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Apr 15, 2008 1:37 pm US/Central
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Peanuts + Butter = $1,000,000 For Bake-Off Winner
North Texan Wins America's Favorite Award
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
For the last three days the Regency Ballroom of
the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas was transformed into 'baking central'. That's where the
43rd Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest was held and today the winners were announced.
Tens of thousands of recipes were entered and 100
finalists were selected to compete in the bake-off that required entrants to prepare an original
recipe that used two or more different eligible products.
One hundred 'mini-kitchens' were set up complete with measuring cups, mixing spoons, fry pans and other equipment, then shall we say 'the flour started flying'.
This year's contest brought together eight men and 92 women, who ranged in age from 27 to 72-years-old. The amateur cooks all competed feverishly in their western-style aprons.
The Bake-Off began in 1949 as a one time affair to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Pillsbury - now the competition is held every two years. This is the third time the final bake-off has been held in Dallas, the previous being 1968 and 1996.
This year a panel of nine judges awarded the million-dollar grand prize to Carolyn Gurtz of Gaithersburg, Maryland, for her Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies. Gurtz will receive 20 annual payments of $50,000.
A North Texan also walked away a winner in the contest. Based on online votes, Gwen Beauchamp of Lancaster won the America's Favorite award, for her Toffee-Banana Brownies. Beauchamp, who was the brownie champion at the State Fair of Texas in 2001 and 2002, walked away with a $5,000 prize.
Ready to give Gurtz's and Beauchamp's' recipes a try?
Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies
Prep Time: 45 min, Start to Finish: 45 min
1/4 cup Fisher® Dry Roasted Peanuts, finely chopped
1
/4 cup Domino or C&H Granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup JIF Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Domino or C&H Confectioners Powdered Sugar
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury Create 'n Bake refrigerated peanut butter cookies, well chilled
Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 (1-inch) balls.
Cut roll of cookie dough into 12 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls.
Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls. On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with CRISCO Original No-Stick Cooking Spray; press into remaining peanut mixture. Flatten each ball to 1/4-inch thickness with bottom of glass.
Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough.
Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered.
24 cookies
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.
1 Serving: Calories 150 (Calories from Fat 70); Total Fat 7g (Saturated Fat 1 1/2g, Trans Fat 1/2g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 125mg; Total Carbohydrate 17g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 11g); Protein 3g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 0%; Iron 2% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Toffee-Banana Brownies
Prep Time: 20 min, Start to Finish: 3HR 10 Min
1 box fudge brownie mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup water
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups toffee bits
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/3 cup caramel ice cream topping
Heat oven to 350°F. Generously spray 13x9-inch pan with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray.
In medium bowl, stir brownie mix, oil, water and eggs 50 strokes with spoon. Add 1 cup of the toffee bits, the nuts and bananas; stir just until well blended. Pour into pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup toffee bits over top.
Bake 38 to 48 minutes or until center is set when lightly touched, top is slightly dry and edges just start to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely, about 2 hours. For brownies, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.
To serve, drizzle each brownie with caramel topping. Cover and refrigerate any remaining brownies.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft):
Increase water to 1/3 cup. Add 1/2 cup all-purpose flour to dry brownie mix.
1 Serving: Calories 260 (Calories from Fat 130); Total Fat 15g (Saturated Fat 3g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 105mg; Sodium 75mg; Total Carbohydrate 30g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 23g); Protein 2g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 0%; Iron 4% Exchanges: 1/2 Starch; 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 3 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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