People say scrolling through social media is a time suck, which I guess is true. But sometimes those sneaky algorithms are effective. Some late night scrolling and a leap of faith led me down a fun filled month full of cookies, furry friends and some healthy competition.
First Step to Cookie Heaven
Instagram Got Me
I spend more time than I care to admit mindlessly scrolling through social media. I’ve limited myself to 2 platforms (I know this shows my age, but it’s all I can handle). One late night after the kids were in bed and all my chores were done, I did what most of us probably do. I picked up my phone and started scrolling through Instagram. I came across an advertisement for a BakeCamp LA Cookie Competition. At first I read the post quickly and kept scrolling but then I went back to reread and actually click on the link to see what it was all about. A cookie competition where people come and taste a whole bunch of cookies and one is picked as the winner. And all proceeds from ticket sales go to a charity that helps puppies! Sounded like such an amazing event! But there’s no way I was going to submit an application. My cookies weren’t good enough to be in a competition with other bakers. I had only been doing this for a few years, there’s no way I could compete……..or could I?
A Leap of Faith
One of my life’s philosophies is “always ask, the worst that can happen is they say no”. I decided to follow advice I’ve given many times and submit an application. What did I have to lose? My expectation was that whoever reviewed my application would see that I had only been an “amateur baker” for 2 years and move to the next applicant. But that wasn’t the case! I had been accepted to participate. Now the nerves really set in. Being a part of a competition with other bakers who were well established and already had a following was an intimidating thought, but just the push I needed to start believing in myself and my cookies.
The Competitions
The Big Decision
I signed up for two out of three competitions. Three felt too overwhelming and one felt like not enough. The first competition was in Hollywood. My prep started about two weeks ahead of the big day. There were so many decisions. Packaging, set up, table decor, and most importantly, which cookie flavor to make! My chocolate chip cookies were my fan favorite, but they seemed so basic. I told myself there’s no way something boring like a chocolate chip cookie wins a cookie competition. But I didn’t make any crazy flavors. Nothing exotic, nothing colorful, nothing unique. And my best cookie was just a gooey, yummy, basic chocolate chip cookie. So that’s what I decided to go with. If I was going to lose, it would be with my best foot forward and my best cookie.
The First Attempt
The first competition was such a fun experience. I wheeled my wagon to the venue and set up my display. And as the day went on I realized that even if I didn’t get one vote, I had met so many amazing people! I was set up with a group of really great women bakers who make the whole experience so fun. People came to the event with their cookie passports and made the important decision as to which cookies they would try with their limited number of tastings. Just having someone use one of their tastings for my cookie was so humbling. I got a lot of good feedback, but not many votes. And that was ok, I didn’t expect to win. I had done this for the experience. I ended the day with 5 chips in my jar and I was ecstatic! 5 people who attended thought I had the best cookie out of the 60ish bakers that were there. That was a huge accomplishment in my book. And now I was looking forward to the second competition.
Second Time’s the Charm
Time for round two. The morning of the second competition my oldest made me a present. It was a drawing of a buff cookie that won best cookie. It was exactly what I needed to get my day started. He is one on my biggest fans and is always cheering his mama on. This round was in my neck of the woods, at the Valley Relics Museum. I did a better job of promoting this one with friends as it was in the neighborhood and I felt more comfortable having had the first one under my belt already. The museum was such a cool backdrop to the competition. I had learned some things from the first one that I looked to improve on this
time around. I added a second cookie flavor to my tasting. It was a new recipe I was working on that I wanted to test out and figured this was the perfect place. A red velvet
cookie. A deep red moist vanilla cookie with a hint of chocolate made white chocolate chips. So I had my basic chocolate chip and my off the beaten path red velvet. As the hours went by I was getting more and more votes. I wasn’t keeping track of the chips in my jar because I was busy chatting it up with all of my amazing friends who came out to support me. It was so special to see that after only 2 short years here in LA, I had made some great friends who wanted to see me succeed. That was the real win in my book.
The Moment of Truth
Voting had ended and the chips were being tallied. Only a handful of bakers had over 20 chips. As the organizers started calling numbers over 20, the number of bakers still in the race dwindled. Then they got to 30 and my hand was still up. It was a three way tie!! Three bakers (including me!) had 30 votes each. I couldn’t believe it, I had won! Going into this I had never actually considered the prospect of winning. But my cookie had won best cookie in San Fernando Valley. Best cookie, it’s still unbelievable when I really think about it. And the icing on the cake (or maybe chocolate chip on the cookie) was that all the proceeds from the competitions went to help puppies! How sweet is that!
The Grand Finale
The Real Judging Begins
After the three competitions, all the winning cookies were going to be judged by 5 judges who were prominent in the food world. The thought of that was nerve wracking. I also had to pick which cookie I was going to send in, my signature chocolate chip or my new jazzy red velvet which was a hit at the contest. I went back and forth on this a lot. Again the question I kept asking myself was, how can anyone win a cookie competition with a basic chocolate chip cookie? But my gut kept telling me to send in my best, and that was my best. I could live with losing with my best cookie. So that’s what I did. I baked that ever important batch, paying extra attention to every little detail. Were there enough chocolate chips, did I get all the measurements right, do they look good?? I packaged them up and sent them along their way to be judged. Next up, the hardest part, waiting.
And the Winner is…….
Pleasing taste because of the amount of chocolate chips and chewy texture.
Mayura's take on the cookie fan favorite allowed me to taste the classic, but also to taste her lovely personal touch.
Great balance of chocolate and cookie base.
The chocolate chip cookie was perfectly nostalgic—it brought us back to bake sales and our grandmother’s kitchen.
This was the feedback that the judges provided about my chocolate chip cookie!! The validation I felt was incomparable to anything I had felt before. And to top it off, I WON!!!! My simple little chocolate chip cookie won the grand prize! This was one of the best feelings ever. It wasn’t just about winning the competition, it was the confidence boost I needed to know that I was doing what I was meant to do. This was my calling.
What’s Next?
The Grand Prize for the competition has given me the opportunity to collaborate with a well established cookie company. I have the privilege of working with them to come up with a new cookie flavor that they will feature in their cookie boxes. This is still a work in progress so more to come on this. Until then, here's a peak at my amazing family : )
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