Behind the scenes of the Star Tribune’s cookie contest

As you read this, planning for the 23rd annual Minnesota Star Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest is already underway.

It’s a scheduling feat to secure bakers, kitchen space, photographers and finally event space so we can close out the contest — and start the holiday season — on a sweet note. One of the most common questions we are asked is, “How does the contest work behind the scenes?” So this year, we’re letting you in on the process.

As soon as the State Fair ends, we begin. Bakers are given about six weeks to hone their recipes, although many don’t need that long. Our first entry arrived the day we announced the contest, but the week before the deadline is the busiest.

Taste editor Nicole Hvidsten and assistant Taste editor Nancy Ngo did the first culling, reading all the recipes and stories. We note originality, similarities to past winners and the story behind the cookie. After cutting nearly half of the 125-plus entries (a difficult task), we added writers Sharyn Jackson and Joy Summers to the conversation. We debated and narrowed the list even further, sending 24 recipes to the final round.

A week later, led by retired pastry chef Amy Carter and culinary instructor Matt Deutsch, our 24 cookie recipes are baked in Deutsch’s classroom at Burnsville High School, which has several baking stations. Carter and friends shop for ingredients throughout the week. (This year’s list included 15 pounds of flour, 15 pounds of sugar, 20 pounds of butter and five dozen eggs.) On a Friday afternoon, a team of bakers and student helpers ascend and mix up all the doughs, noting any discrepancies or tips that would help us judge. The following morning, the crew returns to bake all the cookies and complete the finishing touches.

Now the panel of judges arrives. We rotate every year, with the only constants being Carter, Deutsch and the Taste staff. This year’s panel also included authors Zoë François and Sarah Kieffer, past winner Joanne Holtmeier and Cindy Shelton, who won the opportunity through the Minnesota Les Dames d’Escoffier auction. There’s a lot of tasting, questions and debating each cookie. We will leave school a few hours later full of both cookies and enthusiasm for this year’s winner and four finalists.

For years we’ve been working with the food photography-styling team of Dennis Becker and Lisa Golden Schroeder, who photograph the cookies in Becker’s Roseville studio, working in tandem with the Star Tribune’s photo editing and Taste teams. It takes four-plus hours to do the shoot, and that doesn’t take into account the baking and setup done beforehand.

Now the Taste team springs into action, notifying bakers and interviewing them for the big cookie reveal. We also test the cookie recipes multiple times at home, and rewrite to adhere to Star Tribune style, ensuring a seamless experience for bakers. Recipes are also edited multiple times before appearing both in the newspaper and in our Cookie Finder.

Throughout the contest process, the Minnesota Star Tribune’s marketing and events team is finalizing the details and sponsorships for the annual cookie event, now called Cookie Wonderland. Rush City Bakery bakes the thousands of cookies for everyone to enjoy. Lunds & Byerlys sponsors both the event and the print section; other sponsors include Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Minnesota Lottery, Metropolitan Skin Clinic and Kemps.

Mark your calendars: The 23rd annual Minnesota Star Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest begins Sept. 4.