Just a few of the cookies we test-baked. Are any of them a winner? Find out on Dec. 3rd.

Our seventh-annual Taste holiday cookie contest is moving along. It might be our toughest competition ever. We received 272 terrific entries. After sorting through a ton of great stories and delicious-sounding recipes, we settled on 24 that we wanted to taste-test.

Then we got busy baking. This morning, 18 judges gathered around a conference room table laden with cookies of every stripe. After lots of nibbling, milk-drinking, discussion, laughter and voting, we settled upon a winner and four finalists (it's also safe to say that, after sampling two dozen different cookies, the judges probably all skipped lunch). We're not naming names until Dec. 3rd, but we will say that we've got a bumper crop of cookies destined to find a place in your holiday baking traditions for years to come.

Some of the cookies we taste-tested today during our seventh-annual holiday cookie contest. Read all about our winning cookie on Thursday, Dec. 3rd.

Thanks to everyone for participating, and good luck to our finalists (our winner receives a $200 gift certificate to a local cooking store). Remember, you can read all about them in Taste on Thursday, Dec. 3rd, and meet them (and watch them bake their winning recipes) at the Mill City Museum on Saturday, Dec. 5.