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You know that familiar sound: “Thwap. Thwap. Thwap. POP!” Pillsbury’s iconic canned biscuits and crescent rolls still make me jump, and I have opened a lot of those cans.
The 2024 Pillsbury Bake-Off (PBO) was recently announced and it pains me to say it, but I am no longer eligible to enter. If you are unfamiliar with the PBO, it started back in 1949 and was a really big deal. This is the contest that brought many iconic recipes to the table, such as “Tunnel of Fudge Bundt Cake,” “Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars,” and my family’s favorite, “Starlight Mint Surprise Cookies,” which my grandma made every Christmas.
It wasn’t until I started entering the PBO that I learned the origin of those cookies. The original grand prize was $50,000, which was the equivalent to more than $600,000 today.
I was delighted when I discovered one of our area’s talented bakers was a past grand prize winner. The late Luella Maki of Ely won back in 1975 with her Sour Cream Apple Squares. It’s pretty special how her recipe lives on and is still being made across the country. These moist apple cake bars have rave reviews on the Pillsbury website.
From 1996-2014, the prize was a cool one million dollars. I first heard about the contest in 2010 from a coworker who couldn’t stop talking about it. She said she had been trying to make it to the PBO for years, and was gutted when she realized she forgot to include the serving size with her entry. For many contests, like the PBO, leaving off crucial details will get you disqualified.
It wasn’t until a couple years later that I started entering recipe contests, but when I did, I kept my eyes peeled for the next Bake-Off. The recipe contest website I subscribed to had a forum on the subject and I got a taste of Bake-Off fever.
Past finalists raved how the PBO treated these home bakers like stars. PBO used to have 100 finalists, and they would be flown to locations like Manhattan, Hollywood, Las Vegas, and Honolulu to compete in the contest. There would be fancy dinners, lots of gifts, and a grand march, complete with a dancing Doughboy. The televised event would be hosted by various big named celebrities such as Bob Barker, Alex Trebek, Oprah Winfrey, or Martha Stewart.
When the next contest rolled around, I was really broke, so I used my last few dollars to purchase a can of biscuits and a can of crescent rolls. I thought I could come up with something using the other ingredients I had on hand.
With a contest as big as the Bake-Off, you really want to have a solid recipe. I heard some say they made their recipe many times and had other friends and family make it so they could guarantee the recipe had consistent results. That wasn’t an option for me, and both recipes needed tweaking. I guesstimated the adjustments and sent in two recipes. Not surprisingly, I didn’t make the cut.
I spent the next year perfecting a recipe, which was a good idea since the PBO surprised everyone by going annual after having been biennial for many years. Unfortunately for me, my recipe had 12 ingredients. That year the contest limited entrants to seven ingredients or less. I can’t remember what I submitted, but I recall not being happy with it. Again, I did not make the cut.
The next year, I waited until the last day to enter. I learned the hard way that with big contests, many others also wait until the last day to enter. Websites can freeze with too much traffic and I could not get my recipe to go through. The next few years showed panic in my contesting circles. The contest had never gone more than two years without being held, and word was that it was over for good.
After 2014, the contest did not come back until 2017, with the winner being crowned in 2018. However, the contest was not quite as grand. The prize dropped back to the original $50,000. Only four finalists were to be selected. Sure, $50K is a nice check, but it pales in comparison to what it once was.
I begrudgingly threw in a blueberry cardamom galette recipe, only to later learn an almost identical recipe from another Minnesota baker that had been a finalist in a past PBO. When I searched the website before entering, I did not see that recipe because it was labelled with the Italian term “crostata” where I went with the French term “galette.” I hate to say it, but I was happy to not be chosen as a finalist.
With it being the 48th Bake-Off, there were guesses that Pillsbury was gearing up to make the 50th extra special. I decided to skip the 49th Bake-Off. The pandemic hit the following year. Everyone was staying home and baking. I was sure the next Bake-Off would be something to look forward to.
Then, the day I had been waiting for came. When I read the rules of the 50th PBO, I felt as though I had been punched in the gut. The prize was valued at $221, which included a T-Shirt, stickers, a spatula, and a few other Pillsbury branded items. I headed straight to social media, just to read the comments. As I expected, Pillsbury was ripped apart. The names were mostly those I was familiar with. Within the recipe contest sphere, there are around 200 seasoned “contesters” across the country and most of us have met through various cook-offs. Some can be a bit catty, but that is a story to continue another day.
The 2022 PBO kept bakers on their toes, by turning the contest into an “Ovens Off” contest. Entrants had to use other cooking methods such as skillets, crockpots, and air-fryers. I entered a crockpot truffle recipe that would have been lovely on a holiday cookie tray. The judges chose “Air Fryer Crescent Greek Nachos,” a busy weeknight meal, as the winner.
This year, the contest is specifically looking for holiday recipes. That would have been right up my alley, and perfect for my last recipe. It just wasn’t in the cards for me. Since the infamous pandemic PBO, the contest has gone back to $50K. It is still a great contest and worth entering, so instead of sharing a recipe this week, I want you to dream up something special. If you wish to enter, you have until September 30th. Entrants must submit a story to go along with their recipe.
Keep the story focused on home and family. I would recommend coming up with a recipe to add to a cookie tray or festive finger foods. Small treats and chicken recipes have done well in the past. Don’t label anything with a specific holiday name. You can instead label them with terms like “holiday” or “festive” so they can be marketed to a wider audience.
In some contests, using a specific holiday name gets you disqualified, or the company will rename your recipe. Search the website to ensure your recipe is unique. If you can come up with a hack for easy cleanup or a new way to use Pillsbury’s products, that may boost your chances. Proofread your recipe prior to submission.
Lastly, head to pillsbury.com for the rules and to get Luella’s recipe. Although I never achieved my goal of winning the PBO, the dream itself was grand, which I am thankful for. My hope was to use the money to self-publish cookbooks. As an unknown first time author, I learned it is very hard to get published the traditional way. Self-publishing is how most have to do it, but that can set you back tens of thousands of dollars, which I don’t have.
Thankfully, I recently received some great news. I was offered a cookbook deal. While I didn’t quite travel the road I planned, I’m getting there in the end.
