One Tough Cookie Contest

Judging any sort of food competition sounds like a pretty cushy job at first glance. You get to taste all sorts of exotic delights, compare and contrast, ultimately laying down the official ruling on which entry takes the cake- Or cookie, as was the case for the 2017 VegNews Holiday Cookie Contest. However, I don’t envy the ruling critics on this panel, tasting their way through an onslaught of sweet morsels, every one of them with the potential to win hearts, if not the entire competition. Luckily, such agonizing decisions were not mine to make, as I merely provided photos for the feature while relishing the end results on my own terms. No need to pick favorites between these three; you’ll be a winner no matter which treats end up on Santa’s plate!

Officially, first place went to the classy and classic Chocolate-Dipped Almond Cranberry Shortbread Cookies by Rosie Scott-Benson. This cookie pairs an irresistibly buttery shortbread cookie with rich chocolate for a winning combination.

Coming in at a close second, Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cream Pies by Mary-Kate Lynch are lightly spiced, soft and sweet; sure to be a hit at your holiday parties, and beyond.

Third but far from last, the Dirty Chai Sugar Cookies by Amy McDonough may honestly have been my personal favorites from this round. These are tender, chewy cookies infused with warming chai spices and topped with a creamy espresso-spiked frosting. Honestly, does it get much better than that? I think that even Santa would forgive you for scarfing down the whole batch before he has time to shimmy down the chimney.

Given the diverse array of tempting last-minute additions, are you changing up your holiday cookie game this year? What’s going on your platters, and tell the truth: Are you really planning on sharing with Santa? There’s no shame is giving yourself a little gift of sweetness as well!

Batting a Thousand

For a soft-spoken gal with a powerful fear of public speaking, one thousand posts is a stunning, if not downright shocking, milestone. Who knew I had so much to say in the first place? Strung together in bits and pieces, wedged between questionable punctuation, and tucked around photos and recipes, it’s taken an unbelievable number of words to glue this little blog together. Ironically, I’m having trouble verbalizing what all of those words mean to me, and the fact that anyone would take the time to read them all.

Can you feel the love?

That’s why, on this 1000th post, I want you to do the talking. Tell me about anything you’d like, be it about blogs in general, things you’ve enjoyed on this blog (Have you made my recipes? Tried my craft patterns? Call me a narcissist, but I love hearing about that!) or just what’s on your mind at the moment. Free choice! In exchange, I want to share with you my biggest giveaway yet…

The email marketing provider Little Green Plane has given me 6 x $25 Amazon.com vouchers to give away. For those playing along at home, that’s a total of $150 up for grabs! Though you’re free to choose anything your heart desires, I might suggest that it’s the perfect amount to snag one of my current cookbooks, or pre-order the latest to complete your collection (I can dream, right?)

To reward all you faithful regulars, this will be a speed-round contest. It will run only through the weekend, until Midnight EST on Sunday, April 22nd, with the six (!) winners announced shortly thereafter. Just make sure you enter a valid email address so that I can get in touch, and do me the favor of only entering once per person. It makes it so much easier to determine the winners via the all-knowing random number generator.