Time is running out to enter the Holiday Cookie Contest

The deadline for the Star Tribune’s annual contest is Oct. 15, and we’re waiting for your recipe.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
October 8, 2025 at 6:00PM
Cinnamon Bun Cookies [ 2013 winners in Taste holiday cookie contest: Winner:� Cappuccino Flat Finalists: �Candy Cane Sugar Cookies, Cinnamon Bun Cookies, Orange-Almond Melting Moments, Hot Cocoa Cookies Photos by Tom Wallace, styled by Lee Dean October 29, 2013
Cinnamon Bun Cookies from Patrice Hurd of Bemidji were among the 2013 winners. (Tom Wallace/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Procrastinators, this message is for you. There’s just a week left to enter the 23rd annual Minnesota Star Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest, so it’s time to put those finishing touches on your recipes.

The rules: We love original recipes — please submit them! But if you’ve encountered a new-to-you recipe in a cookbook, newspaper, magazine, website or other source that you’ve adopted and made your own, feel free to submit it. Just be sure to cite its origin.

The recipe: We want to bakers of all levels with new gotta-bake recipes. Please do not submit spritz, chocolate crinkles, sugar cookie cutouts, Russian tea cakes and other tried-and-true favorites. We’ve seen them all, and everyone has their favorite. Consider this your challenge to be creative.

How to submit: All entries must include the recipe and the story behind it. Also include your name, address, daytime phone number and email address. Email online entries to cookies@startribune.com. Please include all text in the body of the email, not as an attachment. Photos are extremely helpful, but not required.

If using U.S. mail, send to Minnesota Star Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest, Star Tribune, 650 3rd Av. S., Suite 1300, Minneapolis, MN 55488. All snail mail entries must be postmarked by Friday, Oct. 10, to reach us in time.

Deadline: Wednesday, Oct. 15, by midnight. Entries received past the deadline will automatically be entered in the 2026 contest. Winners will be notified by email the week of Oct. 27.

Prizes: The winner and four finalists will appear in the Dec. 4 issue of Taste and become a permanent part of our Cookie Finder. And there are prizes, too: The winner will receive a $200 gift card to Cooks of Crocus Hill cooking store, and the four finalists will receive $50 gift cards. All will be featured during our Cookie Wonderland celebration; stay tuned for details.

If you need inspiration, revisit our holiday cookie finder at startribune.com/cookies, with more than 100 past winning recipes. Good luck!

about the writer

about the writer

Star Tribune staff

See Moreicon

More from Recipes

See More
card image
Kritsada Panichg/Provided by America's Test Kitchen

Gooey grilled cheese has layers of flavors thanks to a blend of seasonings. It’s a spin on a family tradition highlighted in the standout cookbook “Umma.”

card image
card image