There are so many compelling reasons to jump into the 14th annual Taste Holiday Cookie Contest.
Those in search of big-time fame, look no further: Your recipe — and your story — will be featured in the Star Tribune on Dec. 1. That day the Star Tribune will also hold a tasting of the winning cookie (and the four finalists) at 11 a.m. at #StribHQ in the Capella Tower in downtown Minneapolis. Watch the Taste section and StarTribune.com for details.
After that, both the winner and finalists will enter our much-visited online archive, at StarTribune.com/cookies, which features more than 70 past winners and finalists.
Another incentive? Fortune. The winner is awarded a $200 gift card to a Twin Cities kitchenware store.
And let's not overlook altruism; you'll be sharing a cherished recipe with countless Minnesota bakers.
It doesn't hurt that our contest — a December ritual that started in 2003 — is also lots of fun. Here's another tradition: As it has done for many years, the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis will invite the winner and four finalists to bake for the public in the museum's baking lab on Dec. 3.
It's easy to enter. Your recipe doesn't have to be original, but it does need to stand out. We love spritz, gingerbread cutouts and other holiday standards, but we're on the lookout 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: Is it a family treasure, or a new-to-you formula? Where did it come from (it's OK if you found it in a cookbook, newspaper, magazine or website, just tell us where), and how did it become part of your holiday baking traditions? Don't forget your contact information: street address, daytime phone number and e-mail address.
![Kit Kat Christmas Bars (from baker Julie Olson) ] The winner and four finalists in the 2015 Taste Holiday Cookie (Cooky) Contest: Chocolate Decadence Cookies (from baker Elaine Prebonich), Kit Kat Christmas Bars (from baker Julie Olson), Cardamom Orange Zest Sugar Cookies (from baker Jeanne Nordstrom), Bacon Cornmeal Venetos (by bakers Julie Bollmann, Wendy Kleiser, Joan Koller, Geri Olson and Mary Urbas) and winner Apple Cardamom Pecan Star Cookies (from baker Jana Freiband).](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/RVWCUP3RWRUCVFTAAXGGSHR42U.jpg?&w=1080)
![Apple Cardamom Pecan Star Cookies (from baker Jana Freiband). ] The winner and four finalists in the 2015 Taste Holiday Cookie (Cooky) Contest: Chocolate Decadence Cookies (from baker Elaine Prebonich), Kit Kat Christmas Bars (from baker Julie Olson), Cardamom Orange Zest Sugar Cookies (from baker Jeanne Nordstrom), Bacon Cornmeal Venetos (by bakers Julie Bollmann, Wendy Kleiser, Joan Koller, Geri Olson and Mary Urbas) and winner Apple Cardamom Pecan Star Cookies (from baker Jana Freiband).](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/A2AVCWP6BXL3MDMIQ2U2CSD37U.jpg?&w=1080)
