A Minneapolis baker's winning cookie

We're announcing the winner -- and four delicious finalists -- in our 11th-annual Taste Holiday Cookie Contest in Thursday's Taste (you can get a sneak-peek here on Wednesday afternoon).

In the meantime, another holiday cookie contest – this time in Cook's Country magazine – has yielded a Minnesota winner.

She's Karen Cope of Minneapolis, and her recipe, Dulce de Leche and Cinnamon Sandwich Cookies (pictured, above in a Cook's Country photo), presides over five other highly bake-able finalists, including Black Cherry-Chocolate Linzertorte Cookies, Pretzel-Potato Chip Cookies with Caramel Frosting and Hazelnut Espresso Truffle Cookies. Cope won $1,000 for her efforts, along with a brush with fame, although it sounds as if she's no stranger to the baking spotlight.

"Recently, Cope has gone from strength to strength in the kitchen," wrote the magazine's editors. "She told us that four other items that she baked won blue ribbons of the Minnesota State Fair this past summer."

DULCE DE LECHE AND CINNAMON SANDWICH COOKIES

Makes about 2 dozen sandwich cookies.

Note: Dulce de lece (or cajeta, pictured, above) is a South American caramel made with sugar slowly cooked with cow's milk or goat's milk and can be found in the international or baking aisles of the supermarket.

2 c. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground anise

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

For filling:

1 tbsp. unsalted butter

½ tsp. ground anise

1 ½ c. dulce de leche

Directions

To prepare cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and anise.

In a bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions until just combined, scraping down bowl as needed.