Christmas Cookie Contest

Written and Photographed by JACKIE KENNEDY

Christmas cookie lovers across Coweta County got a jumpstart on the holidays when they entered Newnan-Coweta Magazine’s fifth annual Bake Your Best Christmas Cookie Contest.

Since 2018, NCM has held its annual cookie contest in September, giving participants a preview of what they might bake for the holidays and allowing our designers time to put together a festive feature for our November-December issue.

Local merchants make the contest fun for everyone by contributing prizes for the winners, and when it’s all said and done, there are new recipes for favorite treats to add to your holiday dessert table.

In observance of the contest’s fifth anniversary, NCM invited winners of the first four contests to serve as judges for the September 16 competition. It was a pleasure to reunite with previous winners Amy Feaster, 2018; Karin Francis, 2019; and Carol Grizzard, 2021. Our 2020 winner, Erica Leifker, had prior commitments and was unable to attend.

This year’s Grand Prize winner was Hannah Kupfer, whose Cherry Almond Keyhole Cookies wowed the judges, taking first place in the Decorated Cookie category and chosen as the overall winner of the 2022 contest. Kupfer’s Grand Prize basket was filled with items valued at a total of $550.

Along with our usual categories of Traditional Cookies and Decorated Cookies, we added a new category, Cookies By Kids. Although we only had one entry in that category, the judges agreed it would have been a winner even if competing against a dozen other contenders.

Yes, Quinn Bellamy’s Spanish Bread Cookies are that good!

Grand Prize Winner: 1st Place Decorated

Cherry Almond Keyhole Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
Cherry preserves
2½ teaspoons almond extract
2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugar together; beat in egg. Mix in flour and salt. Roll half the dough ⅛-inch thick. Cut into desired shapes and place on cookie sheet 1 inch or so apart.

Roll out second half of dough and cut into same shape; cut holes in the middle of each of these shapes. Scoop a teaspoon or so of preserves onto each whole cookie and place dough with center cut out on top, pressing around the edges to seal. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes.

For frosting, add almond extract to powdered sugar and mix. This may require a little water. Mix until a paste forms. When cookies have cooled completely, spread frosting on top of cookies, around the cut-out shapes.

1st Place Traditional

Graham Cracker Cookies

2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup miniature chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips
½ cup butterscotch chips
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup chopped walnuts
2 ounces dried cranberries
1 (1.51-ounce) package instant strawberries
and cream oatmeal
1 cup sweet coconut
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Spray 9x13-inch baking dish with Baker's Joy. Stir crushed graham crackers and melted butter together; press mixture into bottom of sprayed dish to make crust.

Sprinkle on top of crust: chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, pecans, walnuts, dried cranberries, oatmeal and coconut.

Mix salt with condensed milk, and pour over other ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool before serving.

2nd Place Decorated

Butter Sugar Decorated Cookies

1 teaspoon baking powder
6 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups salted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
4 tablespoons milk

Mix baking powder and flour in a separate bowl; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until they are completely mixed. Add eggs, vanilla and milk. Mix until fluffy. Add baking powder/flour mixture two cups at a time. Don't overmix the dough when you are adding the dry ingredients; mix only until flour is incorporated into the dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours.

Bake at 400 degrees for 6 to 10 minutes depending on the size of the cookie cutter used. Let cookies cool before frosting. Use royal icing or buttercream for frosting.

2nd Place Traditional

Date Nut Pinwheel Cookies

2¼ cups pitted dates, diced
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shortening
2 cups brown sugar
3 eggs, well beaten
4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda

Combine dates, granulated sugar and water in saucepan. Cook over low heat until thick. Add nuts and stir. Cool completely.

Cream shortening. Add brown sugar gradually with a spoon and beat until light. Add eggs and mix well. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and chill thoroughly.

Divide mixture into 2 parts. Roll each into a rectangle a little less than ¼-inch thick. Spread each with date-nut filling. Roll like a jelly roll; wrap in wax paper and chill overnight.

The next day, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut one roll into slices. Arrange on greased cookie sheet, and bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Save remaining roll to cook later, or slice and bake those, too.

3rd Place Decorated

Thumbprint Cookies

⅓ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup shortening, room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 cups cake flour
Sprinkles

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat together sugar, salt, shortening and butter until fluffy. Add egg and extracts, and beat until thick. Stir in flour just until a dough forms; it may still be in chunks. Shape dough into ¾-ounce balls. Roll each ball in sprinkles. Press down ball with thumb. Chill cookies on baking sheets for 10 minutes in refrigerator. Bake cookies for 15 minutes.

Icing for Thumbprint

4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups powdered sugar
½ tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract
Pinch of salt

Beat butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat. Add extracts and salt, and beat until thick. Transfer to piping bag with an open star tip and squeeze icing into thumbprint of cooled cookies.

3rd Place Traditional

Caroline’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

½ cup sugar
1¾ cups brown sugar
2½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1½ tablespoons vanilla
1 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1¾ cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together dry ingredients. Add vanilla, butter and eggs; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto baking sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes.

1st Place Cookies by Kids

Spanish Bread Cookies

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
½ cup chopped pecans

In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, cloves, cinnamon and baking soda. In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar, butter, eggs and nuts. Using a mixer, combine the two mixtures, and then shape the dough into rolls 2 to 3 inches thick. Refrigerate rolls for several hours. 

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Cut dough into thin slices and place slices on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for about 10 minutes until cookies start to turn light brown. Remove from oven and let cool.

Our Sponsors

Newnan-Coweta Magazine thanks the following merchants and individuals who donated prizes for our Bake Your Best Christmas Cookie Contest:

Ace Growlers

Arthur Murphey Florist

Back 41 Outfitters

Blue Moon Boutique

Christy's Cafe

Corner Arts Gallery

David Boyd Jr.

Dragonfly Running Company

Ellie Mack Boutique

Gillyweeds

Hug Box 

Let Them Eat Toffee

Morgan Jewelers 

Newnan Book Company

One Eleven

Piedmont Newnan Fitness Center

Toby Nix