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Lisa Fick of Hills is one of the 10 “Master Bakers” selected during the “Let’s Get Ready to Crumble” contest through the Luverne Area Chamber during Luverne’s recent Winterfest celebration.
Five local restaurants sponsored and selected five adult and five youth Master Bakers from the 26 adult and 16 youth entries in the cookie contest.
Lisa earned Master Baker distinction for her original “Fabulous Andes Mint Cookie” recipe.
“I went off tons of recipes and tweaked it like using cornstarch to make a soft cookie,” she said.
The softness and the mint are what appealed to the tastebuds of Leroy Austin, owner of Vinnie’s Dang Fine Dine of Luverne. Austin selected Lisa’s cookie as the cafe’s top choice.
He also selected Lily Fick’s (daughter of Lisa and Dean) contest entry as the top youth cookie from his business.
Lily, 9, made lemon cookies in which she added lemon zest and lemon extract to give a traditional sugar cookie recipe added flavor.
Austin noticed the lemon because “something different” and “amazing flavor” were two of the criteria he wanted to see in the winning cookie.
Lisa said Lily likes to spend time with her in the kitchen making various desserts. Her niece, Holly Fick, also spends time with the two of them baking cookies. Holly’s s’more cookies were chosen as a youth winner by Bluestem Catering Co. of Luverne.
The threesome carry on a passion started by Lisa’s mom, Joan Schaffer, a retired home economics teacher.
“I was probably the only one of my (two) siblings who was even interested in cooking and baking,” Lisa said. “My mom taught me everything I know.”
Now as a busy mother of four and a psychiatric nurse in Sioux Falls, Lisa has “graduated” from her mom’s kitchen classroom and is experimenting with recipes and tweaking the ingredients for her own and her family’s palates.
She thought entering a cookie contest would be a fun activity.
“I saw a flyer for the contest at the Hidden Hills Cafe in Hills,” Lisa said.
“I immediately thought that would be something fun — baking with family has always been something that brings me joy and creates wonderful memories.”
Lisa’s posted the mint cookie recipe on her food blog, fourmorebites, which she started three years ago when she became obsessed with freezer meal planning.
Her brother, Greg Schaffer, who edits the posts, encouraged her to share her passion for cooking and baking with others.
“I was like ‘I can’t do that’, ‘I don’t know how to make a website,’” she recalled.
Her brother told her, like making changes to a recipe, she’ll figure it out.
In addition to Lisa, Holly, and Lily Fick, seven other cookie entrants earned Master Baker awards from sponsoring Luverne businesses.
The adult category includes Kacee Knap, Luverne, “Ultimate Peanut Butter Cookie,” 75 Diner; Brenda Staeffler, Valley Springs, South Dakota, “Pfeffernusse Cookie,” Bluestem Catering; Susan Schneekloth, Luverne, “Chocolate Turtle Thumbprint Cookie,” Wild Flower Coffee Boutique; and Jean Leslie, Luverne, “Nutcracker Cookie,” Sterling’s Cafe and Grill.
Youth category winners are Brooklynn Gillette, Luverne, “Funfetti Cake Cookie,” 75 Diner; Hazel Sailor, Luverne, “Hot Cocoa Cookie,” Wild Flower Coffee Boutique; and Aiden Mayeraan, Luverne, “Chocolate Rolo Stuffed Cookie,” Sterling’s Cafe and Grille.