Christmas Cookie Challenge - General Discussion

[Gothish520]

15 hours ago, 40Love said:

Okay, I'm not the only one who thought that was a little strange. It was very awkward. Was expecting Ree to at the very least offer her condolences. Very weird indeed!  

It's possible she did and the scene was just weirdly edited.

[mojoween]

Oh I thought she said unfortunately, not oh fortunately.

Is the series over for the season?

[Grizzly]

25 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Oh I thought she said unfortunately, not oh fortunately.

Is the series over for the season?

Unfortunately, yes.

[MerBearHou]

2 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Unfortunately, yes.

Well, darn!  Ree and Eddie and cookies are super comfort-food TV for me.  I always enjoy their cookie baking championships.  

[Grizzly]

And Ree and Eddie were really getting into a nice rhythym with co-hosting.

[RealityCheck]

From this article, the new season of CHRISTMAS COOKIE CHALLENGE premieres Thursday 11/11/2021 at 9PM with Ree Drummond and Eddie Jackson.

[MerBearHou]

I love their rapport.  Looking forward to it!

[libgirl2]

On 10/30/2021 at 10:44 AM, MerBearHou said:

I love their rapport.  Looking forward to it!

Me too! 

[all4mom2]

On 10/30/2021 at 3:09 AM, RealityCheck said:

From this article, the new season of CHRISTMAS COOKIE CHALLENGE premieres Thursday 11/11/2021 at 9PM with Ree Drummond and Eddie Jackson.

I could do without Ree.  AGAIN. She's so...conventional.  Happy with a red Santa hat and nothing more imaginative.  Also, that voice!

[bkathi]

I love Ree - I find her genuine and her attitude is the best. Looking forward to this show coming back.

[Spunkygal]

My mute button gets a good workout when Ree speaks. Otherwise, I’m looking forward to the return of the show. The cookies on the trailer look awesome.

[all4mom2]

I do like this show, despite it being Ree-heavy.  I like Eddie, the guest judge, most of the contestants, and just really love watching Christmas cookies being created!

[Guest]

I liked both winners and thought they were well-deserved outcomes. Abby's final self-portrait cookie in particular was ridiculously gorgeous.

I think the unintentional lesson learned from both hours was "don't get too cute - just follow the brief!" Because the guy who decided to make his fireplace mantel bigger than they asked and make it 360 degrees ran out of time to do all he wanted, and the woman who didn't make mug-shaped cookies but rather cookies with pictures of mugs got dinged for it (and for some sloppy work).

[Maverick]

 I didn't realize there were two new episodes.   One was enough, since it's still a bit early for Christmas overload.   Apparently there's no quest judges this season.  I feel like they need at one extra judge on this show but only if it's a real baker like Jason or Gesine and not the never heard of social media "stars" like like to drop in this show.

 The decorating on some of the puzzle cookies was really well done.   I thought the mouse story one was very professional looking (the other one eliminated in the first round not so much).

[all4mom2]

Is there a website where we can linger over photos of the cookies?  Because I didn't have enough time to take in all the amazing details of the various puzzle villages (I'm not sure they even showed the whole thing).  Less time showing them dumping ingredients into bowls and more time showcasing the finished product, please!  Also, I've always thought it was a shame to tear it apart to taste it; seems they could make a "side cookie" so the judges can sample the cookie and decoration flavors while leaving the masterpieces intact, but then maybe the bakes would be different on the two.  Agree with the decisions. 

Yay, Ashley!  Between this and wedding, she's having her best year ever.

Edited November 12, 2021 by all4mom2

[BookWitch]

Ree is irritating. I think she interrupts them on purpose to ruin their concentration. I don't like that. I  missed the first cookies but I saw the selfies. That's a lot of work for cookies that are going to be eaten. But I like watching them put it all together.

[Guest]

27 minutes ago, BookWitch said:

Ree is irritating. I think she interrupts them on purpose to ruin their concentration. I don't like that. I  missed the first cookies but I saw the selfies. That's a lot of work for cookies that are going to be eaten. But I like watching them put it all together.

Eddie was doing his fair share of interfering by trying to instigate trash talk and then being all "ohhhhhh!!!" when someone took the bait, which I felt was more of an intentional distraction than anything Ree was doing. I like Eddie, but I could have done without that.

