of making a “banana milk.” You use that banana milk to create a custard thickened with egg yolks and cornstarch. This amps up the flavor, as does using both vanilla extract and vanilla bean seeds. Also, using both heavy whipping cream and whole milk gives the pie the richness it deserves.

This creation is adapted from a best cream pie winning recipe at the Iowa State Fair. Jessica Denner won 3rd place for her banana cream pie back in 2015. She split her filling into multiple layers and used a different crust. I simplified the layering, reduced the chill times needed and swapped out the winner’s dough crust recipe for a graham cracker version. I like the texture a cookie-like crust adds, especially when you crumble some crunchiness on top.

Baking Tips

Save the smashed bananas used for making your “banana milk” and put them into smoothies, banana bread or muffins.

The winner’s tip of doing a quick lemon juice soak with the banana slices is genius.

With that step, plus a quick rinse and a pat dry, your fruit will hold its bright color and avoid turning brown. Doing such a step, helps this “Best Banana Cream Pie Recipe” have a winning presentation.

The filling resembles a thick pudding. It comes together easily. Be sure to cook the custard until it thickens. As a result, the pie will set up properly and not be runny. Avoid overcooking it as well. Hint: the filling should thickly coat the back of a spoon and stay separate if you run your finger down the center of the spoon.

You also want your whipped cream on top to be thick, almost firm. Whip it until moderately stiff peaks form and it can hold its shape. This is the consistence you want.

Crazy for Crust? If you prefer a dough crust instead of a graham cracker crust, use the winner’s butter-lard pie crust found here. Our tasters loved that version as well. Plus, we had fun with the whipped cream presentation.

A Pie in the Sky: keep an eye out for even more cream pies as we’ve been testing and tasting loads of them. We’ll share more soon!

-Cyndi

Prize-Winning Parmesan & Chive Scones

These homemade, aromatic, prize-winning parmesan & chive scones are simply the best savory scones, in more ways than one.

You will relish their phenomenal taste and tender yet firm texture. Their golden brown appearance is drool-worthy for sure. If you love savory scones like we do, be sure to bake these soon! They are perfect for weekend brunches and snacks in between meals.

This remarkable recipe comes from Amy Ellenberger.

Amy won “Best Scones” at the 2021 Minnesota State Fair with this recipe. One taste and you’ll know why this one is a winner.

We asked Amy what her secret to winning was. In her words: “Because scones are a fairly simple baked good (as in few ingredients), it is important to use the best quality ingredients, as there isn’t much to hide behind. For this recipe I like to use (Minnesota-based) Hope Creamery butter, a sour cream (like Daisy) that doesn’t contain thickeners and other artificial ingredients, garden fresh chives, and high-quality Parmesan cheese that is freshly grated.”

Step by Step Tutorial

Take Amy’s top tip and begin with the best ingredients.

You start by mixing the dry ingredients with the cheese and chives.

Next, you cut in the cold butter. By the way, Amy’s family buys Hope Creamery butter by the case.

At this stage you want to see the chilled butter in tiny clumps, roughly the size of peas.

You also use both sour cream and buttermilk in the recipe, plus an egg.

Mix the sour cream, buttermilk and egg smooth, then combine that mixture with your flour mixture.

Once everything is together, you want a shaggy look to the dough.

Be careful not to overwork the dough. Shape it into a flat circle. You want it 1 ½ inches thick.

Then cut out the scones. You should get 12 (2-inch size) rounds (or squares if you prefer that shape).

As your final step, you brush each with heavy cream, then sprinkle with parmesan, a pinch of sea salt, and fresh cracked black pepper. You also want to chill them 30 minutes at this stage.

From Amy: Don’t skip the chilling step. This ensures the butter is solid and won’t leak out of your scones during baking.

After the chill time, the only thing to do is wait for them to bake (at 350 degrees Fahrenheit) for 25-30 minutes.

Prize-Winning Parmesan & Chive Scones: every bite will be pure delight. Seriously. Hit the kitchen and bake these now!

-Cyndi

p.s. Scones are best eaten shortly after they are baked. However, you can opt to freeze the dough to fresh bake the scones later (ideally within 2 months). Or you can freeze them after baking. Just pop a frozen one in the microwave for about 30 seconds before you nosh.

Blue Ribbon Beer Bread

Say hello to this award winning Blue Ribbon Beer Bread. The recipe features the pilsner Wonderstuff, from Bauhaus Brew Labs in Minneapolis, along with cheddar cheese, rosemary, and honey. A thick slice of this bread solo or with a swipe of butter is pure bliss. It’s tender but hearty, and has a beautiful golden brown exterior.

