Pillsbury Bake-Off Million-Dollar Winner: Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies
All You Need Is a Recipe and a Dream
I promised myself I wasn't going to tear up when the Pillsbury Bake-Off million dollar first-prize winner was announced, but I did, and I'm not sure why. Of course it should be noted that I used to cry at the end of every Party of Five episode, too.
The winner, Carolyn Gurtz (right) of Gaithersburg, Maryland, seemed like a lovely lady, dressed in her powder-blue pantsuit, talking about how much she loves her family, husband, and baking. Gurtz's winning recipe for Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies [Recipe appears after the jump] was mighty tasty and certainly wasn't overly complicated or overwrought—though there were a number of those at the Bake-Off.
It isn't the peanut butter cookie that will change my life, but the million dollars she won might very well change hers. And maybe that's the point.
The Winners
Grand Prize
Carolyn Gurtz
Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies
Category Winners
Pamela Shank
Breakfast & Brunches Category
Mascarpone-Filled Cranberry-Walnut Rolls
Edgar Rudberg
Entertaining Appetizers Category
Salmon Pastries with Dill Pesto
Niki Plourde
Pizza Creations Category
Apple-Jack Chicken Pizza with Caramelized Onions
Vanda Pozzanghera
Old El Paso Mexican Favorites Category
Mexican Pesto-Pork Tacos
GE Imagination At Work Award
Phyllis Weeks-Daniel
Blue Cheese and Red Onion Jam Crescent Thumbprints
Jif Peanut Butter Award
Carolyn Gurtz
Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies
America's Favorite Recipe Award
Gwen Beauchamp
Toffee-Banana Brownies
Related
Sex at the Bake-Off, from Salon.com, is and oldie but goodie in which the author explores the social dynamics among the contestants at the 2002 Pillsbury Bake-Off.
I watched all one hundred contestants over the last two days make their recipes, doing something they clearly love, hoping for the best, but happy just to be here. They were young and old, predominately white (there were two African-Americans and a small number of Latino finalists), and all passionate about cooking and baking. There was nothing politically correct about the event, but there was something honest and real about it that was beguiling.
What did I learn watching all hundred finalists do their thing? I learned which food trends had made their way into the mainstream: mole, cilantro, pesto, ganache, even mascarpone. I asked Pamela Shank from Parkersburg, West Virginia, who won $5,000 and a GE Profile Double Oven for her Mascarpone-Filled Cranberry-Walnut Rolls, where she learned about mascarpone cheese from. "Watching Giada on the Food Network, where else? I live in West Virginia."
What to Do with the Winnings
Sandra Lee announced the winners (perfect, I know), and she asked all the category winners what they were going to do with their money. Spend it, they all said. I would do the same.
And I've figured it out. A million dollars will buy me 285,714 Gray's Papaya Recession Specials (two hot dogs and a medium half-papaya, half-piña colada drink). My wife and I can eat three meals a day there for the rest of my life and still have plenty of money left over to throw lots of Gray's Papaya dinner parties. Hey, that just gave me an idea. What if I created a recipe for pigs-in-blankets with a mango-papaya salsa and entered it in the Entertaining Appetizers category? (This year's winner in that category, Edgar Runberg, made Salmon Pastries with Dill Pesto.)
Next year I'm definitely planning to enter. I know my odds aren't good (the hundred finalists are selected from tens of thousands of entries). But, hey, all you need is a recipe and a dream. Speaking of which, here's Gurtz's million-dollar recipe.
Carolyn Gurtz's Pillsbury Bake-Off Million-Dollar Double Delight Peanut Butter Cookies
photograph from pillsbury.com
- makes 24 cookies -
Ingredients
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup Jif Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup confectioners' powdered sugar
1 roll Pillsbury Create 'n Bake refrigerated peanut butter cookies, well chilled.
Procedure
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar, and cinnamon; set aside.
2. In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 (1-inch) balls.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered.
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25 Comments:
Nah, you're not going to enter. You would be considered a "food professional," and we aren't allowed anywhere near an entry form.