[all4mom2]

I don't understand why the hosts are also the judges this season.  But whatever!

[libgirl2]

8 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

I liked both winners and thought they were well-deserved outcomes. Abby's final self-portrait cookie in particular was ridiculously gorgeous.

I think the unintentional lesson learned from both hours was "don't get too cute - just follow the brief!" Because the guy who decided to make his fireplace mantel bigger than they asked and make it 360 degrees ran out of time to do all he wanted, and the woman who didn't make mug-shaped cookies but rather cookies with pictures of mugs got dinged for it (and for some sloppy work).

I'm not a baker but I think I could have done better. Those were really sloppy. 

3 hours ago, all4mom2 said:

I don't understand why the hosts are also the judges this season.  But whatever!

I missed having judges. It felt "off" 

[Grizzly]

I think Eddie is very good at this. I don't know why he didn't go into broadcasting after football since he's a natural in front of the camera. I don't dislike Ree but she comes across as so awkward. Maybe it's the fact that she's not the one baking, she doesn't seem to know what to do with herself or to say.

The cookies were awesome. Always root for the people who make chocolate.

[all4mom2]

I like Eddie, too.  It would be Ree-ly boring without him!

Edited November 12, 2021 by all4mom2

[mlp]

I enjoy this show and I'm glad it's back although it seems too early.  I do miss the judges but I thought Eddie and Ree did fine carrying it off despite Covid restrictions.  

I say this every year but ........................ I wish they'd let them make their doughs and refrigerate them the night before.  Watching the contestants mix up cookie batter is the least interesting thing in the show and the bakers would produce better results if they could concentrate on decorating  - which is more interesting to watch.

Eddie looks really cute in a beret.

[all4mom2]

22 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

I'm not a baker but I think I could have done better. Those were really sloppy.  

I'm surprised no one thought of making the cookie convex (like some did with the yule log), like a real half a mug; don't tell me I'm more creative than these people!

[mojoween]

Has Eddie always worn glasses?  He’s so damned handsome.

Ashlee’s cookies would have had to taste like hot buttered ass for her to lose, because that fireplace was gorgeous.  She writes better with icing than most people do with a pen.

In the second ep all of the bakers but Abby could have been bounced after the first bake, because none of them were far and away better than the others. It feels like the girl with the broken mug handles got through because her icing was so very well done, and Karen’s was the hottest of messes and Alessandro was too samesies.

[mlp]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

Has Eddie always worn glasses?  He’s so damned handsome.

 It feels like the girl with the broken mug handles .................

I'd never seen him in glasses before.  He looks good with and without them.

I thought that bit with the mug handles was made for TV questionable.  Naturally, the weight of the cookie was going to break it when it was picked up by its smallest part.  I don't think most people would have picked it up that way, especially after the first one broke.

[HyeChaps]

Contestants with long hair should pull it back!  

[MerBearHou]

5 hours ago, HyeChaps said:

Contestants with long hair should pull it back!  

Totally agree.  The long black hair was really bugging me, even though her bakes were fantastic (maybe named Abby??).  Pull that hair back, baker!!

Eddie looks GREAT in those glasses.  Love him.

Edited November 14, 2021 by MerBearHou
Clarifying: it was the hair hanging down that was bugging me, not the actual baker

[GaT]

I hate that all these baking shows are now being broadcast in 2 hour blocks. I end up FF-ing through a lot of them because 2 hours is too much.

[CheshireCat]

5 hours ago, HyeChaps said:

Contestants with long hair should pull it back!  

I missed the show but who bakes with long hair that isn't pulled back? Don't they feel that it gets in the way all the time? I know I do. (Was it a home baker? Wouldn't they know that they should pull it back otherwise? And if it was a home baker, I sure wouldn't order from them.)

[Guest]

I'm willing to bet there are styling issues on shows like this that cause people with long hair to wear it loose. As in, they are told to wear it that way.

[CheshireCat]

Finally managed to watch the episodes. I really don't know what Eddie's issue with the cookie showing was. I don't think you noticed it all that much.

That Penguin village was CUTE! I also liked Ashlee's village. It was really well executed.

I liked the way Eddie commented on the huge crack in the chimney but I think those structural issues should be taken into account. Any baker should have a feeling for what's doable in what amount of time and how large a cookie could be, how long it takes to cool etc and a home baker should develop a feel for it, too. If I were a judge, I'd deduct points when those structural issues arise because it shows a miscalculation that I definitely don't expect from a professional baker.

