Accidental recipe a success

By Natalie Lariccia

news@vindy.com

NEWTON FALLS

Susan Spicko isn’t one to quit easily, especially when it comes to her favorite hobbies — cooking, baking and experimenting with recipes.

With a dash of luck, a pinch of patience and a heaping scoop of determination, Spicko created her recipe for success, landing a spot as one of the 100 finalists in the 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off contest April 11-13 in Orlando, Fla.

As part of the competition, the Newton Falls resident will participate with the other 99 finalists by preparing her Blueberry Muffin Tops recipe in a mini-kitchen at the Waldorf-Astoria Orlando and Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Hotel.

A panel of food experts will conduct the final judging, and winners will be announced during an awards ceremony.

“I’m actually still pinching myself. It’s been basically doing a lot of jumping up and down and acting like a kid ... I’m still trying to get this to sink in,” Spicko said.

Securing a spot in this prestigious baking contest was no easy feat for Spicko, 50, an employee at her family-owned Shop ‘N Save in Newton Falls.

The Pillsbury contest originated in 1949, with the first competition at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City. The contest was conducted annually from 1949 to 1978, when it switched to an every-other-year schedule.

The grand-prize winner will receive a $1 million cash prize and a General Electric oven range and $7,000 in additional General Electric kitchen appliances.

Three remaining recipe category winners will each receive a $5,000 cash prize and a General Electric oven range.

Spicko, an avid baker for years, said she entered the Pillsbury contest three other times before finally landing a contestant spot in this year’s contest. This Pillsbury contest is the first time she’s ever received recognition in a cooking contest.

Contestants entered original recipes under four categories, “Breakfast and Brunches,” “Entertaining Appetizers,” “Dinner Made Easy” and “Sweet Treats.”

As part of the contest guidelines, contestants recipes had to use two or more eligible Pillsbury products or ingredients from a list of eligible Pillsbury and other brand-name food products.

For this year’s contest Spicko submitted 11 different recipes under different categories, and her Blueberry Muffin Tops recipe — under the “Breakfast and Brunches” category — was selected as a finalist recipe by contest food professionals.

The recipe features four eligible ingredients and products, including PillsburySRTm refrigerated sugar cookie dough, Pillsbury BestSRTm all-purpose flour, Land-O-LakesSRTm butter and Eggland’s BestSRTm eggs.

Spicko said she created the Blueberry Muffin Tops recipe by accident. Her original intentions were to create a recipe with a shortcake base, but she decided to go with the muffin-themed recipe because the batter had a lighter, fluffier and muffin-like texture.

“The thing about this recipe to me is that it really tastes like it’s made from scratch, but anyone can do it. It tastes homemade to me ... I’m real proud of this one,” she said.

The deadline for contest submission was in April 2009, and it wasn’t until late August 2009 that she got the call from a contest representative stating that she was a finalist. Although Spicko could barely believe she was a finalist, she said she was extremely flattered and honored to receive the recognition.

“I could not believe it. I could not believe my ears. I was so excited and so in disbelief that I could barely remember the call. It was such a surprise. A real big shock,” she said.

But Spicko is quick to mention that her success probably couldn’t have been possible without the support and patience from Cliff Evans, her “personal taste tester” and boyfriend of nearly 30 years.

“I’m a walking, talking taste tester. I’ve tasted everything that she’s ever made,” said Evans, a special agent in-charge of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigations Youngstown office.

“I’m impressed with her hard work, effort and dedication. It’s been a really great personal triumph for her. I’m really, really proud of her. I’ve witnessed this, and it’s been hard work. It’s trial-and-error. You don’t know when you have the winning project. You just have to guess ... I’m truly, truly impressed,” Evans said.

Spicko, meanwhile, says she feels like she’s already a big winner and has an abundance of support from family, friends and the Newton Falls community.

As one of the 100 finalists, she has already won the trip to the Orlando event that includes airfare, lodging and meals, and a General Electric microwave oven.

“I met my goal. The belief that you could win this [the grand prize] is almost too much to ask. It’s really touching and it’s really taken me by surprise. I get to share it with the community,” she said.

SUSAN Spicko’s BLUEBERRY MUFFIN TOPS

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Makes: 28 muffin tops

1roll (16.5 ounces) Pillsbury Æ refrigerated sugar cookies

11‚Ñ4cups Pillsbury Best Æ all- purpose flour

1‚Ñ4cup sugar

2tablespoons Land O Lakes Æ butter

1‚Ñ2teaspoon baking powder

1‚Ñ4teaspoon baking soda

1package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1Eggland’s Best Æ egg

1‚Ñ3cup milk

2-3 teaspoons grated lemon peel

2tablespoons lemon juice

11‚Ñ4cups fresh or frozen (thawed) blueberries

Let cookie dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes to soften. Meanwhile, heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper. In small bowl, mix 1‚Ñ4 cup of the flour, sugar and butter with fork until crumbly; set aside to use for topping. In another small bowl, mix remaining 1 cup flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside.

In medium bowl, beat dough and cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. On low speed, beat in egg, milk, lemon peel and lemon juice until well blended. Stir in flour mixture just until combined (do not overmix; mixture will be a thick batter). Carefully fold in blueberries. (If using thawed berries, rinse and pat dry with paper towel before adding.)

Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls 1 to 2 inches apart onto cookie sheets, using rubber spatula to scrape batter from tablespoon. Bake 3 minutes; remove from oven. Sprinkle each muffin top with about 1 teaspoon crumb topping; immediately return to oven.

Bake 16 to 20 minutes longer or just until edges begin to brown. Cool on cookie sheets 2 to 3 minutes before removing to cooling racks. Serve warm or cool.