About the Holiday Baking Challenge Starring California Walnuts

mixing bowl illustration

The Holiday Baking Challenge Starring California Walnuts is a national contest in search of delicious holiday baking recipes. This contest will run from October 15, 2009 to December 4, 2009. The winners will be announced on December 18, 2009.

Since walnuts are a star ingredient this time of year, we want to find unique homemade recipes that incorporate walnuts in inventive ways that celebrate the season. Whether it’s a time treasured family favorite or a unique baked recipe that’s perfect for holiday gift giving, this contest celebrates tradition and innovation in holiday baking.

Tips for Inspiration:

Also be sure to check out renowned pastry chef Emily Luchetti’s tips for improving recipes and creating delectable desserts. They are sure to inspire unforgettable creations!

Categories:

You may submit your recipe for one of four different recipe categories, with the option of also submitting it for the SMART and/or Video categories. Six Grand Prizes will be awarded in the contest.

Recipes:

Chef Emily will help us judge the best recipes in each category, and Dr. Michael Roizen and Mollie Katzen will select the best SMART recipe over all. Remember, all recipes submissions must be oven baked!

  Enter your recipe into one of the following categories:

  1. Cookies, Brownies and Blondies: perfectly portioned treats from the oven can double as delicious gifts for friends and neighbors
  2. Cakes and Pies: classic baked desserts that delight a crowd, these recipes are well suited for holiday entertaining  
  3. Breads: walnuts sparkle in quick breads and yeast breads...also in muffins, rolls, loaves...
  4. Breakfast / Brunch Baked Items: start the day with cinnamon rolls or coffee cake, but walnuts also add crunch to savory strata or quiche

One Grand Prize will be awarded in each recipe category.

SMART:

Do you think you’re recipe is delicious as well as SMART? If your recipe is a made-over version of a classic baked holiday treat, click the SMART box to be entered into a category judged by Dr. Michael Roizen and Mollie Katzen. Visit our Smart Eating Style page for an outline of how to make your recipe smarter.

One Grand Prize will be awarded for the best SMART recipe.

Videos:

In addition to the option of uploading a mouthwatering picture of your holiday treat, we are also offering a chance to submit a video to accompany each recipe. Contestants who choose to submit a video can upload a clip onto our YouTube page, here, [link to YouTube channel] as a response to Emily’s videos. Then, provide that link in the recipe entry page. Submission of a video is not required, but we will award a KitchenAid mixer to the best video submission. 

 

What would you include in a video?  Get creative. You might share the special occasions your recipe can be used for, or demonstrate a few of the techniques you use to prepare it.   If your recipe is a family favorite, tell us the history. If your recipe is a creative gift giving idea, show us how to wrap it...the possibilities are endless. Keep in mind that your video clip should be a compliment to your recipe, but your recipe should be able to stand alone without the video. Have fun with it!

One Grand Prize winner will be awarded for the best video entry.

Registration

Before you can enter the contest you need to register. Once you are registered, you will be able to enter one recipe per category. You’ll also be able to rate other entries, and see how your recipes are being rated compared to other contestants.

This is an online entry-only contest, meaning we are only accepting entries on this website between 12:01 a.m. PST or PDT October 15, 2009 and 11:59 p.m. PST December 4, 2009. During the entry period, registered contestants will be able to rate recipes submitted by other contestants. While this will have no effect on the final judging, it will be a fun way for contestants to track the appeal of their recipes.