I agree that Ashlee's mantle looked a bit unfinished on top but it definitely was the best-looking. How can they not taste any clove and then think it's too much? That makes no sense. But does Ashlee have to call everything sugar cookie something? The majority of cookies are, by definition, a sugar cookie.

Also, something that occured to me in this episode: how can they make actual gingerbread on the show? Actual gingerbread needs to rest for a minimum of 4 hours but ideally 24 hours or longer. My grandma's recipe which must be from the early 20th century even calls for leaving the dough for 8 days before baking it.
I don't even know if you can use gingerbread without a chilling period as you warm up sugar and honey (and maybe butter depending on the recipe) and the dough is warm when you prepare it. Weirdly enough, it's not sticky but it's also not a roll-out consistency. It gets that only once it's cooled down.

Moving on to the next episode.

There clearly was not enough time for mug cookies. All of the cookies looked sloppy. Karen's just looked the most sloppy but her icing was way too thick. That said, it annoys me when Eddie comments on those things. How many cookies has he iced in his life and how many cookies has he iced in the little time that the bakers have to ice the cookies?

Duh - physics, Eddie. If you take a cookie by the smallest piece, it's bound to break no matter how well the cookie was baked. The larger part is heavy anyway and the royal icing makes it even heavier. I think taking it by the handle after the first cookie broke was the most disrespectful thing he could have done. Unless it's a solid shape, (most) cookies are fragile. That's just the way it is. (And, for me, the difference to the fireplace issue is that I would have put something underneath the fireplace part that it could have rested on until I stood them up. The cookie was heavy, it likely would have broken one way or another).

That said, the incident confirmed my suspicion. You could tell that the icing had merely crusted over around the mouth of the gingerbread men. In other words, they're tasting still wet icing. I think it's okay to lick off a spoon occasionally but I wouldn't want mouthful after mouthful of it.

I thought Salma's cookies were boring. At the very least, they were very simple and still not all that well executed. I probably would have sent her home instead of Alessandro. Alessandro's and her cookies were about on the same level where neatness is concerned but Alessandro had a lot more elements that he had incorporated.

Abby has great skills. My biggest issue is that what she did was not a portrait but I'm okay with her win.

I also liked Salma's cookie and I can't really say that I disliked Crystal's because it was a self-portrait and they're all about how you see yourself. For that reason, I think I would have been okay with any of them winning.

 

[Rammchick]

7 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

Also, something that occured to me in this episode: how can they make actual gingerbread on the show? Actual gingerbread needs to rest for a minimum of 4 hours but ideally 24 hours or longer. My grandma's recipe which must be from the early 20th century even calls for leaving the dough for 8 days before baking it.
I don't even know if you can use gingerbread without a chilling period as you warm up sugar and honey (and maybe butter depending on the recipe) and the dough is warm when you prepare it. Weirdly enough, it's not sticky but it's also not a roll-out consistency. It gets that only once it's cooled down.

What we don't know is if there was time allotted for resting and then it was edited out.  It's clear that other baking shows that require big structures and a lot of specific tools such as molds, etc. have a period where the bakers get the brief, engineer it, then return to bake the cake.  Couldn't it be possible that they made the gingerbread dough, then had 4 or more hours for it to rest before they used it?

[CheshireCat]

4 hours ago, Rammchick said:

What we don't know is if there was time allotted for resting and then it was edited out.  It's clear that other baking shows that require big structures and a lot of specific tools such as molds, etc. have a period where the bakers get the brief, engineer it, then return to bake the cake.  Couldn't it be possible that they made the gingerbread dough, then had 4 or more hours for it to rest before they used it?

Do they start baking before the baking officially starts on Cookie Challenge? It would of be possible, of course, I was simply never under the impression. But I think even American recipes call for a couple of hours in the fridge, so you may be right.

 

[Rammchick]

17 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

Do they start baking before the baking officially starts on Cookie Challenge? It would of be possible, of course, I was simply never under the impression. But I think even American recipes call for a couple of hours in the fridge, so you may be right.

 

We do typically see them make the dough so that could definitely be filmed ahead of time, then the dough rests, and then the competition actually starts.

[all4mom2]

Last night's show... 

