Best of the West Cookie Contest: Chewy Cream Cheese Swirled Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies
After a week of counting down to the bestcookie in the west we are finally ready to announce our top gun! Our grand prize winner beat out some incredibly tasty competition. With the help again of Amy from CTBites.com and Michele from 17-Time National Pie Champion Michele’s Pies, a taste-test revealed the order of our Top 5 Finalists and ultimately the winner.
So without further ado the first place baker is….
Stephanie K. and her delicious Chewy Cream Cheese Swirled Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies! Stephanie has spent this entire week in Las Vegas doing…well as they say: what happens there, stays there! No doubt it has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We want to give special thanks to Harlequin, Linda Lael Miller and Caesar’s Entertainment for sponsoring the contest.
Grand Prize Winner
Chewy Cream Cheese Swirled Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies
8oz cream cheese (softened)
¾ cup powdered sugar
½ cup butter (softened)
2/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 tbsp ground flax seed
3 tbsp water
½ tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp salt
1 2/3 cups rolled oats
½ cup cinnamon chips
Preheat oven to 350
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small mixing bowl beat cream cheese until soft. Slowly add powdered sugar until combined. Spread the cream cheese mixture onto the prepared baking sheet in a thin layer and place in freezer for 1-2 hours, or until fairly solidified (won’t be completely frozen).
In a small bowl, combine flax seed and water and set aside. In another small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and set aside. In the bowl of a mixer, cream together butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Add flax mixture and vanilla extract and beat until smooth. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until combined. Stir in oats and cinnamon chips.
Remove cream cheese mixture from the freezer. With the mixer off, scrap cream cheese from the baking sheet and into the mixing bowl. Turn the mixer on low JUST long enough to allow the cream cheese to form a swirl within the cookies. Scoop cookies 2 inches apart onto a prepared baking sheet covered in parchment and freeze for 30mins. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cookies are golden around the edges and still look a little under-cooked in the center. Let cookies cool on the hot baking sheet for 5 minutes before moving to a rack.
Makes 24-30 cookies
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If you missed any of the other top five finalists’ recipes, you can find them HERE.
Finally, we also selected 16 additional recipes which earned a holiday gift card. Congratulations to:
Patricia H.
Corinne H.
Fenton S.
Pamela S.
Maetta G.
Diane Y.
Nadine M.
Susan B.
Joe K.
Thomas P.
Becky M.
Margee B.
Caroline P.
Barbara F.
Lanie S.
Linda H.
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