The Most Delectable Time of the Year

If there’s one thing I learned after participating in my first staff cookie contest at Smith, it’s that the staff members who keep the college running day in and day out are also exceptional bakers.

As a staff newbie—I’ve only been a member of the College Relations team since the beginning of September—I was introduced to the famed—and highly competitive—contest by some coworkers during lunch one afternoon early in my tenure. I quickly learned how seriously some staffers take it.

“I attended last year’s cookie contest and a staff member in front of me looked at the cookie he was about to sample and said, ‘Oatmeal raisin…risky,’” recalls contestant Patricia Woods ’00, assistant director of career exploration at the Lazarus Center for Career Development, who, with her mother’s blessing and help in the kitchen, submitted Cherry Christmas cookies, a festive revamp of her mother’s famous Valentine’s Day cookie featuring shortbread and maraschino cherries. “That really led me into a state of deep pondering. My cookie had to pack a punch and be universally loved…the Switzerland of cookies [if you will].”

According to Andrea Fernandes, director of events management and co-chair of staff council, the cookie contest began almost 10 years ago. Each year, two cookies come out on top: one is chosen by popular vote, and the other is chosen by three judges, who rank each entry on taste, presentation, and originality. It’s a chance not only for staff to showcase their baking prowess, but to meet other members of the campus community, something Fernandes considers to be a highlight of the day. “There’s so many staff from different areas on campus that wouldn’t have the opportunity to meet and mingle together, so it’s nice to give them the chance to do that,” she says.

I tucked the contest away as a fun idea, marked my calendar to make sure I didn’t miss free cookies, and didn’t think much else of it for a few weeks. Then, in early November, I made a batch of Oreo truffles—a go-to favorite of mine—for the College Relations team. The crew in 30 Belmont ate them up and encouraged me to enter them in the cookie contest. One colleague even shared the staff council flyer with the note, “Imagine the glory of winning!!!”

Riding that little wave of encouragement, I signed up for the contest the Monday of Thanksgiving week, excited to put myself out there and share some sweet treats with fellow staff. The quick turnaround between Thanksgiving break and December 4, however, threw me for a loop, and I found myself decorating tiny snowman faces on Oreo truffles at 1:30 in the morning to the tune of Kendrick Lamar’s new album and my dogs snoring peacefully in the living room (saying I was jealous of them in that moment is an understatement).

Eleven hours later, I was with staff from across campus who had made the trek to the Carroll Room in the Campus Center, forgoing a traditional lunch in favor of sampling the 25 entries, which ranged from gluten-free chocolate salted caramel macarons to pistachio cherry cookies to almond biscotti. This year’s judges, Provost Daphne Lamothe, Floater Chef Julian Martineau, and Chief of Public Safety Jimi Nealy, had their work cut out for them (literally—participants were required to cut their cookies into quarters to ensure enough for all) as they took on the responsibility of deciding best in show. The competition was fierce—and delicious, with everyone enjoying an hour of cookies, laughter, and a shared desire for afternoon naps.

By the end of the event, the people and the judges had spoken. Advancement Data Associate Zach Julius took home the people’s choice award with a gingersnap sandwich cookie with an eggnog cream filling, a recipe his husband helped him choose; and the judges’ choice winner was my very own Oreo truffle. It took a few embarrassingly long seconds for me to register the entry as mine, but once I did, I felt myself blushing in surprise, my cheeks undoubtedly as red as Woods’ Cherry Christmas cookies.

Winning one of the two top spots is awesome, and I’m so grateful that people enjoyed the truffles, but I think my favorite part of the contest was talking with fellow contestants and learning about how, for so many of us, baking is a tangible example of love passed from generation to generation.

“I’ve been baking since I was a child, first with my mother and now with my kids,” says Kimberly Hoyt, office coordinator at the Campus School, who entered her sea salt caramel dark chocolate cookies. “It makes me happy to bake delicious things to share with others—seeing their joy in eating a sweet treat brings me joy.”

EJ Seibert, director of the Accessibility Resource Center, who submitted gluten-free salty maple chocolate chip cookies, shares a similar sentiment. “Baking reminds me of my grandma and her steady love, which she often demonstrated by making cookies, cakes, and other treats. My favorite thing about it is how it plays a part in offering and receiving care and sweetness through community.”

And really, if that sentiment doesn’t perfectly sum up the vibe of the staff cookie contest, I don’t know what would.