DATELINE -- Dallas -- Philip Potempa is reporting from Texas this week while on assignment.

Baker's dozen

As you might have already read in my From the Farm food column today, Carolyn Gurtz of Gaithersburg, Maryland and her peanut butter cookie recipe took home the $1 million grand prize.

She also won a complete set of GE Profile kitchen appliances valued at $10,000. In addition, Gurtz won "The JIF Peanut Butter Award" worth $5,000, which was an earlier prize awarded during the ceremony hosted by Food Network TV personality Sandra Lee.

Wearing her 30-year-old Pillsbury Doughboy lapel pin for good luck, Gurtz, 59, who regularly competes in county fair baking contests, couldn't be happier.

"When I was trying out this recipe and deciding whether to submit it, my 33-year-old son was downstairs on the computer and he smelled them baking," she said Tuesday, just after the prize announcement.

"He tasted one of the warm cookies fresh from the oven and he said, 'Mom, these are winners.' "

Gurtz isn't a stranger to winning big money in cooking contests. Previously, she won $50,000 in a Kraft Cream Cheese recipe contest.

A taxing experience

Sherry Klinedinst, a pianist and composer, from South Bend, was all smiles Tuesday as she prepared for her afternoon flight back to South Bend.

"This has been an amazing experience that I'll always remember," she said.

And considering Tuesday was April 15, the IRS holiday known as Tax Day, Klinedinst said she'll especially relive her experience a year from now, since the good people at Pillsbury informed her she'll be receiving a tax statement declaring her free trip to compete as "income" worth $1,700 which must be declared when she files her taxes.

What to do

Carolyn Gurtz, a Sunday school teacher and mother of two, need not worry about what to do with her recently earned wealth.

Her husband Dennis is a financial planner.

Other winners

The dough continued to rise during Tuesday's award ceremony as four additional category winners each earned $5,000 in cash and a GE Profile Double Oven Freestanding Range with PreciseAir Convection and two self-clean ovens for their recipes. The winner in the Breakfast & Brunches category was Pamela Shank of Parkersburg, WV, for her Mascarpone-Filled Cranberry-Walnut Rolls. Niki Plourde of Gardner, MA, captured the Pizza Creations category with her Apple-Jack Chicken Pizza with Caramelized Onion. The winner in the Entertaining Appetizers category was Edgar Rudberg of St. Paul, MN, for his Salmon Pastries with Dill Pesto. The Old El Paso Mexican Favorites category was captured by Vanda Pozzanghera of Pittsford, NY, for her Mexican Pesto-Pork Tacos.

The imagination of Phyllis Weeks-Daniel of San Diego, CA, was hard at work when she crafted her prize-winning Blue Cheese and Red Onion Jam Crescent Thumbprints. Weeks-Daniel's recipe was deemed most innovative by contest judges, earning her the GE Imagination At Work Award - a complete set of GE Profileä kitchen appliances (total estimated retail value $5,000). Contest judges said they were most impressed by the taste combination of ingredients, particularly the sweetness of the Smucker's Apricot Preserves with the tartness of the crumbled Gorgonzola cheese.

In addition to Carolyn Gurtz capturing the $1 million grand prize for her Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies, she was also presented with the $5,000 Jif Peanut Butter Award. The award recognized the best recipe using at least 14 cup of Jif Peanut Butter.

* The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at ppotempa@nwitimes.com or 219.852.4327.

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