Christmas Cookie Challenge - General Discussion

[Carolina Girl]

On 11/21/2017 at 7:23 AM, Jillybean said:

I really wanted Peter to win. His cookies looked (and, from the judges' comments, tasted) the best. It really bugged me that Eddie kept calling him "Cookie Howser." He's 26, not 16!

I don't know how dry gingerbread was the winner.

Also I don't consider a "gingerbread house" a cookie tableau.  But of course YMMV.  

[Simon47]

I liked Dur's matryoshka cookie, but I think Gray was much more decent. He is so talented and I would like to go visit his bakery, "Pete's Sweets", anytime! I would have picked him or Walters as the winner.

[Christina]

19 hours ago, kj4ever said:

I'm starting to think he was a victim of the FN Caricature Machine for awhile there and someone knocked some sense into him.

Food Network Star is responsible. They always have everyone ramp their personality up to 11, and it is always annoying. If they are any race other than caucasian, they are made to cook food of their ancestors, even if they have culinary training in another field. Accents are exaggerated, everything has to have a story from childhood, and you are expected to dedicate the food to your ancestors. 

By your post, I'm assuming you watch FNS, too, but I must bitch about this every single time I have the opportunity. I've found it downright racist at points.

[Destiny74]

On 11/23/2017 at 6:19 AM, Christina said:

Food Network Star is responsible. They always have everyone ramp their personality up to 11, and it is always annoying. If they are any race other than caucasian, they are made to cook food of their ancestors, even if they have culinary training in another field. Accents are exaggerated, everything has to have a story from childhood, and you are expected to dedicate the food to your ancestors. 

By your post, I'm assuming you watch FNS, too, but I must bitch about this every single time I have the opportunity. I've found it downright racist at points.

The stories for every, single thing these people make is ridiculous and annoying.  Sometimes I make a dish because it sounds tasty or, God forbid, I want to try something new.  Not everything I make evokes warm fuzzies from my childhood.

[HappyDancex2]

I'm so glad we have a forum now!  I saw the first 2 episodes and thought the contestants seemed all over the place.  It almost seems like they are still feeling out the casting level of the show, even though it seems like it would apply to almost anyone who bakes/has a bakery.  I like the format and the challenges.  I loved the episode where they had to make a cookie puzzle and that lady flat out forgot what her puzzle looked like.  LOL  I could totally see myself doing that!

Ree's makeup is indeed jarring.  And they never seem to fix it.  She almost seems like she has a lot of scarring that needs covered up because it looks like old school grease paint.  It's not the right color and it's so shiny.  I would love to see a more flattering hairstyle on her as well.  She's been on TV for some time now and has a nice trough of money (ahem) to hire a stylist.  TV makeup should not be this hard.  Do it Ree!

I will say that Ree's reactions as she is tasting the cookies are very descriptive.  She emotes as she eats LOL and that's nice for the viewing audience.  I mean they are eating frosted cookies...they've got to be able to describe things pretty well, week to week. 

I like Eddie as the host.  I think he will get even better as he does even more shows.  The fact that he's been paraded around now on so many FN shows has been great for him.  His delivery is very staccato and it has smoothed out quite a bit.   Plus he's nice looking.   And pleasant.

Looks like I missed the last episode...y'all liked it so I can't wait to catch it on reruns.  The single show is a good format for me.  I don't have any more room to follow weeks of competition to crown some "champion" of The Next Holiday Food Network Cookie Baking Championship Showdown Star.

Edited November 26, 2017 by HappyDancex2
descriptive things are descripted while being descripted by definition. yikes

[Mittengirl]

Maybe they were giving her a break on her cookies being dry due to having to use the dehydrator?  If they tasted good and would not have been dry if not for the (dumb) time constraints, maybe that gave her the edge over the young guy.  (Can’t remember names.)

Edited November 26, 2017 by Mittengirl

[Qoass]

Let's hope they are reserving Peter for future opportunities given that they tend to recycle contestants on other shows. Then again I'm biased because a friend of mine got her wedding cake from Pete's Sweets.

