The Wildcat Voice hosted its second annual staff cookie contest on December 13, with seven cookies submitted to be judged by students and staff. The twenty-six tasters, comprised of eleven students and fifteen adults, rated the cookies on appearance, texture, and taste. The winner was Mrs. DeBaltzo with her ricotta cheese cookies.

The ricotta cheese cookies features a soft base with a light icing and colorful sprinkles. One taster exclaimed, “So fluffy! Great taste. Not too sweet, not too bitter. Great combo!” Nine out of the twenty-six judges chose this cookie as their favorite, and four more people chose it as their second favorite.  One common comment about the cookie was that it was very light and moist. Mrs. Saunders proclaimed, “These cookies are incredibly soft, and just the right amount of sweet. If I had a whole plate of these I could see myself eating one after another, after another.”  A recipe for these cookies can be found at the end of this article. 

In a close second place were Mr. Paydo’s Hot Cocoa Crinkle Cookies. Although they had a higher average rating than the ricotta cheese cookies in all three categories, more people chose the ricotta cookies as their favorite. Hot cocoa had seven favorite votes and eight second-place votes. Statistically, 58% of tasters chose this in their top two.  They are a moist chocolate cookies with a hot cocoa Hershey kiss. This cookie earned the highest taste average with an average of 4.22. Mr. Mittinger said, “really captures the flavor of hot cocoa. Definitely an advanced cookie.” Another judge, Mrs. Saunders said, “The body of the cookie had a subtle chocolate flavor just like hot cocoa. The kiss on the top made it a bit too sweet for me personally, but I’m sure many would love the chocolatey addition of the special Hershey’s kiss.

In third place were Mrs.Bakeman’s pineapple star cookies.  Mrs. Bakeman won the 2017 contest with her Berry Shortbread Dream cookies.  The defending champion earned four first-place votes and six second-place votes with this year’s cookie. These attractive cookies featured a cream cheese dough, pineapple filling, and nut topping.  The pineapple stars paced first in appearance with an average rating of a 4.65 out of five.  One student, Marissa Mauceri, stated, “The pineapple was very tasty. The dough was very soft and it was very pretty.”  Another judge, Mr. Catullo states, “Soft and delicious! Really flavorful and easy to eat!

*The remaining cookies are presented in alphabetical order by baker. 

The cream wafers, made by Mrs. Leonard, earned one first place vote and two second place votes.  The wafer is a sandwich cookie with a puffy outside and a cream filling. The outside of the cookie was very crumbly and was complemented by the cream in the middle.  One judge, remarked, “They fall apart in you mouth with their light, buttery goodness. Excellent combination of filling and sandwich cookie.” Another judge, Mrs. Farmer, complimented, “Light and airy with a nice bite of sweetness.”

Miss Martorello made traditional Italian cookies called Dodos. These ball-shaped cookies feature cocoa and spice. This cookie had three first-place votes and one second place vote. Student Marissa Mauceri stated, “It tastes like Christmas to me. It tastes very spicy, and I love the icing on top.” Another judge, Connie Carlone said, “Very good. Nice texture and flavorful.”  This cookie was also the favorite of Principal Destino, who said it reminded him of Christmas as a kid. To many people, the spicy flavor of the cookie was unexpected.

Mrs. Shaffer made Russian Tea Cakes. These round cookies featured a nutty dough and a heavy coating of powdered sugar. The cookies earned three second place votes.  While many people enjoyed them stating, “This is such a classic cookie” or “light, nutty flavor,” some people misunderstood the purpose of the cookie. One taster stated, “Doesn’t taste like tea that much.” The Russian Tea Cakes are meant to be eaten with tea, and are not meant to taste like tea (nor Russia!)

Markedly Maple Sweeties, made by Mrs. Vouk, resembled a sugar cookie but were made with maple syrup and drizzled with maple icing.  They got two first place votes and two second place votes. They were very sweet and thin. Mrs. Satink approved: “I enjoyed how it was a little chewy in the middle, but light and crunchy on the outside.”  Mr. Sheppard declared, “Delicious!! My favorite of all the cookies.”

The Wildcat Voice staff extends their thanks to all staff who baked for the competition.  It was delicious holiday fun for all of the tasters.  Congratulations to Mrs. DeBaltzo, who wins the title of 2018 Best Cookie and a Giant Eagle gift card.