For many Minnesotan bakers, the Star Tribune Cookie Contest is the crown holiday baking contest of the year, and it has accrued countless creative submissions over its history.
Lee Dean and Rick Nelson (who co-authored 2018's The Great Minnesota Cookie Book) are back to celebrate 20 years working at the contest with The Ultimate Minnesota Cookie Book. This is an updated version of their first cookbook, with recipes from all 20 years of the contest accompanied by personal stories.
When Dean describes how she went about selecting which cookies made the book, she chose ones that "stood out for some reason, sometimes because they had a story to it, sometimes they were new to us."
In addition to the recipes, Dean and Nelson bring a home-state element to the book. Many of the featured bakers based their recipes on experiences and places around Minnesota.
You can pick up a copy of The Ultimate Minnesota Cookie Book this holiday season at Zenith Bookstore, at various other booksellers, as well as through the University of Minnesota Press website.
Minnesota Reads is produced at The North 103.3 with funding provided in part by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
