Get baking: It's time for the annual Taste Holiday Cookie Contest

Those in search of big-time fame, look no further than the 14th annual Taste Holiday Cookie Contest. Your recipe — and your story — could be featured in the Star Tribune on Dec. 1 and become part of the holiday baking ritual for countless Minnesota bakers.

The winner is also awarded a $200 gift card to a Twin Cities kitchenware store, and the winner and four finalists will be invited to the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis to bake in the museum's baking lab on Dec. 3.

Your recipe doesn't have to be original, but it does need to stand out. We love spritz and other holiday standards too, but we're looking for recipes that bakers will want to add to their baking repertoires.

Entries should include the cookie recipe, along with the story behind the recipe. The recipe doesn't have to be original; just tell us where you found it, and how it became part of your holiday baking tradition. Also include your contact information: street address, daytime phone number and e-mail address.

Including a photo of the cookie doesn't hurt, but it's not necessary.

Enter via e-mail at taste@startribune.com (please write Taste Holiday Cookie Contest in the subject field), or mail to: Taste Holiday Cookie Contest, Star Tribune, 650 3rd Av. S., Suite 1300, Mpls., MN 55488.

Don't delay. Deadline is noon on Oct. 21.

Finalists will be notified by early November.

Rick Nelson • 612-673-4757

@RickNelsonStrib