Tag: Cyndi Harles

Bake Your Best for the 2021 Minnesota State Fair

Calling all Blue Ribbon Foodies & Minnesota State Fair Lovers!!

Hit the kitchen and let’s bake together for the Great Minnesota Get-Back-Together! To celebrate the official return of our hometown Minnesota State Fair in 2021, the Blue Ribbon Group is sponsoring four special baking contests at the Minnesota State Fair including:

  • Best Banana Bread
  • Best Fruit Pie
  • Best Drop Cookie
  • Best Coconut Cake

Cash Prizes & Kudos

For this “Blue Ribbon Baking Day” at the fair, we’ve organized $175 in prizes for each competition, plus there will be special recognition for blue ribbon winners across several broader baking categories: Cookies, Cakes, Pies, and Breads. Don’t miss this treasured tradition that hundreds of Minnesotans take part in every year. You’ll rub elbows with like-minded home cooks and hobby bakers on “baking drop-off day” and once the fair opens see what wins in display cases throughout the Creative Activities Building. The experience is also a wonderful warm-up for the upcoming holiday baking season.

Special Thanks to our prize partner, King Arthur Baking Company. 

King Arthur Baking Company

Blue Ribbon Baking Contest Series: Sat, Aug 21, 2021, 9:30am – 1pm (Competitors: Sign Up by Aug 10, 4:30pm)

All registration goes through the Minnesota State Fair competition department. Registration is free! There’s also no obligation if you later can’t participate. Go to the Competitions/Creative Activities/Baked Products section at MNStateFair.org to sign up (under the Participants tab). Three quick-start tips:

  • Create your online account here
  • For step-by-step guidance, go here.
  • Sign up for the Competition Department email list here and be sure to choose “Creative Activities” as your email list.

Best Drop Cookies Blue Ribbon Cake Blue Ribbon Pie: Blueberry Rhubarb Strawberry Pie Best Banana Bread

 

Sign Up!   *********************Registration is Closed; Stay Tuned for Follow-Up Posts **************************************

  • Registration is open now. It closes August 10 at 4:30pm. No late registrations are allowed so don’t miss the deadline
  • Registration is FREE
  • You drop off your entry the Saturday before the fair opens, so it’s easy in, easy out. Drop off is 9:30am to 1pm on Saturday, August 21. You can even have a friend drop it off if you can’t make it
  • Open to Minnesota residents only

If you are on social media, be sure to follow BLUE RIBBBON FOODIES on Instagram or Facebook (or both =). Help us grow. Like and comment on what you see there. Save and share your favorite posts. Also, stay tuned here for inspiration and award-winning recipes from Minnesota and across the country.

Want to see all the official rules? Download them here.

Good luck. We’ll be cheering for you all!

Cyndi & Crystal (aka The Blue Ribbon Group & Blue Ribbon Foodies)

Fresh Tomato & Fontina Cheese Tart

This Fresh Tomato & Fontina Cheese Tart is colorful, scrumptious and extraordinarily simple to make.

Aromatic crushed fennel seeds in the crust deliver a delicious dimension you smell and taste with every bite. As a result, the tart’s flavor is distinct and unforgettable.

Fontina, an Italian cheese known for its smooth texture, gives the tart a richness that pairs perfectly with fresh tomatoes. The onions, olives and fresh thyme sprigs  add to the tart’s gourmet taste and vibrant appearance.

Fresh Tomato & Fontina Cheese Tart

This Fresh Tomato & Fontina Cheese Tart is hearty but not heavy, which makes it perfect for brunch or dinner. It also reheats well. Add it to your meal-planning today. You are going to love it!

Fresh Tomato & Fontina Cheese Tart

Recipe credit goes to Anne Crouss who won at the Big E Fair (2013), first place in a contest General Mills’ baking division sponsored for family-favorite meals. We simply made it with a thicker crust. We’ve made the crust both with Bisquick, and a flour version (Fennel Seed Pie Crust). Both are delicious!

Baking Tips

  • Follow the step by step images below to take a tour through this blue ribbon winning recipe.

