WEEPING WATER – The cherry pie champion sat near Cass County’s casserole winner for the oatmeal cookie competition at the Cass County fair Friday, where a 10-year-old Louisville girl and the daughters of the county’s reining top baker provided the yum factor.

Cookie judge Evelyn Hans said she was impressed with the variety of recipes and the range of ages from eight to 12 in the kids division.

 

Hans: “The child that won the first prize had Granny Smith apples in an oatmeal cookie. Now that’s not your typical oatmeal cookie, but they could’ve added anything and she chose apples.”

Ainslee Vavra of Louisville gave plenty of credit to mom, but she did the mixing, chopping and tasting for her now-famous apple crisp cookie.

Vavra: “They’re good” do you think they deserve to be a winner? “Yeah.”

The top adult cookie was entered by Jan Roloff of Louisville, who earlier won the casserole contest.

Roloff: “It was called a buffalo chicken mac and cheese and it was to die for.”

 

Her two-card banana oatmeal cookie recipe called for 3 to 4 mashed bananas and oven temperature of 400 degrees.

Hans: “The cookie tasted like banana bread in a cookie. I would never have thought to put bananas in a cookie, but it really worked. Very good, need a cup of coffee to go with it.

Like the 2022 champion Stacey Door, Roloff is a former Sharmon Stock Memorial Award winner. Her cinnamon rolls earned her runner up this year behind McKennan Stuart.

Hans: “There’s some people that you … their reputation precedes them. It’s good that we don’t know who is making things because there are people that year after  year – I used to compete when I lived in Cass County and I knew who beat me out every time.”

 

Carol Bley of Murdock said her daughter, Stacey Dorr, followed up on  last’s year grand championship winning this year’s cherry pie contest.

Bley: “She won the best cherry pie last night and they were overwhelmed with it.”

Dorr’s daughters finished second and third in the cookie contest and judge Hans said Roloff is the one everyone wants to invite to their potluck.

Roloff: “It’s a challenge because there are so many really good cooks here in Cass County and I have several that I always have to compete with. I know they’re my competitors, but I did it.”

Hans received judging help from Robert Latimer of NextEra Energy.