[Spunkygal]

I liked all three finalists last night and thought that was a really difficult task to make cookie cups to hold liquid. I recognized Robert from his numerous appearances on Halloween Wars and Crhistmas Cake Wars, so was rooting for him. Surprisingly, Ree's make up looked good last night.

[MerBearHou]

I was rooting for Robert too!  Had never seen him before.  

I've decided that Ree might be one of the nicest humans alive.  And she has a little mischievous sense of humor too.  While her makeup and hair are often not as flattering as they could be, I really, really like her.

Eddie Jackson is a total delight.  This has to be one of the easiest gigs ever -- he doesn't have a whole lot to do.  Truly an emcee, shepherding things along.  

Edited November 28, 2017 by MerBearHou

[HappyDancex2]

I'm impressed with the challenges in this show.  I thought it was another typical formulaic FN show but that cup making challenge was pretty clever.   And the challenges aren't set up so it brings out some fake sob story of the contestants (well not each time LOL). 

[kj4ever]

The talent was better this episode for sure but in what universe is a brownie a cookie?

[Qoass]

I have no idea who he is but I found that judge sitting in the middle to be quite articulate.

[Frost]

I'm confused as to why some of the bakers use Royal icing with no problem, whilst other moan about not having enough time for it to dry.  They all have to make their dough, bake the cookies, and then let them cool before decorating.  

[Jillybean]

On 11/28/2017 at 7:32 PM, kj4ever said:

The talent was better this episode for sure but in what universe is a brownie a cookie?

I also question a macaron made from meringue being classified as a cookie.

I was rooting for the young guy who won. I've already forgotten his name even though I just watched last night. 

Edited November 30, 2017 by Jillybean

[jcbrown]

On 11/29/2017 at 6:56 AM, Frost said:

I'm confused as to why some of the bakers use Royal icing with no problem, whilst other moan about not having enough time for it to dry.  They all have to make their dough, bake the cookies, and then let them cool before decorating.  

One of the male judges suggested reducing the amount of egg white to get the icing to dry faster. I was surprised the woman who screwed up her cookies had no idea that changing from buttermilk to eggnog would mess up her dough. I would have been okay with any of the final three winning. "Santa" seemed competent, the woman from Trinidad (I think) seemed very personable, and the young guy was clearly talented at decorating.

[dleighg]

58 minutes ago, jcbrown said:

I was surprised the woman who screwed up her cookies had no idea that changing from buttermilk to eggnog would mess up her dough.

Yeah, isn't one of the big contributions of buttermilk in a recipe the acid it gives? I don't think egg nog is going to do it. So you've messed up the chemistry.

[Frost]

I was annoyed at the baker who basically turned up his nose at decorating cookies.  You deliberately chose to be on a show called Christmas Cookie Challenge.  Apply to a different show if decorating is beneath you.  I'm all for good tasting cookies, but I thought he came across as a snob.

[MerBearHou]

2 hours ago, Frost said:

I was annoyed at the baker who basically turned up his nose at decorating cookies.  You deliberately chose to be on a show called Christmas Cookie Challenge.  Apply to a different show if decorating is beneath you.  I'm all for good tasting cookies, but I thought he came across as a snob.

I completely agree with this.  Am so glad he didn't win.  His cookies must have tasted delicious but in no way were they fitting for the Christmas Cookie title of this show. 

[Jaded]

I'm watching the latest episode now on my DVR. Why do these women wear their hair down and dangling over what they are preparing to bake? That red headed girl especially with her pigtails draped down over her chest especially. She could have tucked the ends into her apron. Women that have their hair hanging on the other baking/cooking competition shows bother me too. At least the blonde in this episode didn't have all her hair facing forward.

I've seen Ree's decorated desert items so I don't know why these people are brought to tears over her judging their cookies.