Fresh Tomato & Fontina Cheese Tart

  • Don’t skip placing the tomato slices on paper towels stage as it dries them out just enough to prevent too much juice draining into the pie and making the crust soggy.
  • Can’t find Fontina? Go with a Gouda, Gruyere, or provolone as substitutes. They have comparable texture and richness.
  • If you prefer thinner crusts, use an oversize 12-inch pie pan (which is how Anne, the recipe creator, made it originally).
  • Want to use Bisquick for the crust? Use 1 1/2 cups of the mix and 6 tablespoons butter instead of the flour and butter amounts listed.

If you love savory pies, be sure to also try this Savory Butternut Squash Pie or these Spicy Chicken Hand Pies.

Step by Step Images

First, prepare your crust. Use the Bisquick version the winner did (in recipe below), or if you prefer flour instead, use the Fennel Seed Pie Crust recipe we tested and approved.

Fresh Tomato & Fontina Cheese Tart

Second – once the crust is parbaked and cooled…begin the layering. Start with the Italian Fontina Cheese.

Fresh Tomato & Fontina Cheese Tart

Third, load up most of the tomatoes.

Fresh Tomato & Fontina Cheese Tart

Next, combine the chopped olives, onion, fresh thyme, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add them on top of the tomatoes.

Fresh Tomato & Fontina Cheese Tart

After adding the olive/onion mixture, as the last step, add the remaining tomatoes. Now it is ready to go into the oven.

Fresh Tomato & Fontina Cheese Tart

Finally, bake, then let it cool a bit before adding fresh thyme sprigs, slicing. and serving.

Fresh Tomato & Fontina Cheese Tart

Enjoy!

-Cyndi

 

Maple Cream Cheese Monkey Bread

Maple Cream Cheese Monkey Bread – Mini Size: If you want a yummy, buttery, gooey pull-apart bread that you can have all to yourself, bake this best-ever recipe. All you need is milk, instant yeast, cream cheese, an egg, and a few other pantry staples. You bake them in cupcake or muffin tins…so you get single servings… and no sharing required. Ha! Now is when you can hear my hushed, evil voice saying: mine mine mine! All mine!

Maple Cream Cheese Monkey Bread Front View

Recipe credit goes to Kaitlyn Wiener who created these for a best-ever bread baking contest at the Minnesota State Fair (Fleischmann’s Yeast, 2013).

Maple Cream Cheese Monkey Bread

Monkey Bread Made Easy

To get rolling on this maple cream cheese monkey bread recipe, you make a quick-rise, plump dough, cut it into squares, then wrap a cream cheese/maple syrup filling inside. Do a quick toss in a bowl of cinnamon and sugar. Drop them into muffin tins, top them with a butter/maple syrup sauce, and pop them in the oven! So darn simple, and so completely delish.

I really love the ease of working with instant yeast like Fleischmann’s RapidRise yeast. It’s fast acting and consistent (always reliable.) RapidRise yeast also works great in coffee cakes. Watch for one of those, another state fair winner, coming in the next couple weeks.

My niece Crystal and fellow Blue Ribbon Foodie was the lucky one to recreate these mini maple cream cheese monkey breads. She gave it two thumbs up and had this to say:

  • This recipe was fun to make and a great chance to get kids involved because of the simplicity of the steps.
  • The cream cheese filling adds a nice tang, especially when paired with the frosting and the sauce.
  • If by chance they don’t all disappear, the mini monkey breads do reheat well, however I recommend eating them right away when the bread most soft and light, fresh out of the oven. Enjoy!

By the way, if you’re looking for a great full size monkey bread to make, try this pumpkin pull apart bread.

Crystal and Cyndi

 

Bourbon Molasses Sandwich Cookies

Bourbon Molasses Sandwich Cookies: these blue-ribbon-winning cookies are made with Bulliet brand bourbon, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and molasses. The bourbon meringue buttercream filling morphs them into a creamy, dreamy dessert.  They are perfect for National Bourbon Day, which is June 14th. However, you need no excuse to make these.

