Of all the things that charm about a classic holiday cookie contest, the secret ingredient tickles us the most.
Oh, we like the little decorations atop the sweets and how they're presented on the colorful dishware. But the fact that every cook under the sun has a secret they can't share about what makes their cookies the tastiest is oven-mitts-down the very best part.
Is it a pinch of cayenne? Extra cardamom? Something you can't share? Then don't, but do make for 1 Granada Avenue in Long Beach on Saturday, Dec. 15. The annual Long Beach Christmas Cookie Contest going down, it has a mondo judge or two, and the winning sweets will garner their cook some cash for donating to a favorite charity.
It's free to enter.
Santa Claus, a pageant winner, and professional foodies will do the cooking-biting, paper-scribbling honors. If you're keen to compete and snag twenty bucks for the local org of our choice, plus a blue ribbon, make sure your plate o' good stuff is delivered between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Dec. 15.
We love the city-wide events organized by LBC's own Justin Rudd, a philanthropist's philanthropists. If you're going to think big, and turn what is normally a smaller event into something incorporating more people, you might as well do it at the holidays, when bigger, especially in the charity-helping sense, is truly better.
