Skip navigation
sponsored by 

Just dough it! Pillsbury Bake-Off’s winning cookies

The original, delicious recipe that captured the $1 million grand prize

Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies, the winning recipe of the Pillsbury Bake-Off.
Pillsbury
Video
  A million-dollar cookie recipe
April 17: TODAY guest Carolyn Gurtz is one smart cookie: Her recipe for double-delight peanut butter cookies won the $1 million grand prize in the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest.

Today Show Kitchen

  Recipes from TODAY
Search for recipes featured on TODAY
Slideshow
Image: Chef Rocco DiSpirito
  Appetite for perfection
From Rachael Ray to Rocco DiSpirito, these celebrity chefs know how to turn up the heat in the kitchen.

more photos

  
  Clickable: Creative gifts to satisfy food lovers
Nov. 23: Forget pots and pans. Sara Haines enlists the help of lifestyle expert Maggie Gallant to find gifts that’ll make foodies say, “Mmm!”

TODAY
updated 8:33 p.m. ET April 17, 2008

Persistence paid off for Carolyn Gurtz when she beat out 99 other hopeful home chefs to bag a cool million bucks in the 43rd Pillsbury Bake-Off contest. “I’ve been entering for almost 15 years,” she told TODAY’s Lester Holt. “This was my lucky year.”

Carolyn wowed the judges with the simplicity and taste of her Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies, which one judge proclaimed “a new twist on an old classic.” Her secret? “The creamy center,” she explained. “When you taste it, it’s like, ‘wow, this is a surprise!’”

In TODAY’s Kitchen, Carolyn demonstrated the proper technique to Lester and Maria Menounos, which entails wrapping balls of peanut butter “about the size of a quarter” in Pillsbury cookie dough, rolling them in a ball, dipping them in peanut mixture, and flattening them with the bottom of a drinking glass.

As for the $1 million prize, “my husband’s a financial planner, so I said I give him some... but not all of it,” Carolyn said. “I know I’ll find something I want too!”

Discover the double-delightful secret of Carolyn’s cookies for yourself, as well as another contestant’s unique Toffee-Banana Brownies.


Double-delight peanut butter cookies
Carolyn Gurtz, Pillsbury Bake-Off grand prize winner

24 cookies

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup Fisher® Dry Roasted Peanuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup Domino® or C&H® Granulated Sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup JIF® Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Domino® or C&H® Confectioners Powdered Sugar
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® Create ‘n Bake® refrigerated peanut butter cookies, well chilled

Recipe continues below ↓
advertisement


DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 375° F.

In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside. In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 (1-inch) balls.

Cut roll of cookie dough into 12 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls. Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls.

On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray; press into remaining peanut mixture.

Flatten each ball to 1/4-inch thickness with bottom of glass. Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough.

Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered.

TIPS

1 Serving: Calories 150 (Calories from Fat 70); Total Fat 7g (Saturated Fat 1 1/2g, Trans Fat 1/2g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 125mg; Total Carbohydrate 17g (Dietary Fiber 0g, Sugars 11g); Protein 3g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 0%; Iron 2% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1

MANAGE YOUR RECIPES


Toffee-banana brownies
Gwen Beauchamp, Pillsbury Bake-Off contestant

24 brownies

INGREDIENTS

1 box (19.5 oz) Pillsbury® Traditional Fudge Brownie Mix
1/2 cup CRISCO® Pure Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup water
3 Eggland’s Best eggs
1 1/2 cups toffee bits
1 cup Fisher® Macadamia Nuts, chopped
2 firm ripe medium bananas, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (2 cups)
1/3 cup SMUCKER'S Caramel Ice Cream Topping

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 350° F. Generously spray 13 x 9-inch pan with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray.

In medium bowl, stir brownie mix, oil, water and eggs 50 strokes with spoon. Add 1 cup of the toffee bits, the nuts and bananas; stir just until well blended. Pour into pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup toffee bits over top.

Bake 38 to 48 minutes or until center is set when lightly touched, top is slightly dry and edges just start to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely, about 2 hours. For brownies, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. To serve, drizzle each brownie with caramel topping. Cover and refrigerate any remaining brownies.

MANAGE YOUR RECIPES



For more unique and delicious recipes, visit Pillsbury's Bake-Off Contest site.

© 2009 MSNBC Interactive.  Reprints

Sponsored links

Resource guide