Kpierce at 1:09PM on 04/15/08
I'm so going to enter next year! Thing is...out of all of the entries they have shown online, these pb cookies are certainly not the prettiest or most interesting offering. They seem to follow a trend of one year, picking a sweet, next year savory.
jcrisco at 1:18PM on 04/15/08
Ed, I would gladly be your puppet entry ;) You could enter under my name and when "we" win, we split the prize. blahahahhaaaa.
ag3208 at 1:52PM on 04/15/08
Dude! you forgot the cinnamon in the recipe.
premes at 2:12PM on 04/15/08
Does it seem they are just picking a recipe that will fit nicely on the back of a package? Or specifically, in this case the back of a bag of "fake n' bake" cookies.
Carosone at 2:51PM on 04/15/08
@premes: 1/2 teaspoon. Good eye; thanks for the catch. It's now updated and should be reflected in the recipe above.
Adam Kuban at 3:50PM on 04/15/08
I don't get how this is a million dollar winner. It reminds me of Sandra Lee's faux "cooking". Oh wait, look who's the host...
anadequatenovel at 4:35PM on 04/15/08
The recipe simply pushes four processed food products (three by name ... Jif, Pillsbury, Crisco) all in one easy recipe that has mass appeal. It's money in the bank.
ExpatChef at 5:00PM on 04/15/08
Totally disappointing. This is supposed to be a contest where skill, creativity and originality are key requisites. What the hell happened? Me thinks it's all about the money, NOT the aforementioned. Just my opinion, but had to comment on this outrageous excuse to promote Jiff, Ready Made Cookie Dough and Crisco.
Boscompb at 5:55PM on 04/15/08
NO FORK TINES.........WHERE ARE THE FORK TINES LINES? Have you ever seen a peanut butter cookie without them? These must be fake!
PerkyMac at 6:30PM on 04/15/08
So, Ed: You ate a cookie worth $41,666.66 dollars! ($1M ÷ 24 cookies)
Adam Kuban at 9:38PM on 04/15/08
@Carosone,
That's exactly how I feel. I'm really happy for this lady, but I'm not sure I'd consider this a "real" recipe.
merav13 at 11:34PM on 04/15/08
Recipes like this really disgust me. Aside from the aforementioned "faux" culinary hoax, whoever heard of a recipe for cookies with a minor yield of just twenty-four? That's just enough to make me really mad!!!
czken at 2:30AM on 04/16/08
No wonder so many Pillsbury Bake-Off cookbooks can be found on thriftshop book shelves. Who'd want one?
czken at 2:33AM on 04/16/08
a million dollars for that. AWE come on now.
JerzeeTomato at 2:49AM on 04/16/08
I can't believe it. THAT ONE WON? Last year I entered, and I know my recipe is a winner. I'm going to try again. Who doesn't want to win a million dollars? I truly believe I was out of the first round because of a) I've never entered a pie baking contest, b) my urban demographics.
lauren10028 at 9:22AM on 04/16/08
I just came back from the bake-off as a contestant. And I read lots of blogs where people complain that its just using pre-made or pre-packaged stuff. Yes, I cringed a little when Sandra Lee told us all that we were all "semi-homemade chefs". But that's kind of the point of the contest. To enter, you are given two lists of assorted Pillsbury and other sponsor related products. Your recipe has to include at least one item from each list. That really limits what you can make. And that's why you see some really weird combos pop up in this contest. For me, it was just the fun of entering and the very remote chance of winning $1 million; I wasn't trying to create the next great American recipe. I will enter again next year; it was fun!
ptrap at 9:32AM on 04/16/08
I think the recipe was a good choice. Have had to explain waffe-stick stuffing for the past two years, I am glad Carolyn just has a cookie to deal with. It's pretty straightforward and I think it's one that normal people will make when they need to provide cookies for a group.
Having said that, I've seen many versions of that recipe. Some with chocolate coating, some made with peanut butter cookie mix. I think the cleverness of combining a snickerdoodle with a filled peanut butter cookie is what the judges liked. She took an old favorite and put it in a convenient, easy to replicate recipe.
