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| Local woman to compete in million-dollar bake-off Wednesday, February 03, 2010 Jeri Field
As a young girl Helen Fields of Springtown learned to be passionate about cooking alongide her mother, the mothers of her friends and in 4-H club.
She put her culinary passion to an early test at the age of nine, when she won her first blue ribbon at the Decatur Youth Fair. And has been cooking up a rainbow of ribbons ever since. Sometimes the robbons come with a monetary reward – $100, $200, $500, and the biggest to date of $1000 in 2006 that Fields said “also came with a little thumbnail photo on the cover of Salad Master Magazine.”
“But it’s not really the prize that matters,” she added. “I just love getting the prizes.” That “love” was all around recently when Fields learned that her recipe for “Cup o’ Joe Chocolate Cookies” was one of 100 finalists in the 44th annual Pillsbury Bake-Off. “I am really, really thrilled,” she said. “They get tens of thousands of entries so it’s quite an honor.”
Because she’s one in a hundred, Fields has already won airfare to and from Orlando, a two-night stay at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Hotel, daily event-sponsored meals, $125 in cash and a GE countertop microwave oven, which she describes as, “one of the best prizes I’ve ever won.” “I’m just a country person but mine was over 20 years old,” she said. Fields and the other finalists, who hail from 36 different states will meet face-to-face, for the first and probably last time, in Orlando on April 11-13 in the final Bake-Off competition. On Monday, April 12 they will all get a chance to prepare their winning recipes in one of the 100 GE mini-kitchens set up side-by-side at the Waldorf-Astoria Orlando. A panel of food experts will do the final taste-tests and choose four winners to be announced at an awards ceremony that night. Grand prize is $1-million dollars, a GE Profile Induction Free-Standing Range and $7,000 in additional GE Profile kitchen appliances. The other three winners each receive $5,000 and a GE Profile Induction Free Standing Range. “I’m lovin’ it,” Fields exclaimed. “I’ve wanted to go to the Pillsbury Cook-Off forever. I probably entered 20 times.” Fields’ winning “Cup o’ Joe Cookies” recipe is reprinted here so that others can conduct their own taste test. The other 100 finalist’s recipes can be found at www.bakeoff.com. Cup o’ Joe Chocolate Cookies Prep Time: 40 minutes Start to Finish: 1:15 Start with easy refrigerated cookie dough, add just 4 ingredients and you'll have a fabulous treat with a rich, chocolaty center. 1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies 1/3 cup Hershey’s® baking cocoa 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso coffee powder or granules 1/4 cup whipping cream 1/3 cup Hershey’s® mini chips semi-sweet chocolate 1. Let cookie dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes to soften. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F. 2. In large bowl, mix cocoa, espresso powder and cream with wooden spoon until well blended. Crumble cookie dough into cocoa mixture; stir until well blended. 3. Shape dough into 30 balls; place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Using bottom of drinking glass, flatten balls into 1 1/2-inch rounds. Press thumb into center of each round to make indentation. Fill each indention with 1/2 teaspoon of the chocolate chips. 4. Bake 9 to 13 minutes or until edges of cookies are set. Cool on cookie sheets 2 minutes; remove to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 20 minutes. Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies 1 Serving: Calories 90 (Calories from Fat 35); Total Fat 4g (Saturated Fat 1 1/2g, Trans Fat 1g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 50mg; Total Carbohydrate 12g (dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 7g); Protein 1g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 0%; Iron 2% Exchanges: 1 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1 *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Bake-Off is a registered trademark of General Mills ©2010 Hershey’s® is a registered trademark of The Hershey Company, Hershey, PA, 17033 Bake-Off is a registered trademark of General Mills |
