With the upcoming Battle for the Blue Ribbons Creative Arts cooking contest held at the State fair of Texas later this month, we hope that these recipes will offer some inspiration for original dish ideas to enter in any of the cake, cookies, or pie categories! But even if you don’t plan on entering and just like to cook at home or need a desert for that upcoming party, these recipes are guaranteed to be winners!
CARROT LOAF CAKE
Wesley Burress
Houston, TX
2nd Place–Cake Contest
Ingredients:
1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp.salt
1 ½ eggs, room temp.
¾ c. canola oil
½ tsp. rum
1 c. grated carrots
½ tsp. vanilla
½ c. drained crushed pineapple
½ c. sweetened coconut
½ c. chopped & toasted pecans
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. In mixing bowl, combine flour sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir together dry ingredients. Add eggs, oil, rum, carrots, vanilla and mix well. Stir In pineapple, coconut and pecans. Pour into greased pan and bake 45- 50 minutes until cake tester Is clean in center. Cool on wire rack 5 minutes, remove from pan and prepare to immediately drizzle frosting on loaf cake.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 T. butter, room temp.
8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.
2 c. confectioners’ sugar
¾ tsp. vanilla
2 ½ tsp. fresh squeezed orange juice
2 T. heavy cream
In mixing bowl, add butter, cream cheese and beat until smooth. Add confectioners’ sugar slowly and continue to beat until smooth. Add vanilla and orange juice and beat briefly. Add 2 tablespoons heavy cream and immediately drizzle When cake Is out of pan. Store in refrigerator. Remove at least 30 minutes from refrigerator before serving.
GEORGE’S FAVORITE- CHOCOLATE CAKE
Clare Palmer
Royse City, TX
2nd Place–Youth Cooking, Jrs., Age 13
Ingredients:
Cake:
2 c. granulated sugar
1 ¾ c. gluten free flour
½ c. cocoa
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. milk
½ c. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 c. boiling water
Heat oven to 350°. Grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and set aside. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in bolling water; batter will be thin. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Frosting:
½ c. butter
½ c. cocoa
3 c. powdered sugar
1/a c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Melt butter, stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to a spreading consistency. Add small amount of additional milk If needed. Stir in vanilla. Pour over warm cake.
LEMON CRINKLE COOKIES
Leliah Burnside
Keller, TX
3rd Place–Youth Cooking, Children, Age 11
Ingredients:
½ c. softened butter
1 c. granulated sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 lg. egg
1 T. lemon zest
2 T. fresh lemon juice
¼tsp.salt
¼ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ c. flour
½ c. powdered sugar
In a large bowl, cream butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla extract, egg, lemon zest and lemon juice. Scrape sides if needed. Stir in salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour slowly. Continue to scrape sides of bowl. Do not overmix. Refrigerate dough 1-2 hours. Preheat oven to 350° and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray. Pour powdered sugar onto a large plate. Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a ball and roll ball into powdered sugar, generously. Place each dough ball onto cookie sheet and repeat until all of dough is gone. Bake 1 O to 11 minutes or until top of cookies are cracked. Cool cookies at least 3 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
PISTACHIO PINWHEELS
Kate Rovner
Plano, TX
1st Place–Cookie Contest
Ingredients:
½ c. raw pistachios
¼ tsp.salt
12 T. salted European butter
¾ c. powdered sugar
2 egg yolks (reserve egg whites)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. orange extract
1 c. flour
1 ½ c. almond flour
1 T. orange zest
½ tsp. turbinado sugar
In bowl of a food processor, pulse pistachios until very finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl; add salt. To food processor bowl, add butter and powdered sugar. Process until smooth. Add egg yolks, vanilla, almond extract and orange extract; process until smooth and light. Add flour. Pulse to incorporate. Transfer about % of dough to a bowl. Add almond flour and orange zest; mix to evenly incorporate. Roll ¼-Inch thick Into a rectangle. Refrigerate until firm. Add ground pistachios with salt to dough that remains in food processor. Pulse until thoroughly blended. Press pistachio dough in an even layer on almond dough. Starting on long side, roll dough into a log. Wrap in wax paper and transfer to refrigerator. Heat oven to 350°. Line 2 (18 x 13-inch) rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Beat egg whites and brush outside of log. Roll log in turbinado sugar. Using knife, cut roll into 32 rounds. Place on prepared baking sheets, 16 cookies per sheet. Bake 14 minutes until edges are set and bottoms are golden brown. Remove from oven and place baking sheets on wire racks to cool completely. Makes 32 cookies.
COCONUT KEY LIME CHESS PIE
Sara Smith
Arlington, TX
3rd Place–Pie Contest
Ingredients:
Pie Shell:
1 ½ c. flour
1 T. sugar
½ tsp.salt
½ c. cold butter-flavored shortening
5 T. cold water
In food processor, add flour, sugar and salt. Process 30 seconds. Add cold shortening and process until pea-size. Transfer to medium bowl. Sprinkle water in one tablespoon at a time until all flour mixture is moistened and you can form into a ball. Knead gently. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator 30 minutes. Roll out pie dough and put In pie pan. Crimp and flute around edge of pan. Put crust in refrigerator 30 minutes until firm. Preheat oven to 400°. Take out and line With parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake 15 minutes. Remove pie weights, reduce oven to 375° and cook an additional 10 minutes.
Filling:
1 c. sugar
½ c. packed brown sugar
2 T. cornmeal, finely ground
5 eggs
½ c. unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp. lime zest (2 Key limes)
2 T. lime juice (about 8 Key limes)
½ tsp. vanilla
¾ c. sweetened coconut
Preheat oven to 325°. In large bowl, whisk together sugar, brown sugar and cornmeal. Beat in eggs one at a time with mixer until combined. Beat In melted butter, lime zest, lime juice and vanilla until combined. Sprinkle coconut over bottom of pie crust. Pour filling over coconut in crust. Bake 45 minutes until top appears set and set when lightly shaken. Cool pie on wire rack 1 hour. Chill In refrigerator 3 hours.