I could NOT believe the woman who made the ridiculously amateurish house with the childish-looking piping and disproportionate and incomplete wreath that looked more like a vine missing the majority of its leaves (Home/Camping) made it to the final, and the woman who made the charming and attractive "Dashing/Strolling" pieces didn't because hers were incomplete; what?  Thank goodness she didn't win!

Are Ree and Eddie the only hosts now just so they can make whatever crazy calls they want to?

Also couldn't believe Ree was so enthused about the "Witchmas" TLC nail girl on the rerun that preceded the new show when she's criticized other bakers for not sticking to an undiluted Christmas theme (as I recall, saying one entry looked more like a baby shower cookie).  Guess those reality TV stars gotta stick together!

Who's tuning in to her acting debut on "Candy Coated Christmas" tonight on Discovery+?

Edited November 19, 2021 by all4mom2

[all4mom2]

On 11/17/2021 at 7:11 AM, Rammchick said:

We do typically see them make the dough so that could definitely be filmed ahead of time, then the dough rests, and then the competition actually starts.

I wish they'd cut out the dough-making and linger longer on the entrants' intro, including their cookies; I always have to pause in order to see them as they flash by!

[mlp]

On 11/16/2021 at 3:14 PM, CheshireCat said:

What we don't know is if there was time allotted for resting and then it was edited out.

I think there must be intervals that are edited out.  We very often see someone take their cookies out of the oven and then begin decorating right away and nothing melts.  I think they all finish baking and then go to lunch while the cookies cool.

We see the same kind of thing on other shows.  I can't count the times I've seen someone take a supposedly hot pan or cookie sheet out of an oven and then the cook begins working with whatever immediately.  On the Thanksgiving show a few days ago, the one with Anne Burrell and Carson Kressley, a woman took a pan with a turkey out of the oven with her bare hands.  It was so obvious that she was handling it without potholders of any kind that I wondered why editing didn't catch that.

[libgirl2]

Am I the only one who thought that the cookie presents on the winner's board game looked pepto pink?

[CheshireCat]

@all4mom2 I agree. I thought for sure the last two who they showed/judged would go home and was surprised that they didn't.

I loved the sugar plum/salty gnome and neatly hung/messily flung cookies. The ideas and execution were great! The dashing through the snow and beach Santa were cute was well.

The final challenge was too big of a task for the little time that they had. There is no way that neat execution would be possible with all that they had to do.

That said, I thought the gingerbread men board pieces and the board pieces of the baker who won looked adorable! I also loved the concept of her game and thought it was the best. Too bad she didn't have room to make the pathway longer. She also thought of putting a small cookie underneath the spinning arrow. It's what the other baker was lacking and why her arrow wouldn't spin. I'm with Ree, the isomalt lake was a great idea. I wish she had had tinted it a little blue though.
As far as her gifts are concerned, were they even iced or did she just pipe bows on them?

The baker who made the gingerbread men pieces had icing that was way too thin for the pieces to stand up in such a short amount of time. I get that she didn't take the time to make another icing consistency because she hardly had time anyway but she didn't need to be surprised that they wouldn't stand up.

I think the baker with the marshmallow snowman should have had more obstacles like the pile of snow. I think it was the only one, wasn't it? I liked her night sky game board although, I'm not sure if a winterscape during daylight might have been more suitable.
While I would have liked to see actual snowman pieces, the marshmallows were a cute idea.

 

[all4mom2]

You'd think they'd ALL have a basic grasp of what to use for glue, knowing the nature of these challenges.  They all seem to use different substances or techniques -- and not all "stick," so to speak!  Felt so bad for the one guy whose oven fell completely apart.  I agree that the game pieces were the best part of the challenge (I personally liked the Pepto Bismal board).  Did they get a heads-up for that one?  Surprised they came up with three different games that really worked.

I usually like the contestants, but a few were quite obnoxious last night, including the reruns; the aforementioned Witchmas "inventor," the one who mentioned that she was German about every two minutes, and the blonde from the family bakery who greedily grabbed the coffee and yammered about her grandfather...

I get that "family stories" appeal to Ree and they're all about that, but they get a bit treacly at times!  If TCC is reading here, PLEASE bring back the guest judges...

Looking forward to lots more pretty cookies and meltdowns in the coming weeks.