Recipe credit goes to Gigi D’Amore of Burbank. She won 1st place at the L.A. County Fair with them. (Gold Medal Flour, best cookie contest, 2016)

Stacked Bourbon Molasses Sandwich Cookies

Cookie Texture Transformation

Two other great things about these Bourbon Molasses Sandwich Cookies: one, the ease of the recipe, and two, how they transform in texture after they sit for a few hours. They become even more tender, even more creamy and dreamy. They literally melt in your mouth. The meringue in the middle permeates the cookie itself and brings the bourbon flavor forward. And by “ease of the recipe” I mean that it’s straightforward. Yes, there are a lot of ingredients but that packs in the flavor.

Bourbon Meringue Buttercream Tips

A heads up: the meringue filling whips and fluffs up beautifully. When you add the bourbon, don’t be alarmed when it softens. Whip the filling more, then chill it before assembling. If you refrigerate the assembled cookies, the filling further thickens. As your own tasting experiment, you might want to test one right after they’re made, then another the next day. Taste the transformation for yourself.

To sum things up, we really love these award-winning Bourbon Molasses Sandwich Cookies. Highly recommended!

Love Sandwich Themed Cookies?

 

Holiday Baklava Homemade

Holiday Baklava Homemade: this sweet, nutty, almost candy-like dessert can be baked easily at home. You’ll need two boxes frozen phyllo dough, walnuts, butter, and a few pantry staples. If you’re like me, you always have Karo corn syrup, vanilla, sugar, and cinnamon on hand.  You layer butter between sheets of phyllo dough and drop in layers of chopped walnuts before baking.

Walnut layer of Holiday Baklava

Make sure to cut the baklava before baking, but not all the way through. It helps the pieces soak up the syrup topping but not stick to the bottom of the pan.

Baklava, cut, before baking

 

Baklava Variations

Coconut Homemade Baklava

I’ve also made a pistachio version and a coconut baklava (pictured above), both of which I love. However, if you’re making baklava for the first time, this recipe is perfect. You can always add in ingredients, or move on to more complex flavor profiles if so desired later.

This Tulsa State Fair winning recipe for  homemade Holiday Baklava comes from Sherrel Jones. She placed second overall in a dessert contest with it back in 2013.

Homemade Baklava Made Easy

I’m always surprised at how forgiving the delicate-looking phyllo dough product can be to work with and how quickly homemade baklava comes together. We found that keeping a clean, lightly damp towel over the phyllo sheets helps hold in more moisture, making them easier to separate. Most stores sell pyllo dough in their frozen food section. Just be sure, for this recipe, to grab the sheets versus the shells version. Athens is a favorite brand of mine.

I first had a bite of this gooey, rich sweet treat at the Mediterranean Cruise, a long-standing restaurant in my home state (Minnesota). The restaurant, moreso in its prior, kitschy Eagan location, was our go-to whenever my mom and stepfather visited from out of state. Always festive and fun, their atmosphere and entertainment go hand-in-hand with great food in a family-friendly setting.

Baklava is not only a popular dessert across the Middle East, but throughout the world also, including here in the U.S.A. If you’re curious about the much debated origins of baklava, this Greek news outlet, the Greek Reporter, has some interesting background. Contentious! Read a bit, then get baking!

Cyndi

 

Chocolate Orange Coffee Crinkles

These Chocolate Orange Coffee Crinkles have both cocoa powder and dark baking chocolate in them. Their fudge-like flavor will satisfy all those choco-holics out there. Chocolate crinkle cookies are classic, but this recipe reinvents them into something unforgettable. With the surprise additions of orange juice, orange zest, and instant espresso powder, this cookie turns into a multi-dimensional, complex, and completely scrumptious sweet treat. They are an utter delight to eat.

Holiday Chocolate Crinkles

Since you roll the balls of dough in powdered and granulated sugar, they “crack” open as they bake to show off the chocolate inside. This crinkle effect also gives them a distinctly festive and fun appearance. You are going to want to bake these winning cookies again and again, for the holidays or ANY time of year. They pair great with coffee, so wow your friends next time you invite them over for a cup of java.

