Written by and Photographed by Jackie Kennedy
Newnan-Coweta Magazine's Bake Your Best Christmas Cookie Contest brought holiday cheer in September as judges taste-tested cookies presented for competition in our ninth annual bake-off.
Jennifer Davis, of Newnan, took not only Grand Prize after winning First Place in the Decorated Cookie category; she also won Second Place in both the Traditional and Decorated categories.
Susan West was First Place winner in the Traditional Cookie Category.
Serving as judges was a trio of this year's winners of Newnan-Coweta Magazine's Best of Coweta Readers' Choice Awards. Deliberating over the taste, texture and presentation of holiday cookies were Veronica Richards, owner of Cafe 1485, winner of the 2026 Best of Coweta Breakfast, Overall Service, Business Decor, Welcoming Atmosphere and Business Restroom awards; Beth Tripp, sales and marketing director of Wesley Woods, winner of Best Assisted Living Facility; and Tommy Greene, assistant manager of Meat 'N' Greet, winner of Best of Coweta Burger, Cocktail, Appetizer and Overall Restaurant.
Cookie contest winners received gift boxes and bags filled with donations from generous local businesses (see list). The Grand Prize box featured items valued at more than $750.
Local home bakers: Put next September's Bake Your Best Christmas Cookie Contest on your to-do list now. It will be our 10th annual contest, and we're planning to go all-out!
Looking for more fun holiday cookie activities? Check out Cookie Day Party ideas here.
Grand Prize Winner
Old-Fashioned Christmas Flower Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing
Submitted by Jennifer Davis, Newnan
"I got that recipe probably when I was in high school. I have tons of sugar cookie recipes, but I really love that one because of the lemon. The actual recipe is all tattered and stained from years of use. I used Royal Icing for the first time on this cookie. Like I told my husband, I'm not a great baker, but I'm a brave baker."
- Jennifer Davis
Old-Fashioned Christmas Flower Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
1½ cups granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine flour, baking powder and salt in bowl. Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, lemon peel and vanilla. At low speed, gradually beat in dry ingredients, just until blended. Divide dough into quarters and flatten into disks; wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 large cookie sheets with a light covering of cooking spray, parchment paper or silicone mats. On a lightly floured surface, roll 1 disk 1/8 -inch thick. Cut out figures with 3-inch cookie cutters of your choice.
Transfer cookies to prepared sheets. Bake 7 to 9 minutes until edges are golden, turning pans to evenly brown cookies, if necessary. Cool on wire racks. Repeat with remaining dough, re-rolling scraps. Decorate as desired. Makes about 5 dozen cookies.
Royal Icing
4 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted, plus more as needed
3 tablespoons meringue powder
9 tablespoons room-temperature water, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
In large bowl, using a handheld mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, mix confectioners' sugar and meringue powder. Add water and extract; whip on high speed for 1½ to 2 minutes. When lifting the whisk off the icing, the icing should drizzle down and smooth out within 5 to 10 seconds. If it's too thick, whip in more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Tip: I usually need 10 tablespoons of water, but on particularly dry days, I use up to 14 tablespoons. Keep in mind that the longer you whip the royal icing, the thicker it becomes. If your royal icing is too thin, just keep whipping it to introduce more air, or you can add more sifted confectioners' sugar.