[kj4ever]

You can count me in on Team Taste is More Important, but it is possible to do both.  This guy's cookies had to be really delicious the first round, because he did absolutely nothing to make them decorated.

[Qoass]

Quote

Why do these women wear their hair down and dangling over what they are preparing to bake?

So it will point towards their cleavage?

[Frost]

2 hours ago, kj4ever said:

You can count me in on Team Taste is More Important, but it is possible to do both.  This guy's cookies had to be really delicious the first round, because he did absolutely nothing to make them decorated.

Which especially galls because the first round is called the DECORATING challenge!

[festivus]

I don't know what to think about this show. On the one hand they don't throw in any stupid twists right in the middle of the baking and I like that. On the other hand I just don't think enough time is given to turn out really pretty cookies. I want to see stuff that is imaginative and beautiful. The stuff on this show looks like cookies I could do at home and I'm no decorator, believe me.  I think the right person won this episode but it was still so boring.

[KAOS Agent]

If this show was about making the best tasting cookies, then what that baker was doing was fine. However, in what is called the decorating challenge, he decided that decorating wasn't important and only taste mattered. He should have been out right there. The other bakers are all probably capable of making fantastic tasting cookies as well, but they were meeting the challenge, which was to make cookies and decorate them. That meant that they didn't have all the time in the world to infuse the flavors or whatever he was doing because they needed to get the cookies baked, cooled and creatively decorated. Essentially he did only half the job before he ran out of time and that should have been considered worse than those who didn't do the best job decorating. He didn't even try.

[Qoass]

Yeah, it's all about the decorating. Kind of like those fancy cakes that look amazing but have so much fondant and infrastructure that you eat them at your own risk.

But personally, I'd rather have a warm chocolate chip cookie from the recipe on the back of the bag then those fancy gingerbread creations baked for firmness over flavor.

[kj4ever]

On 12/6/2017 at 3:05 PM, festivus said:

I don't know what to think about this show. On the one hand they don't throw in any stupid twists right in the middle of the baking and I like that. On the other hand I just don't think enough time is given to turn out really pretty cookies. I want to see stuff that is imaginative and beautiful. The stuff on this show looks like cookies I could do at home and I'm no decorator, believe me.  I think the right person won this episode but it was still so boring.

If they really wanted to do it right, they could have the split time like The Great Baking Show does sometimes.  They have a couple of hours, then get another hour the next morning.  Decorated sugar cookies have to dry if you want dimension and definition.

[grisgris]

The fan-girling over Ree is getting ridiculous.

[Spunkygal]

So Ree is always introduced as having 20 million hits on her blog per month. I wonder how many of those hits are there to hate snark? I think a good portion are!

[Frost]

Due to the time restrictions that prevent turning out truly spectacular cookies, the contestants that stick in my mind are the annoying ones, not the winner!  I don't even remember who won last night.  I only know I'm glad it wasn't the woman who kept plastering inch thick layers of fondant on her cookies - even after being told by the judges that nobody likes to eat fondant!

[40Love]

10 minutes ago, Frost said:

I don't even remember who won last night.  I only know I'm glad it wasn't the woman who kept plastering inch thick layers of fondant on her cookies - even after being told by the judges that nobody likes to eat fondant!

IKR?! I'm also glad she didn't win because she was such an over confident shit-talker. Jeez, the other lady is trying to have some friendly chit-chat with you (like the show producers no doubt encourage) and answering back with nonsense like "Well I'm not going to tell you all my secrets". I loved the WTH? expression the other baker had on her face when Ms. Fondant said that. Lol!

[ShelleySue]

What is the story with Mrs. Santa Claus?  Do her and Mr. Santa Clause make a living out of living in their own fantasy world?

I wonder why they were one baker short last night.

If I was a cookie baker who took hours to create my beautiful cookies and I knew I was going to be in a timed competition I would do some research before the competition.  For example, I would experiment with different royal icings to figure out which one sets the fastest while still tasting good.  I would assume that I'd be making something with gingerbread and find a way to make one that hardened quickly without tasting like cardboard.  And the last thing that I would do is not go into a timed competition and then complain about having no time.

