Introducing Oklahoma's Sweet 16
Clash of local bakers set for Sunday to settle the score on pumpkin cookies
We are less than one week away from the launch of the inaugural $2K Cookie Contest and Pumpkin Party, so it’s time to meet the Sweet 16.
Twisted Tree Baking Co., in Edmond is the venue and owners Robert Black and his sister and Kassie Joslin, who is head baker at Twisted Tree, will host the event Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m.
“We really thought it would be a lot of fun to give local bakers a chance to get together, get to know each other and build a support system for the local baking community,” Black told me when he approached me with the idea. “Plus, I thought it would be a lot of fun for the public to try out some cookies from the best bakers in the market.”
But things weren’t all pumpkin, spice and everything nice in the beginning. No, Black originally wanted the cookie contest at the center of the event to be about peanut butter.
“That idea for a cookie contest was well received, but peanut butter was not,” he admitted. “It was roundly criticized.”
With Oct. 29 the target date, a switch to pumpkin cookies was the obvious choice, and the contest was born thanks to sponsorship from Ben E. Keith for providing King Arthur flour, sugars, pumpkin solids, and some other baking ingredients for the Sweet 16. Other key sponsors include BancFirst, The Lark, Core Food Service, ADG Blatt, Stuart and Delsi Graham, and Ryan and Stephanie Fish.
Those sponsors and brisk ticket sales made it possible to offer this fall gathering The Pumpkin cookie bake-off is at the center of the event, but it will also include a pumpkin patch, Pumpkin Lattes from Evoke, sliders from Nic’s Food Truck, water to cleanse the palate and samples of each of the 16 competing cookies.
Most of the tickets are sold, but we do still have a few more available. Click here to get yours.
I’ve been working with Twisted Tree to promote this event on social media. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, then you’ve likely seen the Baker Cards we’ve dropped over the last couple weeks. Wanted to point out a couple of cool facts about our bakers, who all bring passion for baking and kitchen talent to the event.
We have two bakers from out of town. Hanna McAfferty comes to the competition from Blue Moon Cafe in Tulsa. We also have Courtney Summers coming in from Tahlequah. Courtney’s bakery has a little different mission than most. She and her husband own Love Jamie Bakey, which is named for the son they lost to Trisomy 18 in 2021. Their bakery commemorates Jamie, and raises awareness about the disease that claimed him.
Phillip Clickner is a baker who recently moved to Oklahoma City from Atlanta, Georgia. When we asked for his bio, he wanted to share just how important baking is to him. His passion for baking was born in his great-grandmother’s Alabama kitchen, but the mission it has in his life was born interning in the rehab clinic that saved his life.
A recovering opiate-addict, Clickner spent a year in rehab followed by another working in the kitchen there to serve up to 100 people a day while offering counseling. Baking and cooking offered such a creative and therapeutic outlet, Phillip started Nothing Fancy Baking Company four years ago in Atlanta. Since moving to Oklahoma, he’s supplied baked goods for several local businesses. He plans to establish a brick and mortar bakery and cafe as soon as he can.
Follow me on social media for the scoop on all of this year’s bakers. That’s plenty of ado, so let’s dispense with it and get to know our contestants. On Sunday, The Great Pumpkin Cookie Baker be named from this list and to them will go the bulk of the $2000 purse
Amber Bloom-Pego of The Joinery is bringing a pumpkin brown-butter dark chocolate cranberry cookie to the party.
Nicole Bonavolonta of Six-Thirty Sweets and Saucee Sicilian is keeping hers a secret until showtime.
Anna Bui of Lil Mouse Bakes has a Pumpkin Ube Sugar Cookie in mind.
Philip Clickner of Nothing Fancy Bakery promises “Fall pumpkin spice goodness in a soft, chewy cookie stuffed with spiced cream cheese filling.”
Mitchell Dunzy of Heritage Grains Bakery vows to deliver “something pumpkinny!”
Matt Gilson of Healthy Cravings has a Pumpkin Nut Cookie in mind.
Sasha Goodwin of Sweet by Sasha promises a cookie that is “Soft, fluffy, and light with a hint of nutmeg and rolled in powdered sugar.”
Nicole Hanson of Sweet Friends Bakery will come with a pumpkin gingerbread cookie with a bourbon cinnamon glaze.
Kristin Hock-Martinez of Flour & Fennel is locked and loaded with a classic Pumpkin cookie with cream cheese.
Hanna McCafferty comes to us from Blue Moon Café in Tulsa. She has in mind a Pumpkin crème brûlée cookie.
Dina Dillinger of Nic’s Grill and Nic’s Food Truck has a classic, super-moist pumpkin cookie to share.
Emme Reynolds of Emme’s Cake Shoppe and Harvey Bakery plans a Pumpkin chocolate chip cookie with maple cinnamon icing.
Shannon Simard of Pachinko will bring a cookie “that’s got pumpkin in it!”
Courtney Summers of Love Jamie Bakery will have a Pumpkin Coffee Cake Cookie
Anicia Vazquez of Delish E Sweets will have a brown butter pecan-pumpkin cookie for everyone to consider as we head towards Thanksgiving
Zoe Wetzel of Harvey Bakery promises a soft pumpkin cookie with brown butter icing.
If any of these bakers have a conflict between now and Sunday, Elena Hughes of Elemental Coffee and chef Josh Valentine and registered and ready to jump in with pumpkin reinforcements.
T-shirts will be available thanks to Hattie’s Tees of Edmond. Made under the direction of Chief Inspirational Officer Hattie Witherby, a 21-year-old special-needs entrepreneur, you won’t want to miss a chance to take home a token to remember this first-of-its-kind event.
And Elena Hughes of Elemental Coffee and chef Josh Valentine are standing by as alternates.
We hope to see you Sunday at Twisted Tree, but that’s not the only thing going on this week. Here’s some events to plan for from around the 405 diningscape.
Events
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Taste of Western, Will Rogers Theatre: Oct. 26 from 6 to 9 p.m. Restaurants from around the North Western Avenue core will gather in delicious competition for guests who vote on their favorite bites. The winner takes home the coveted Golden Fork amid live music; The Tasting Room hosts champagne and whiskey tastings.
St. Elijah Food Fair, St. Elijah Antiochian Church: Nov 10-11 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday.