Food Network searched for the Ultimate Cookie Recipe. After a nationwide recipe contest, nine finalists competed in three rounds: Chocolate Cookie, Spice Cookie and Dessert Bar Cookie. A panel of food experts determined whose cookie was the best. See who walks away the winner of $25,000!
COMPETITORS: Chocolate Cookie
Jennifer DietrickRecipe: Grappa infused Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Cookies Hometown: Hellertown, Pa.
Ashley BermanRecipe: Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies Hometown: Astoria, N.Y.
Rob Standley -- Winner!Recipe: Radical Rob's Chocolate Chip Cookies Hometown: San Diego, Calif.
Spice Cookie
Sean LaFondRecipe: White Beer Cookies Hometown: Urbana, Ill.
Nancy VaziriRecipe: Persian Pistachio-Cardamom Thins Hometown: Frankfort, Ill.
Camilla Saulsbury -- COOKIE GRAND PRIZE WINNER!Recipe: Exotic Spice Cookies with Ginger, Cardamom and Rose Water Hometown: Nacogdoches, Texas
Dessert Bar CookieColita RussRecipe: Pineapple Cheesecake Bar Hometown: Antelope, Calif.
Susan ScarboroughRecipe: Sweet and Salty Double Nut Toffee Brownie Bars Hometown: Fernandina Beach, Fla.
Camilla Saulsbury -- Winner!Recipe: Oaxaca Fudge Bars with Cashew-Crumb Topping Hometown: Nacogdoches, Texas
Food Network searched for the Ultimate Cake recipe. After a nationwide recipe contest, nine finalists competed in three rounds: Chocolate Cake, Cupcakes and Birthday Cakes. A panel of food experts determined whose cake was the best. See who walks away the winner of $25,000!
COMPETITORS: Chocolate Cakes
Janice Kollar -- CAKE GRAND PRIZE WINNER!Recipe: "Really Good" Chocolate Layer Cake Hometown: Atlantic Highlands, N.J.
Erin Renouf MylroieRecipe: Anniversary Chocolate-Buttermilk Layer Cake with Toffee and Toasted Almonds Hometown: St. George, Utah
Jaclyn EspositoRecipe: Individual Molten Chocolate Coconut Cakes Hometown: Aventura, Fla.
Cupcakes
Kelly MadeyRecipe: Orange Chiffon Cupcakes with Meringue Buttercream Hometown: Quakertown, Pa.
Lorie Roach -- Winner!Recipe: Tres Leches Coconut Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Buttercream Hometown: Buckatunna, Miss.
Channon MondouxRecipe: Gingerbread Cake with Brandy Sauce and Whipped Orange Flower Cream Hometown: Portage, Mich.
Birthday CakesDoreen Howarth -- Winner!Recipe: Put the Lime in the Coconut Cake Hometown: San Antonio, Texas
Marie BelfiglioRecipe: "Honey, I'm Peanuts About You!" Cake Hometown: Chandler, Ariz.
Debra ScruggsRecipe: Tropical Pound Cake Hometown: Toney, Ala.
Food Network searched for the Ultimate Pasta Recipe. After a nationwide recipe contest, nine finalists competed in three rounds: Spaghetti and Meatballs, Stuffed Pasta and Lasagna. A panel of food experts determined whose pasta dish was the best. See who walks away the winner of $25,000!
COMPETITORS: Lasagna
Elizabeth Morath -- PASTA GRAND PRIZE WINNER!Recipe: Summer Eggplant Lasagna
Sonali RuderRecipe: Spanakopita Lasagna Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Laura KonenRecipe: Meat-za Hometown: Fond Du Lac, Wis.
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Ying CompestineRecipe: Spaghetti with Lion's Head Meatballs Hometown: Lafayette, Calif.
Elaine Jones -- Winner!Recipe: Mediterranean Pasta with Lamb Meatballs Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah
Cecelia WardRecipe: Chicken Gravy and Meatballs with Multigrain Spaghetti Hometown: Troy, N.Y.
Stuffed PastaMichelle Herrigel -- Winner!Recipe: Mama Mirabella's Ham and Cheese Ravioli Hometown: Pottstown, Pa.
Lorraine StevenskiRecipe: Stuffed Manicotti with Fresh Marinara Sauce Hometown: Clearwater, Fla.
Amy ThorsonRecipe: Stuffed Shells with Chicken and Arugula and Creamy Alfredo Sauce Hometown: Marietta, Ga.