[40Love]

3 hours ago, ShelleySue said:

What is the story with Mrs. Santa Claus?  Do her and Mr. Santa Clause make a living out of living in their own fantasy world?

Yeah it was cute at first. I actually said "awww" when she called her hubby the love of her life. But it felt a little awkward after that. May be my imagination... but it seems like the judges giggled uncomfortably when she described her cookies as the scene outside her window at the North Pole. 

[jcbrown]

My DVR literally cut off at, "the winner... is..." Glad to hear the fondant twerp did not win and hoping greasy boy did not, either. I was rooting for the woman who made ginger cookies so good that Damiano--who does not like ginger cookies--asked for the recipe. Is that who won?

[MerBearHou]

Yes, the sweet woman from New Mexico won.  She was overcome with joy and the avant garde guy seemed super happy for her.  Couldn't stand the annoyingly-overconfident fondant woman!!!!! 

[jcbrown]

3 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Couldn't stand the annoyingly-overconfident fondant woman!!!!! 

Fondant Woman. Worst superhero ever. (I did not like her, either.)

[festivus]

The gal that won last night had the only cookies that I thought were worthy of a win in this whole competition. Good for her, she seemed sweet too. That poor guy. He's what I'd be like in one of these competitions. My cookies would taste delish but they'd look like that trainwreck he presented. He was a sweetie though.

[grisgris]

I am glad the woman from New Mexico won. Otherwise, I thought that was the most obnoxious group of contestants yet. The woman from Brazil (aka Fondant Woman) had the most annoying voice. She sounded like she'd just huffed a bunch of helium every time she spoke.  And Damiano is "picky?" Get over yourself. Yes, he's super annoying, but he's a JUDGE and a professional baker. However, I got a laugh when he was trying to understand what "peeping" meant and I think he thought it was "peeing."

I thought that perhaps Mr. and Mrs. Claus were professional holiday time performers or something. Surely, they didn't believe that they are the real deal and live at the North Pole. (At least I hope not.) I thought she was just staying in character during the competition. But seriously, her cookies looked like a child decorated them.

The funniest moment was Eddie Jackson stuffed into that onesie jammies get-up and looking horribly uncomfortable and embarrassed. His legs looked like they were going to bust open the seams. Dude used to be in the NFL ...

Is this series finally over? 

[CherZ]

Count me in as someone who was a little creeped out by the "Mrs. Claus" schtick. At first it was cute, but then it got realllly disturbing, like lady...are you kidnapping kids and making them your 'elves'? A couple of references would be cute, but saying over and over again that you live in the North Pole with Santa is weird.

[HyeChaps]

I think this person was referenced by Clinton on The Chew last week as a husband and wife officially changing their name to Claus. 

[Qoass]

I think the only reason she was on the show was to advertise being Mrs. Claus to prospective employers and the only reason she made it onto the show with her borderline skills was because she was Mrs. Claus.

[festivus]

I took an instant visceral dislike to the woman judge that was on last night. I just could not stand her. If they bring this show back next year they need to do some tweaking. I'm not really about seeing cookies that I could make, I want to see nice cookies. I'm fine with Ree, but they need to overhaul the rest of this show. The guy that won was the best choice. At least his wreath actually looked like one.

[Frost]

The quality of the bakers seemed to vary so widely.  I wonder if it was the time pressure or the stress of working in a public way or with unfamiliar equipment, but there were quite a number of bakers over the course of the show run that just did not belong there.  I really liked the guy who won last night.  He was head and shoulders better than the other four bakers on the episode.  Maybe they should have had just one brilliant show with the people that won each episode instead of five or so episodes with a bunch of filler bakers that didn't really have the skills.

I like the idea of this show but I think it needs some big tweaks to make it worth watching again next season.  I want to see beautifully decorated cookies that also taste fantastic and can act as inspiration for my own Christmas baking.  I make 10 different kinds of Christmas cookies every year, none of which are very fancy.  I want to be inspired to try new things! 

