Meet the Holiday Cookie Contest Winners

The coronation has taken place, and the campus has its first “Duke of Cookies.”

Working@Duke hosted an employee holiday cookie contest, which fetched 40 entries this week from faculty and staff from across the university and health system. Creations ranged from chocolate ninja-bread men to egg nog-stuff cookies and the “best overall” winner – cashew butter cookies – created in the style of “snowball” cookies rolled into a ball and coated with confectioner’s sugar.

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The winner of “best overall” cookie, Andrew Byers, scored 67 out of a potential 100 points as determined by a panel of four judges representing cookie aficionados from Duke and Durham.

Andrew Byers, winner of "best overall" entry in Working@Duke's employee cookie contest.

“I've been making these cookies for about fifteen years, though they are from an old family recipe,” said Byers, a visiting assistant professor in the Department of History. “The first time I made them for a Christmas cookie party in Washington, D.C., a friend told me they were the best cookies she had ever eaten. She said they were like little balls of butter that would melt in your mouth.”

Byers noted that one of the keys for his cookie is using two layers of powdered sugar. The first layer, applied immediately out of the oven, allows the sugar to melt into the cookie, filling any cracks. The second coating is applied after the cookies completely dry and cool - giving them a powdery texture on the outside.

Byers will receive a $100 gift card to Duke Stores and a “golden” spatula to display his culinary mastery. Byers, along with three other winners, will receive a printed book of all submitted recipes.

In addition to Byers “best overall” recipe, judges also selected other winners, including:

Most Professional

Jill Lichtenberg, a pastry chef at the Washington Duke Inn and Golf Club, for her fruit inspired peach sandwich cookies. Lichtenberg will receive a framed photo of her entry as a prize.

Best Tasting

Katie Huffman, a wellness advocate in the Duke Divinity School, for her white chocolate, cranberry and pistachio cookies, adapted from the website Sally’s Baking Addiction. As a prize, Huffman will get a “silver” spatula and recipe book.

Best Decorated

In fitting fashion, there was a tie between entries submitted by husband and wife, Mark and Debbie Suggs. Debbie baked sugar cookies decorated in a winter theme with a Christmas tree, Santa Claus face and more, while Mark offered up spicy gingerbread cookies, some dressed as Duke fans. The Suggs will get a “bronze” spatula and recipe book as winners.

“Our inspiration can be summed up in one word: Pinterest,” said Debbie Suggs, a senior analyst in the Office of Information Technology. “I really get into the artistic component, and Mark has a really good palate to create recipes.”

Four volunteers judge all entries:

• Valerie Meicher, sales person at Big Bundts and More Bakery in Durham
• Les Todd, photographer with Duke Photography and self-described cookie enthusiast
• Paul Figuerado, graphic designer/publication specialist for Duke’s Office of Communication Services and expert pastry taster
• Sylvia Canoy, IT analyst for Duke Health Technology Solutions and Working@Duke superfan

“One of the things I like is that this is what I think people would cook at home,” Meicher said. “It looks less like they really, really tried to make something that would be spectacular that maybe they’d never eat again or would not do for any other time, but I feel like they did this for home, and that makes it very special.”

Want to try making these recipes in your home kitchen? Download this digital collection of all recipes submitted for the Working@Duke contest.