When a expertise scout from the Food Network contacted Versailles, Kentucky resident Lauren Jacobs about collaborating in its yearly televised “Christmas Cookie Problem,” she imagined she was staying pranked.
Jacobs, a former artwork teacher, had been baking cookies in her kitchen area for yrs but she was not accurately a house name in the baking environment. Inspite of just about 50,000 Instagram followers, Jacobs, who is acknowledged professionally as The Cheerful Baker, considered herself a modest-city businesswoman.
Moreover baking for prospects, she and her husband Stacy have also commenced The Cheerful Box, a cookie class in a box that is shipped regular monthly to her prospects.
“One of my joys in life is assisting men and women find their creative imagination,” the Kentucky baker explained. “Our Cheerful Box provides individuals the tools and recommendations to make the very same gorgeous and tasty cookies at their household that I make at my residence. ”
Foods Community executives ended up so impressed by Jacobs’ a lot of how-to videos and specialist cookie decorating skills, they invited her to be one of only five bakers from throughout America to contend for $10,000 in 1 of the network’s most remarkably expected and most-watched competitions of the yr, “The Christmas Cookie Obstacle.”
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“A single of the most enjoyable factors about planning for the clearly show was learning about the science of baking and recipe improvement,” Jacobs informed the Courier Journal.
Jacobs will show up on the Food stuff Network “Xmas Cookie Obstacle” on Dec. 11 but the clearly show was really taped past spring. That is a prolonged time to keep a key!
In April, Jacobs traveled to Foodstuff Network headquarters, and together with four other cookie creators, competed for the coveted title of Xmas Cookie Challenge Champion and that $10,000 grand prize, which will get any baker a large amount of frosting and sprinkles.
Although Jacobs was thrilled to be invited, there was 1 catch. Of course, Jacobs could bake scrumptious cookies and embellish them fantastically, but for this level of competition, she needed to create and use her have unique recipes, which she had in no way finished just before.
“I bought books on the science of cooking and experimented for weeks with all types of recipes,” mentioned Jacobs. “My friends and family had never ever eaten so numerous cookies.”
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She lastly settled on four first cookie recipes and off she went to satisfy a lifetime-prolonged aspiration. Judging the Meals Community competitiveness ended up Pioneer Lady Ree Drummond and Movie star Chef and former NFL player Eddie Jackson.
Of system, we are unable to expose who received the levels of competition, but Jacobs can proudly say Drummond thought her cookie was so delectable that she carried it off the stage with her.
“I have watched Ree Drummond a thousand moments on Meals Network,” claimed Jacobs. “She’s my complete preferred, so to listen to her talk about how much she cherished my cookie, I are not able to even put into words and phrases what that intended to me.”
The Christmas Cookie Obstacle airs on Foods Network on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. You can locate Jacobs on Instagram or Fb at The Cheerful Baker and cheerfulbaker.com or cheerfulcutters.com.
Arrive at Attributes Reporter Kirby Adams at [email protected].