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WearEver presents the 2nd Annual AirBake Extreme Cookie Challenge!

Heather Cohen and Daughter Alexa of Owings Mills, Md. Win Grand Prize of $10,000 U.S. Savings Bond and Bragging Rights for Life!

WEST ORANGE, NJ (April 14, 2008) - The cookie-consuming public came out in droves today to be the official judges of the Second Annual AirBake® Extreme Cookie Challenge, hosted by Noah Gray-Cabey of "Heroes" at FAO Schwarz Toy Store in New York City. Hundreds of people sampled each of the one-of-a-kind cookies created by five mother/daughter finalist teams from around the country and cast their votes to declare Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cones the winner. Heather and her 6-year-old daughter Alexa from Owings Mills, Md. took home the Grand Prize of a $10,000 Savings Bond and bragging rights for life as the National Cookie Champions.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cones were inspired by Heather and Alexa's love of ice cream. Their cookie is reminiscent of the sweet frozen treat, made of a light crispy cookie, baked and shaped into a cone, then stuffed with an egg-free cookie-dough filling. Whipped cream and a cherry finish off their masterpiece!

The Cohen's creation was up against four other cookies: Zebra-Pop Cookies by Rebecca and Lindsey Ludens from Kalamazoo, Mich.; Not Your Mother's Oatmeal Cookies by Shannon and Jennifer Stovsky from Beachwood, OH; Ginger Snappin' Turtle Cookies by Leah and Dawsyn Lyon from Ada, Okla. and Extremely Chocolatey Beaver Huts by Jessie Grearson and Ellie Sapat from Falmouth, Maine. It was a difficult choice for visitors at FAO Schwartz, but tasters of all ages were up to the challenge and helped declare the winner hands-down!

"We knew it might be tough to find a cookie as delicious and creative as our last champion, Chips & Dips, where the potato chip and pretzel cookie ruled, but we are thrilled to announce the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough "Ice Cream Cone" Cookie as the winner of this year's challenge," said Oliver Vicente, Senior Product Manager for T-fal/WearEver. "We are also thankful to the hundreds of people who brought their appetites and sharp taste buds to help us name the winner."

Heather and Alexa won the grand prize of a $10,000 US Savings Bond. Four runners-up will each receive a $1,000 Savings Bond. In addition to their trip to New York City, all of the finalist teams received a basket of AirBake bake ware products.

The Second Annual AirBake Extreme Cookie Challenge was open to parent/child teams nationwide. Entries in the national contest were initially judged in two rounds on a variety of criteria, including taste, originality, ease of preparation and appearance. Cookies at the finals were baked on AirBake cookie sheets to ensure even baking and virtually no chance of burning.

  • 1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  • 2. To make "ice cream cones", in a small saucepan, combine butter, sugar, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Add walnuts, flour, and salt. Stir until well-combined. Let sit for 10 minutes.
  • 3. Depending on the size of your sheet pan, place 4-6 rounded teaspoons of dough on an ungreased AirBake sheet, at least 5 inches apart (the dough spreads a great deal).
  • 4. Bake each batch for about 10 minutes, until most of the bubbling stops and the cookies turn a walnut brown. Let the cookies rest on the sheet pan for about 1 to 2 minutes, until they are easily removed from the baking sheet with a spatula. Allow to cool slightly longer if cookies wrinkle when a spatula is slid under the cookie. If too stiff to remove, put back into the oven for a couple of minutes to soften up.
  • 5. With the small spatula, wrap the cookie around a cylindrical object such as a funnel or water cooler paper cup. Or roll a 6"x10" piece of parchment paper into a cone and cut it into a 5" cone and wrap the cookie around it to resemble a cone. Repeat with the rest of the cookies. Again, if they become too stiff to remove, put back into the oven for a couple of minutes to soften up. The ice cream cones can be made ahead and stored in an air tight container until ready to top with the raw cookie dough.
  • 6. To make "cookie dough", in a large bowl combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and malted milk powder (optional).
  • 7. In another large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and milk. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and mix until well blended. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
  • 8. To make the finished "ice cream cones", spoon a rounded tablespoon of the "cookie dough" into the "ice cream cones." Top with whipped cream and a cherry (or anything else you or your child's heart desires, like hot fudge, caramel, sprinkles, nuts).
  • Makes about 36 cookies.
  • For more product information and recipes, visit www.wearever.com, or http://newsroom.mbooth.com/T-fal/MediaGallery for all of the finalists' recipes and images of their cookies.

For the "Ice Cream Cones"

  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (preferably toasted; you can substitute pecans or almonds
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • Pinch salt

For the "Cookie Dough"

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons malted milk powder (optional)
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • Whipped cream
  • Maraschino cherries (optional)

Founded in 1901, WearEver is dedicated to bringing innovative, performance-driven, value focused products to the marketplace. WearEver products are stylish and durable and its cookware and bakeware lines are favored by novice cooks and home chefs alike.

AirBake bakeware by WearEver is made from heavyweight aluminum sheets that surround a layer of air, so it reduces the temperature of the metal that comes in contact with the food, ensuring that the food is heated evenly all around with no burning guaranteed.

T-fal/WearEver is headquartered in West Orange, New Jersey and is a division of Groupe SEB USA.

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