“Cookie nerd” is how Mindy Segal describes herself—and it’s a serious understatement. The Chicago-based pastry chef and restaurateur once spent years developing the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe (it’s “the measure of a great pastry chef,” she’s said), and in 2015 she published a cookbook entirely devoted to cookies, from peanut butter peanut brittle and malted-milk spritz to peaches-and-cream thumbprints and everything in between. The title Cookie Love, of course.Cookies are only Segal’s beginning. At her restaurant, Hot Chocolate, classical desserts get clever twists: There’s cucumber-yogurt sherbet with the blackberry-blueberry tart, her icebox brownie comes with chamomile cream and fernet hot fudge, and she serves nine (!) variations on the titular wintertime beverage. It’s that combination of creativity and attention to technique—honed early on at Charlie Trotter’s and Marché—that won her an Outstanding Pastry Chef award from the James Beard Foundation. Recently, Segal has turned her talent toward the world of weed, partnering with Cresco Labs to develop Mindy’s Edibles, an entire line of cannabis-infused treats, like brittles, granola bars, bites, and hot chocolate.For her first Panna recipe, however, Segal went for an all-star—the cinnamon-sugared Snickerdoodle, a hit in the 19th century and just as popular today, with kids and adults alike. Mindy's Restaurant:Hot Chocolate (Chicago, IL)Mindy's Book:Cookie Love (2017)
Food Network searched for the Ultimate Chicken Recipe. After a nationwide recipe contest, nine finalists competed in three rounds: Fried Chicken, Soups and Stews, and Whole Roasted. A panel of food experts determined whose chicken dish was the best. See who walks away the winner of $25,000!
COMPETITORS: Chicken (Fried)
Michelle AndersonRecipe: Chipotle Chicken Tenders with Cucumber Slaw Occupation: Local Food Column Writer Hometown: Eagle, Idaho
Jenni DeyliusRecipe: Where's the Beach? Chicken Katsu Occupation: Satellite Systems Engineer Hometown: Colorado Springs, Colo.
Eboni Williams -- Winner!Recipe: Chicken Wings w/ Pomegranate & Mango BBQ Sauce Occupation: Stay-at-Home Mom/Writer Hometown: Damascus, Md.
Chicken (Soups/Stews)
Lauren Wyler -- Winner!Recipe: Chicken Tasso & Andouille Gumbo Occupation: Stay-at-Home Mom Hometown: San Marcos, Calif.
Rita LindaRecipe: Rita's Family Matzo Ball Noodle Soup Occupation: Operates an online clock business Hometown: Coral Springs, Fla.
Miriam ChaikenRecipe: African Ground Nut Stew Occupation: Anthropologist Hometown: Penn Run, Pa.
Chicken (Whole)Amparo Alam -- CHICKEN GRAND PRIZE WINNER!Recipe: Roasted Chicken with Yucca Root Occupation: Works in bakery Hometown: Syracuse, Utah
Steven PayneRecipe: St. Nino's Chicken Occupation: Student Hometown: College Station, Texas
Catherine WilkinsonRecipe: Roasted Pineapple Chicken with Cilantro Cream Sauce Occupation: Assists husband with his business Hometown: Dewey, Ariz.
Food Network searched for the Ultimate Burger Recipe. After a nationwide recipe contest, nine finalists competed in three rounds: Beef Burgers, Poultry Burgers and Seafood Burgers. A panel of food experts determined whose burger was the best. See who walks away the winner of $25,000!
COMPETITORS: Beef
David KadagishviliRecipe: Biryani Burger in Naan Pocket Occupation: Owner/chef small neighborhood restaurant Hometown: Latrobe, Pa.
Jennifer SpardyRecipe: Harvest Burger with Caramelized Onion and Apple Occupation: Teacher Hometown: Canton, Ohio
Michelle Christensen -- Winner!Recipe: Rocket Science Reuben Burger Occupation: Rocket Science Combustion Grad Student Hometown: State College, Pa.
Poultry
Julie Ann Rhodes -- Winner!Recipe: Jewel’s Turkey Jasmine Burger Occupation: Personal Chef Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
Michael CohenRecipe: Duck Duck Delicious Burger Occupation: Film Composer Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
Mary MontoyaRecipe: Pad Thai Chicken Burger Occupation: Stay-at-home Mom Hometown: St. Paul, Minn.
Seafood/VegetarianJamie MillerRecipe: Salmon Burger With Orange-Apricot Glaze Occupation: Cookbook Author Hometown: Maple Grove, Minn.
Cindy JarrottRecipe: Ultimate Seafood Croquette Burger Occupation: Owns baking business called "Cakes by Cindy" and works as a bookkeeper with The Texas Department of Criminal Justice Agriculture Division Hometown: Wheelock, Texas
Kristine Snyder -- BURGER GRAND PRIZE WINNER!Recipe: Island Ahi Burgers Occupation: Professional Harpist Hometown: Kihei, Hawaii