[CheshireCat]

30 minutes ago, all4mom2 said:

You'd think they'd ALL have a basic grasp of what to use for glue, knowing the nature of these challenges.  They all seem to use different substances or techniques -- and not all "stick," so to speak!  Felt so bad for the one guy whose oven fell completely apart.

Didn't watch the reruns but I remember that.

I was surprised that the sugar/isomalt didn't set up more quickly. That said, I'd always use really thick royal icing. Yes, if it's too thick pieces won't stick either but to me, it seems as if it's the most fool proof method. Chocolate is just a no for me because it takes too long and I'd be too afraid to burn myself while rushing to get it done with sugar. Plus, when you use it to glue pieces together, it always sticks to the side and looks somewhat messy. You can wipe off royal icing or color it or decorate it so that it looks like it's part of the piece.

[all4mom2]

8 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

Didn't watch the reruns but I remember that.

I was surprised that the sugar/isomalt didn't set up more quickly. That said, I'd always use really thick royal icing. Yes, if it's too thick pieces won't stick either but to me, it seems as if it's the most fool proof method. Chocolate is just a no for me because it takes too long and I'd be too afraid to burn myself while rushing to get it done with sugar. Plus, when you use it to glue pieces together, it always sticks to the side and looks somewhat messy. You can wipe off royal icing or color it or decorate it so that it looks like it's part of the piece.

This guy used boiling caramel (?), and burned his fingers, besides!  Seems there would be a tried-and-true method all would adhere to when time is this short...

[CrazyInAlabama]

I really like Eddie, and Ree.     

I remember the Witchmas episode, and it's the only time I was hoping someone wouldn't win, and it was the reason I didn't watch her reality show too.   For someone who claims she doesn't like being on camera, since she's been on at least two FN shows, and Unpolished for a couple of seasons with her family, I'm guessing she got over being camera shy. 

 

Edited November 23, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[mojoween]

19 hours ago, all4mom2 said:

I could NOT believe the woman who made the ridiculously amateurish house with the childish-looking piping and disproportionate and incomplete wreath that looked more like a vine missing the majority of its leaves (Home/Camping) made it to the final, and the woman who made the charming and attractive "Dashing/Strolling" pieces didn't because hers were incomplete; what?  Thank goodness she didn't win!

It’s so funny, I was the complete opposite.  Briony (sp?) obviously ran out of time with what she wanted to do with her cute wreaths, but I loved her house and camper.  Kaitlyn spent so much time talking about her colors that she left one cookie half done and Santa in the snow looked really weird.

Kelsey’s game board was not in any way done as well as Jessica and Briony’s were, I wonder if her flavor was what set her apart.

[all4mom2]

I didn't see a half-done cookie?  She got them finished, although they weren't all that polished.

 

[mojoween]

The design of what she ended up icing on “Dashing through the Snow” was half of what she was originally going to do, that’s all I meant.

[Taeolas]

On 11/13/2021 at 3:43 PM, mojoween said:

Has Eddie always worn glasses?  He’s so damned handsome.

 

He does look good in glasses, but I suspect Production doesn't know what to do with them. He's getting a lot of blue light reflections from them when he's at some of the stations. 

Watching some of the previews for some of the other shows, I saw Ron Ben-Israel also had some blue reflections (he seems to have bifocals even) on his glasses occasionally. But Carla's glasses seemed to be out of range of the lights. 

[Spunkygal]

One thing’s for sure—when Eddie’s on camera, I’m for damn sure not looking at his glasses! 

[kj4ever]

On 11/19/2021 at 8:15 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I really like Eddie, and Ree.     

I remember the Witchmas episode, and it's the only time I was hoping someone wouldn't win, and it was the reason I didn't watch her reality show too.   

 

Her, and that lady Julia.  OMG she was about the biggest A-Hole they've ever had on this show.  She showed up on Holiday Baking Championship afterwards and I couldn't wait for her to get voted off even though she acted slightly better on that show.

[all4mom2]

1 hour ago, kj4ever said:

Her, and that lady Julia.  OMG she was about the biggest A-Hole they've ever had on this show.  She showed up on Holiday Baking Championship afterwards and I couldn't wait for her to get voted off even though she acted slightly better on that show.

Remind me who Julia was; what were her cookies?  With all the reruns they're playing from different seasons, they're all running together!