Betty Crocker and blue ribbon recipes from our archives were the inspiration for these Chocolate Orange Coffee Crinkles. We started with Betty’s Chocolate Crinkle recipe,  added butter, upped the chocolate ingredients, changed from white to brown sugar, and made a few other modifications. We also looked closely at some orange chai crinkles that won at 2013 Washington State Fair. Since we’re huge citrus fans, we decided to showcase the orange flavor with the zest of an orange, plus its fresh-squeezed juice. Wow! After some test runs and tweaks, this has become a huge favorite. You can easily change up the flavors by changing the extracts. A raspberry version was popular around here also. We simply left out the orange elements, and used a raspberry extract and extra vanilla.

Chocolate Orange Coffee Crinkles, stacked

Top tip with these chocolate orange coffee crinkles: Be careful not to over bake. They should be moist and fudgy. No one likes a dry cookie that’s supposed to be rich and tender. Also, for an intense chocolate flavor, be sure to use a 70% cacao dark baking chocolate. We used Ghirardelli and loved the chocolatey taste it gave the cookie.

If you want more holiday themed recipes, check out this shortbread and this pound cake.

Enjoy!

-Cyndi

 

Pumpkin Pull-Apart Monkey Bread

This delicious Pumpkin Pull-Apart Bread is “monkey bread” at its finest. The concept:  plump and delicious dough, cut into pieces, rolled in sugar, cinnamon and butter, and baked all together in layers of gooey goodness. You pull it off in pieces and enjoy. Thus the “pull-apart” in its title. This bread is SO decadent and SO delightful.

If you’ve got a passion for pumpkin, indulge in this amazing dessert. You are going to want to make it again and again.

This Pumpkin Pull-Apart Bread creation is a Blue Ribbon Group original recipe. We used several blue ribbon winning recipes as inspiration. Crystal, my niece and fellow Blue Ribbon Foodie tested and tweaked the recipe, and added a pumpkin pie spiced icing, a nice touch, especially for fall baking season. I can’t wait to take my turn with it and use a favorite pumpkin pie spice.

We also love this mini recipe, with different flavors. The portions are perfect. If you are not good at sharing, that recipe is for you,

Bake it great!

-Cyndi

p.s. Looking for more pumpkin recipes? Search for “pumpkin” our site and you’ll find many. Be sure to bake this State Fair of Texas winner, another crowd pleaser.

Potato Chip Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

These melt-in-your-mouth Potato Chip Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies are an award winning cookie. They won first place, top honors indeed, at the San Diego County Fair. With some potato chips and a few pantry staples, you can easily recreate these at home. They’ll taste like something off a high-end patisserie menu.

Recipe credit and blue ribbon bragging rights go to Alberta Dunbar of San Diego. She won the 2014 Gold Medal Flour Cookie Contest for this crazy good cookie creation. There are some home bakers out there who bake year-round and practically non-stop. Alberta is one of them. I dare say she is legendary. She has more award ribbons than she can count. This recipe for Potato Chip Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies is a blue ribbon winner and will wow anyone who tries them. Get making these! You won’t regret it.

And if you are looking for more amazing sandwich cookies, check these s’more themed ones out, or simply search for sandwich cookies in the search field.

-Cyndi

 

Circus Crunch Cookies

This Circus Crunch Cookies recipe makes for a perfect sweet treat you can prepare in 15 minutes. Within an hour, you’ll have several dozen blue ribbon winning cookies on your hands. It makes a huge portion: about 50 cookies, so you’ll have plenty to freeze for later. In fact, I packaged and froze 6 each (in raw dough form) in several freezer bags and had fresh baked cookies at my fingertips for several weeks. You’ll want to keep this cookie recipe in heavy rotation.

Blue Ribbon Winning Cookies Plated

Circus Crunch Cookies recipe credit goes to John Joseph Yanek who won with them at the 2014 Great Allentown Fair, 1st place in the Gold Medal Flour cookie contest we managed for several years. We’re guessing you’re going to go crazy for this cookie like we did.

Bake it great!

Cyndi