812-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 24, 1999
National Contest Selects Lancaster
Farming Employee’s Cookie Recipe
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Fanning Staff
LITITZ (Lancaster Co.)
Whenever anyone would last
Karen Hoffer’s Soft Sugar Cook
ies, they would rave about the
cookies being the best.
So it was only natural when
Karen, who works in advertising/
sales for Lancaster Farming,
heard about the national contest
search for the “Cookie of All
Cookies” that she entered the
recipe passed down through four
generations of her family.
Although Karen did not win the
top prize in the contest sponsored
by “Taste of Home" magazine, her
recipe was one of those selected
out of 34,000 entries to be printed
in the newly-released cookbook,
“Best Of Country Cookies.”
This was not the mere decision
of contest judges, but from 7,000
“subscriber-tasters" who actually
stopped by the magazine’s head
quarters to taste test and rate the
cookies.
According to Reiman Publica
tions, the magazine’s food staff
thoroughly screened all the recipes
to select the most promising. The
cookies were then baked in the test
kitchen at the Reiman Publication
Visitor Center, Greendale, Wis.
Visitors to the center were
invited to taste-test up to a half
dozen recipes baked each day.
Each tester filled out a “Judge’s
Rating Sheet” to specify the best
tasting cookie.
The magazine’s food editors
then singled out the top 13 recipes
for prizes and 277 additional
entries to be featured in the new
cookbook.
The recipe by grand prize win
ner Marcia Severson from Minne
sota is not included in the cook
book. Instead the recipe will be
kept secret and sold at the Reiman
Visitor’s Center.
Called Mmmminnesota
Munchcrs, the grand prize cookies
will be touted as the Taste of
Home Cookie,” with the hopes that
it will become nationally famous.
If plans work out, Mmmminnesota
Munchcrs will also be sold through
other outlets around the country.
Out of the 277 recipes printed in
the cookbook, 15 were submitted
by Pennsylvanians. Chapters
include an appealing assortment of
shaped, sandwich, cutout, one-pan,
cut-and-serve bars and brownies.
This was my first time entering
any contest,” said Karen, who lives
in Litilz with her husband Dave
and yellow lab dog Luther.
Karen remembers her mother
Ruth Keller mixing the batter the
night before and storing it in the
refrigerator overnight She would
Karen Hoffer, who works in advertising/sales for Lancas
ter Farming recently got her claim to fame when her sugar
cookie recipe, passed down through four generations, was
selected from 34,000 national contest entries to be included
in “Best of Country Cookies” published by Taste of Home
magazine.
then get up in the morning and bake
the cookies.
Ironically Karen insists that her
cookies do not taste as good as her
mother's, although they both use
the same recipe.
Regardless of who makes them,
this recipe is hard to beat as proven
by the contest taste testing.
The vibrant-colored pictures in
the 116-page hardcover cookbook
and the easy-to-read type with tid
bits of information about each
recipe promise to be one the most
successful cookbooks on the
market
To order a copy of the book,
send $15.99 plus $2.50 for ship
ping to Taste of Home Bools,
Suite 4190, P.O. Box 990, Green
dale, W 153129. Credit card orders
may be placed by calling
1-800-558-1013. When calling,
specify item number 27619.
Here is Karen’s recipe, courtesy
of Taste of Home’s Best of Coun
try Cookies.”
alute
SOFT SUGAR COOKIES
V« cup shortening
Vk cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
'/t teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
Raisins
In a mixing bowl, cream shor
tening and sugar. Add eggs, one at
a time, beating well after each
addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine
flour, baking powder, baking soda,
and salt; add to the creamed mix
ture, alternating with buttermilk.
Cover and refrigerate for at least
two hours (the dough will be very
soft).
Drop by teaspoonsful two
inches apart onto ungreased Inking
sheets. Place a raisin in the center
of each cookie.
Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or
until lightly browned. Remove to
wire racks to cool.
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