Bringing National Recipe Contests To Grassroots America...

Blue Ribbon Winning Favorites

 

Cyndi's Blue Ribbon Winning Favorites:

My mother is a breast cancer survivor so the theme of this contest is close to my heart. Nancy from Boise entered and won with this recipe:

Pink Ribbon Buns

 

  • 1-1/4 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 cup shortening
  • 4-1/2 to 4-2/3 cups flour, divided
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 packages Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast
  • Grated zest of one orange

Stir over low heat the milk, sugar, salt and shortening, till shortening melts and mixture is lukewarm )100° to 110°F). In separate large bowl, mix 2 cups of the flour with the yeast. Add to this the warm milk mixture. Beat with electric mixture at high speed for 3 minutes while adding eggs one at a time. By hand, add rest of the flour to form a stiff dough. Knead for 8 – 10 minutes, till dough is soft and elastic, kneading in the orange zest. Cover and let dough rest till doubled, about 1-1/2 hours. Punch down, and form into shapes. Make the pink ribbon shapes by rolling dough pieces into thin ropes first. Let rise for 45 minutes, then bake at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes. When cool, frost and decorate as desired. I used pink cream cheese frosting with pink sprinkles and pink tinted coconut.

 

One of my fondest memories from childhood is me at the counter, baking alongside my mother. These treats were truly magical to me and our entire family:

Magic Cookie Bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Makes 2 to 3 dozen bars
Cooking time: 25 minutes
  • 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
  • 1 (14-ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
  • 2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
  • 1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350°F (325°F for glass baking pan). In small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter; mix well. Press crumb mixture firmly on bottom of 13x9-inch baking pan. Pour EAGLE BRAND® evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly with fork. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Chill if desired. Cut into bars or diamonds. Store leftovers covered at room temperature.

One more dessert recommendation: home-made ice cream. A simple yet rich treat!

Punchy Ice Cream

 

  • 1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
  • 1-20 ounce can crushed pineapple
  • 2 liter bottle pineapple soda
  • 2 liter bottle punch soda

Combine all ingredients and mix completely. Place contents into a 5 quart ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s recommended steps.

 

 

Beth's Blue Ribbon Winning Favorites

I like this recipe as it’s finger food filled with healthy spinach, artichokes and cheese. They are easy too and can be made and ahead of time, then baked fresh for guests who are sure to be impressed. It also was a finalist for the contest’s grand prize.

Spinach Artichoke Cups

 

  • 1 pack wonton wrappers (refrigerated in produce section of most grocery stores)
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 2 heaping tablespoons Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning Mix
  • 1 (10 oz.) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed
  • 1 (15 or 16 oz.) can artichoke hearts, coarsely chopped
  • 1 finely minced fresh garlic clove
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Colby Jack cheese, divided into 1-1/2 cups and 1/2 cup

Special Equipment: mini muffin tins

 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spray mini muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray. Gently press and fold individual wonton wrappers into each tin to form a “cup”. When tin is full, spray wonton tips lightly with nonstick spray. Bake approximately 10-15 minutes until cups hold their shape and are lightly browned. (They will brown more when baked with filling. Filling will fill at least 30 cups so repeat process accordingly.) Mix mayonnaise and sour cream in medium bowl. Add dry Hidden Valley Ranch mix and mix well. Squeeze as much liquid as possible out of thawed spinach. Add to bowl, and then add chopped artichoke hearts and minced garlic, mixing well. Add grated parmesan and 1-1/2 cups shredded cheese to mixture. (At this point, you can place cooled wonton cups in a covered container at room temperature and refrigerate spinach-artichoke mixture for several hours.) When ready to sere, place wonton cups on a baking sheet. Place a heaping tablespoon of spinach-artichoke mixture in each cup, then sprinkle on a few pieces of remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees until cups are browned around edges and cheese is melted. Makes 36 – 42 individual cups.

 

 

Kentucky is one of my favorite fairs and churros are a classic everyone needs to try at least once…so this is my deep fried pick for 2008!

Churros

Ingredients:
  • 1 (48 oz.) bottle Canola Oil for frying
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup butter (or margarine)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 6 eggs
  • 4-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided

Roll Mixture:

  • 2 cups sugar
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat canola oil in a pan to 360 degrees. For dough: heat water, butter and salt to rolling boil in separate 3-quart saucepan; stir in flour and 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute; remove from heat. Beat eggs all at once; continue beating until smooth and then add to saucepan while stirring mixture. Spoon mixture into cake decorators’ tube with large star tip. Squeeze strips of dough into hot oil. Fry 3 or 4 strips at a time until golden brown, turning once, about 2 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Roll in cinnamon/sugar mixture made by combining sugar and remaining 3 teaspoons cinnamon.