My only problem is the recipe didn't specify salted or unsalted peanuts. I made them with salt and the sweet/salty makes your forget about the refrigerated dough. I can imagine the cookies might be a little flat without the salt. But that's just my opinion. I like salt.
I also think there should have been a higher ratio of peanut butter to sugar....like 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup powdered sugar.
AnnaG at 11:25AM on 04/16/08
@ptrap - congratulations on making it to the finals! I used to enter the State Fair of Texas contests before moving to Arizona and there were a couple SFT ladies in the finals, too. One, Gwen Beauchamp, won the fan's favorite recipe (or whatever it was called).
jmoilanen at 10:50PM on 04/16/08
According to the article about her in yesterday's Washington Post, this lady has entered the contest every year for the last 15 years. She came up with this recipe because it uses five of the sponsors' products. Her husband is a financial planner, so I'm sure they will figure out what to do with the money.
juliec at 11:12AM on 04/17/08
oh geez, I was expecting a real recipe. =(
Gizmosma at 10:02AM on 04/21/08
At first I was excited to see a peanut butter cookie recipe that was worth a million dollars until I saw that it was made with a premade cookie dough! I have never used a premade store bought cookie dough & never will! Every cookie from scratch is my idea of a million dollar cookie, not some premade shortcuts. No thanks, I wouldn't even try this recipe. Maybe they need a crock of butter to go along with this recipe.
billiebernard at 11:54AM on 04/21/08
A recipe, according to Webster's, is a set of instructions for making something from various ingredients. That makes this and other recipes calling for the use of convenience food ingredients "real." The contest is clearly designed to generate recipes using specific brand-name products. If that's not your thing, look elsewhere for your recipes.
NoPunyNerd at 12:01PM on 04/21/08
I can't believe she won for hiding a ball of peanut butter in a peanut butter cookie. They must be good... I might just have to run with her idea. Off the top of my head i got: Listerine strips, Junior Mints, Sour patch kids, Andes mints (the free ones at Luby's), MSG, Flintstone vitamins, Grape Dimetapp, the same dough that you're wrapping it in, sunflower seeds, granola bar, assorted starbursts, maybe an air cookie, Rolos, sweet and sour duck sauce, and a tryptophan cookie.... I'm sure they'll all taste horrible but one might be a winner!
awful_whomadethis at 11:44PM on 09/03/08
You guys sound like a bunch a kids that got their toys taken away on the playground. The Bake Off Rules simply state - bring a recipe to the table and bake it! Your baked goods will be judged and the prize awarded. It doesn't say you have to "FORK & TINES” or that you can not use "premade shortcuts" or any of the other horrible things you guys have said. Shame on all of you!
I bake cookies with the kids across the street all of the time. When you are bake with 4 to 6 kids under the age of 7 they don't want to "FORK & TINES" they just want QUICK cookies and into the oven. Of course they want them to taste yummy at the end. As for the person that said "My only problem is the recipe didn't specify salted or unsalted peanuts; I made them with salt and the sweet/salty" maybe you should enter it next year who knows you might win. The gal or guy who wrote ... Off the top of my head I got: Listerine strips, Junior Mints, Sour patch kids, Andes mints (the free ones at Luby's), MSG, Flintstone vitamins, Grape Dimetapp, the same dough that you're wrapping it in, sunflower seeds, granola bar, assorted starbursts, maybe an air cookie, Rolos, sweet and sour duck sauce, and a tryptophan cookie...well that is just sick. I guess you think all of that was funny, but the funny was the "hiding a ball of peanut butter in a peanut butter cookie" But it DID WIN!
Where has our joy for the winner gone - the celebration of the ideas of the cooks? Regardless of how simple they might be. If you don't like the "hiding a ball of peanut butter in a peanut butter cookie" enter something yourself. Frankly for me - I'm to busy having fun baking cookies with the neighbors kids. Why not send a note simply saying have fun spending your $1,000,000.
I just had to tell all of you that I was very disappointed in your comments!
Remember all of us cooks have to stick together isn’t that what it is all about?
Disappointed at 8:12AM on 11/08/08