CookiePalooza 2026

You must have fun. Bring your smile, dress festively, embrace the spirit of the baking season!  Spread joy!  Dance like everybody is watching *Lindy's motto :) 

CookiePalooza:  An annual celebratory gathering of bakers and those who appreciate the art of baking and enjoy the collective creativity and exploration of cookies that push the flavor, design, time and creativity limits. 

We encourage bakers baking outside the cookie jar.  We want new and different and to be inspired and awed!   (Also we can't keep making the same cookies year after  year because then this would be b.o.r.i.n.g. and 10 different versions of the same cookie doesn't make for a palooza!)

CookiePalooza is fun!   It’s our chance to sample cookies, exchange recipes and highlight the secret baking skills of our coworkers.

We encourage you to break out your grandma's recipes, scour the family archives in search of recipes from generations ago, get creative, be inspired and have an excuse to make something you saw in a cookbook, baking website, Instagram, Pinterest or (eek) Tik Tok.

This event is designed to be inclusive of those who want to participate but there are space limitations and careful balance of bakers and eaters.  All eaters=no cookies.  CookiePalooza is an event to celebrate the art of baking with a healthy dose of competition.

CookiePalooza has a capacity of 60 attendees. The list of invited attendees is determined by the following factors:

• Past 'Palooza participation (baker over eaters)

• Current employment (floors 5, 6, 7) and those with prior employment on 5, 6, 7

But invitations are non-transferrable.

The deadline for signing up is November 15.

❎

We'd love to have you, come join the fun,

But our guest list is limited, just sixty, not one more run!

So RSVP quickly, November 15 is too late,

And secure your spot at this festive date! 

Invitations are non-transferrable.  

Invitations are sent to invitees via email. Invitees sign up and/or pay up to confirm their participation.  If there are additional spots available, I am happy to extend an invitation to someone (bakers preferred).  The sooner people sign up/pay, the easier it is for me to extend more invites to those who are interested.

This event is designed to be inclusive of those who want to participate but there are space limitations and careful balance of bakers and eaters.  

I encourage others to start their own CookiePalooza tradition and would be happy to offer advice. In fact, there is an Anacortes, Washington CookiePalooza that started in 2023.

Bakers enter their cookies into one of each category:

• Best Tasting

• Best Looking

• Most Creative

• Judge's Choice

• Best Special Ingredient Cookie- "Cesame", Sesame 

• Best Bar/Non Cookie

Cash or Zelle or Venmo https://venmo.com/u/nolatink

Pay by November 15 to secure your spot.

No.  Some self-confessed non-bakers choose to participate by  signing up as eaters and contributing $ 11

There are many ways to participate.   You can still bake and you don't even have to bake cookies.  There is a bar/non cookie category for those that don't want to slice, scoop, drop or squeeze dough.  

Non bakers can participate by signing up and paying  $ 11 by the November 15 deadline.

None. Zero. Zilch. Nada. 

CookiePalooza is not a cookie exchange.  

I try to break even!

Funds are used to purchase the napkins, tablecloths, drinks, trophies, etc. We need a sponsor.

If you are baking a cookie and entering it into a category for judging, you must bring 36 cookies.  If you are entering the non-cookie category, you must bring 36 slides, pieces, morsels, nuggets of your creation.

If you are entering your cookie into 2 categories, you must bring 72 cookies.

You pack those cookies up and bring them to CookiePalooza where you will put them on a table and proudly display them.  You will not be alone.  It is these failures where the heartbreak and humor lives. We embrace it.

We are in our Errors Era.

She isn't coming to CookiePalooza but she is single-handedly getting a whole new generation of young bakers motivated to sing, dance, roll, ice and sling cookie dough.

A good problem to have, isn't it?

Based on their reputation for cookie consumption, lactose tolerance, and ability to eat up to 30 cookies in one sitting. Judges were also selected for their enthusiasm for baked goods.  It is an honor, a challenge and a responsibility.

After 10 years a few things are pretty evident.....

Our judges (SLH, LE & HF) are able to destroy a plate of cookies with enthusiasm. They not only dress the part, take their responsibility seriously, remain unbiased in the face of pressure from their own departments, they are able to detect the complexities of Vietnamese vs. Ceylon cinnamon and proper crumb textures with the necessary humor and joy to make this annual event all that it is!

They greet their guest judge each year with the seriousness, intensity, and coaching needed for the task ahead. 

And we thank them for their continued service.

This has yet to be determined.  Maybe.  This is the ELEVENTH year. It’s all fun and games until someone shows up with Hydrox.

Trophies are awarded by the judges after careful deliberation. Judges sample each cookie, consult among themselves (judges doing judgey things) and decide a winner for each category.  The judges are blindly judging the cookies that appear before them without any influence or knowledge of who baked the cookie. 

Your name does not appear on your cookie selection-only the name of your cookie.  You will name your cookie when you submit your cookie to your category.  So no, it can't be "Treva's Double Chocolate Chip Delights" but it can be "Super Deluxe Double Chocolate Chip Delights" so the names are unique for each baker and each cookie. 

 The judges will call out the cookie name and if it is your cookie, you will shriek and jump for joy and go collect your trophy!  Others will clap!  Laughter! Joy! Excitement!

Sometimes the judges will comment about cookies that were contenders but didn't quite make it to # 1.  Melanie is in charge of moderating these comments and sharing everyone's  "inside thoughts" on your behalf.

Lindy is our "Susan Lucci"  of CookiePalooza.  We are all on Team Lindy.  

Awwww. thanks for asking.  You can be a good CookiePalooza citizen by offering some help with set-up or clean-up or assisting frazzled and tired bakers with their cookie decanting and set-up.  Jump on in and help.   Sit with new people you don't know. Offer to refresh beverages. Dress like an Elf (CC!). 

Other things include while sampling your cookies realize your criticism of a particular cookie may be a bit insulting to the bakers amongst you who gave it their best shot. Bakers have to fight the kitchen elements (humidity, electricity, temperature, gas, dishwashers, ovens, grocery stores, parking lots, Instagram, family pets (ask PD!) yet we persevere.  We all have different tastes. Show the love. See rule # 1. 

(A noted exception: Melanie's blue cheese cookie and perhaps Ashley's Satsuma grits cookie. You can be very vocal about what these taste like.)

Cookies will be labeled with the name of the cookie. Eat carefully if you have an aversion to certain ingredients (but this is half the fun, isn’t it?)

We ask bakers to label their cookies to identify things you might not want to eat.  This is a challenging environment for those with nut allergies and gluten allergies. We can do our best to assist with dietary restrictions but participation comes with some risks.   

Go right ahead. Just don't violate rule # 1.

Sesame Street!  Find your baking inspiration from Sesame Street.   The special ingredient is SESAME!