The recipe comes from Cortney Carlson who won “best beer bread” with it at the 2021 Minnesota State Fair.

This was her first blue ribbon win ever! In fact, she had only competed one other time, in 2019 for a special sugar cookie competition. Cortney shared, “Nothing came of the submission, but it ignited my interest in competing.”

Her recipe is easy to follow and replicate. It also great starting point for variations. After tasting and loving Cortney’s Blue Ribbon Beer Bread, we tried a cheddar, chive, and jalapeño version. It was really good also.

Winner Q&A

We caught up with Cortney for a Q&A recently. Read on to learn about her backstory.

BRG: What can you tell us about your Blue Ribbon Beer Bread recipe and why you chose it?

Cortney: While you’d think most people just KNOW they are submitting their (insert favorite recipe here… sugar cookies, sourdough, etc.), I actually stumbled across mine. When the categories for baking categories were released, I scanned the list for something to jump out at me. I like to try new recipes, new areas of baking, new techniques… so I didn’t go into this with a plan or recipe.

Immediately beer bread jumped out at me. My experience with bread was virtually nonexistent, but all the breweries around town, especially coming from Northeast Minneapolis? Not so much a mystery to me (hehehe).

Knowing little about bread, I looked at dozens of different recipes. I looked for types of beer bread, what types of things people added to them, and then just dove in. I liked the idea of adding an herb…I tried different cheeses, different styles of beers, and went back to the drawing board the more I tried things (that’s a MN nice way of saying the first attempts were gross). Once I started researching the right things, things started clicking and here we are. I landed on the attached final recipe.

BRG: What do you think your secret to winning was?

Cortney: The only thing larger than the amount of foods on a stick at the Minnesota State Fair is the Minnesota pride that you can feel in the air the entire twelve days of the fair. My recipe included ingredients made or headquartered in Minnesota. From local beer, honey, and cheese, to Pillsbury flour and rosemary grown at home… every part of that bread was a nod to people (myself) who say “ope” several times a day.

BRG: What is the worst disaster you’ve had in the kitchen and how did you deal with it?

Cortney: I’ve experienced the most average disasters – burning things, undercooking things, messing up a recipe, missing key ingredients, etc. The thing I’ve learned about kitchen disasters is that while it’s so disappointing and frustrating that day, the greatest lessons I’ve learned in the kitchen have come from the time I did it wrong.

BRG: What advice would you give young people wanting to cook/bake more?

Cortney: Learn your staple dinners/desserts/contributions to potlucks, but don’t stay there. Try new areas of cooking. You like pie but have never made one? Try it. And know that you may not knock it out of the park the first try, but the more you try the more you will learn and can apply to the next recipe.

Great advice Cortney! Now everyone, get ready, set, and bake this bread!

-Cyndi

p.s. If you’re into breads, be sure to bake this blueberry winning recipe and this whole wheat winner.

Blue Ribbon Group Serving State & County Fairs for 20+ years

Tag: Blue Ribbon Recipe

Cha Cha Chai Energy Balls

Chai Spice Blend

Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

Step-By-Step: Chocolate-Dipped Peanut Butter Cookies

Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

Great Chocolate Cake Contest Winner: MN Blackout Cake

Decadently Dark Cake

Baking Tips: Great Chocolate Cake Contest Winner

1st Place Creative Cookie at Minnesota State Fair

Minnesota State Fair Baking Competition Winners Announced

Minnesota State Fair 2022 Baking Competition Winners Announced

Blue Ribbon Group special contests celebrate the best in home baking & cooking

Find the complete Creative Activities Building winner list here

Take in daily live demos/tasting Events in the Cambria Kitchen, starting with Kowalski’s Markets opening day

Splenda Magic Baker “Low-To-No Sugar Showdown” Winners

Kowalski’s “Great Chocolate Cake Contest” Winners

Kowalski’s Supreme Sourdough Contest Winners

Blue Ribbon “Best Peanut Butter Cookie” Contest Winners

Blue Ribbon “Best Cream Pie” Contest Winners

Blue Ribbon “Salad Bowl Tournament” Winners

3 Cricketeers “Energy Bars & Power Balls” Recipe Contest

Best Banana Cream Pie Recipe

Baking Tips

Prize-Winning Parmesan & Chive Scones

Step by Step Tutorial

Blue Ribbon Beer Bread

Winner Q&A

BRG: What can you tell us about your Blue Ribbon Beer Bread recipe and why you chose it?

BRG: What do you think your secret to winning was?

BRG: What is the worst disaster you’ve had in the kitchen and how did you deal with it?

BRG: What advice would you give young people wanting to cook/bake more?