[Jaded]

I was so glad that the lady who kept bragging about her pageant and cooking competition wins didn't win this. The guy who won last night was also the one who kissed Ree's ass the least when she was judging and during the times when the people competing were doing the commentating segments. He was genuinely surprised by the win.

Edited December 19, 2017 by Jaded

[mlp]

I was very glad the fellow won.  He bounced back from cutting himself without whining and his wreath looked terrific.  The woman who made the door didn't really do what was asked and her white frosting with grey streaks wasn't exactly festive plus she was mighty impressed with herself and annoying.  

I recognized the judge who has been on Chopped as soon as I saw his face but I couldn't remember anything about him.  Still can't.

[GaT]

I think the problem with this show is that the cookies are all so over decorated. I realize that the decoration is the only thing we can judge on, but it seems to me that the cookies get lost in the 6 inches of icing that comes with it. I haven't seen a single cookie I would want to eat, they all look like they would taste like pure sugar. 

[Qoass]

Quote

Maybe they should have had just one brilliant show with the people that won each episode instead of five or so episodes with a bunch of filler bakers that didn't really have the skills.

My beloved TiVo is listing something to that effect coming soon but I can't remember if it was for this or Holiday Baking Challenge. They all run together for me so for all I know it's also a repeat from a previous year.

[mamadani]

On 12/6/2017 at 6:03 AM, Jaded said:

I'm watching the latest episode now on my DVR. Why do these women wear their hair down and dangling over what they are preparing to bake? That red headed girl especially with her pigtails draped down over her chest especially. She could have tucked the ends into her apron. Women that have their hair hanging on the other baking/cooking competition shows bother me too. At least the blonde in this episode didn't have all her hair facing forward.

I've seen Ree's decorated desert items so I don't know why these people are brought to tears over her judging their cookies.

I'm so bothered by this, I always mention to my husband when we watch these shows. It's one thing if you are cooking for yourself or family but these people are cooking for judges.

Their reactions to her are so hilarious, I'm like have you seen how she decorates her cookies? Awful.

[mlp]

Quote

Why do these women wear their hair down and dangling over what they are preparing to bake? That red headed girl especially with her pigtails draped down over her chest especially.

What bothers me even more than that is women putting their hands in their hair and then handling the food.  I see it often.  On this episode, one of the women said something about putting her hair up when she gets serious about baking.  She pulled her hair into a ponytail then went right to work without washing her hands.  Yuck.  

[MerBearHou]

New season:  I was completely pleased about the two eliminations in round one — one of the women double-dipped AND wiped her nose while tasting dough — she was just gross all the way around.  The other first round eliminee decorated horribly.  Ree was funny tonight and I love Aarti and Eddie.  Was delighted with the final winner — he seemed to feel “less than” the other two finalists with their years of experience so Yay for him!   I’m skipping Giada’s Thanksgiving challenge show (just cannot watch any Giada) so I enjoy this show and the HBC as Holiday Light Filler.

Edited November 6, 2018 by MerBearHou

[mlp]

Quote

 I was completely pleased about the two eliminations in round one — one of the women double-dipped AND wiped her nose while tasting dough — she was just gross all the way around.  

Totally agree.  Also, in one of the close up shots, her hair was hanging so far down as she bent over that it was almost touching the cookies she was working on.  Good riddance.

Otherwise, I enjoyed the show.  Eddie is a good host and I liked all the judges although I don't really understand why they make such a huge fuss over Ree.  I love Dan Langen and I was very surprised to see him.  He was on Cake Wars more than once and maybe on Cupcake Wars too.  I know I'd seen him several times and really liked him.  I thought he was a very good judge.  

I was happy for the fellow who won.  He was cute and seemed really nice.  The last woman standing was good too.  The cookies they showed during her introduction were impressive.  I also liked the other guy.  Overall, good show.