Blue Ribbon Foodies

Congrats to our $25 gift card giveaway winners aka Baker Random Participants: Chris Flannery & Natalie Foster. Watch your DM’s for a note from us~ And happy baking to you all!
-Cyndi

Well done MN State Fair!

Thank you to all 1,923,325 of you who joined us in 2026! 🎉

It wouldn't be our great get-together without all of you. We'll see you for the next one – Aug. 26 to Sept. 6, 2027.

Want a closer look at our Blue Ribbon Group “Savory Scone Contest” winners? Here they are!

1st Place - Caramelized Onion Rosemary Scones from Danika Peterson of Andover ($200 prize)

2nd Place - Bountiful Breakfast Scones from Greg Boe of Excelsior ($100 prize)

3rd Place - Parmesan & Black Pepper Scones from Angela Dzik of Mendota Heights ($50 prize)

These top bakers won out of a whopping 114 entries. The contest called for the most delicious flavor combos and the bakers delivered! Each of their prizes come in gift cards from

1st place had phenomenal aromatics and the perfect texture! 2nd place used SPAM and instant hashbrowns. 3rd place won pairing parm and black pepper.

The judges had a tough job! Check out these other flavor profiles we especially liked the idea of: elote, dill pickle, brown butter miso/gruyere, prosciutto/shallot, and maple pork sausage with rhubarb.

One had wild rice in it, another Spanish Chorizo & Manchego. Bacon and fresh herbs were prevalent too.

A big surprise: a panang curry scone. We will be talking about that one for some time to come, in a good way!

Watch for a winning recipe or two in the coming weeks as we test run and taste some of them. Cheers!

Follow the link in the comments to a list of all MN State Fair Baking Results.

Check out the top 3 winners in the Land O’Lakes “Best-Ever Shortbread Contest” at the 2026 MN State Fair. Congrats to all the winners!

1st Place - Joanne Holtmeier of Edina for her Aperol Spritz Shortbread. ($200 prize)

2nd Place - Randi Madden of St. Paul for her Sicilian Sunset Shortbread. ($100 prize)

3rd Place - Jaime Rook of Minneapolis for Speculoos Shortbread.($50 prize)

Thanks to everyone who competed. What a beautiful - and big - batch of entries: 139 different cookies! Wow! Look for a winner feature in the Star Tribune next week. Plus, we will have a post on our website in September at BlueRibbonFoodies.com

Follow the link in the comments to a list of all MN State Fair Baking. Hats off to all those winners too!

See you tomorrow, Minnesota Bakers! We are cheering for you!

Needing a Salted Nut Roll Fix? Try our homemade version for a fun no-bake recipe! You can make them in different shapes, or in an easy, bar form.

Find the recipe and tons of tips for making, via the link in the comments!

Thanks for having me on today to talk about competing in the new special contests: Land O’Lakes Best-Ever Shortbread Contest and the Blue Ribbon Savory Scone Contest. The registration deadline is tomorrow (Tue Aug 4, 4:30pm), so get signed up and best of luck to you all!

To watch it: https://kstp.com/special-coverage/minnesota-live/blue-ribbon-baking-contests/

Find inspiration for your own baking at:
LandOLakes.com
BlueRibbonFoodies.com
KingArthurBaking.com

As a warm up to the Blue Ribbon Savory Scone special contest at this year’s Minnesota State Fair, I baked these Caramelized Onion Scones from the Land O'Lakes website. Wow. They are mind-blowingly delicious. As I cooked down the onions, the butter worked its magic, and the scent in the kitchen was mouth-watering. Coming out of the oven, I could barely let the scones cool before noshing on one.

I can’t wait to see what everyone bakes up as their entries. Reminder, for the Minnesota State Fair, Tuesday (Aug 4, 4:30pm) is the deadline for registering to compete. Go to the Competitions/Creative Activities section MNStateFair.org

To try this phenomenal savory scone recipe find the recipe link in the comments. Then, find inspiration for your own entry with recipes on:
LandOLakes.com
KingArthurBaking.com
BlueRibbonFoodies.com

Hey Home Cooks of Minnesota!

Do you have your registration in for this year’s Minnesota State Fair Baking Competition? Look for these special contests among the lineup!

-Land O’Lakes Butter ”Best-Ever Shortbread Contest”
-Blue Ribbon Group “Savory Shortbread Contest”

Each offers $350 in prizes, plus bonus prizes for all cookie and quickbread blue ribbon winners. These are in addition to the fair’s 80+ general baking categories/classes.

Every win begins with a great recipe and quality ingredients. Find inspiration with these resources and their respective social media:
-LandOLakes.com
-BlueRibbonFoodies.com
-KingArthurBaking.com

To compete, register with the MN State Fair Competition Department (link in comments) by Tue Aug 4 2026, 4:30pm CT. Open to Minnesota residents only.

Hey Minnesota Baking Fans — we’re so excited for the coming up Aug 27 to Sep 7! Get into your baking groove: you’re invited to compete for cash prizes in ✨2 new special contests ✨Each with prizes of $200 for 1st place, $100 for 2nd, $50 for 3rd. Are there Blue Ribbon bragging rights in your future? 👩‍🍳

New Special Contests:
Land O’Lakes Butter ”Best-Ever Shortbread Contest”
Blue Ribbon Group “Savory Shortbread Contest”

Register with the Minnesota State Fair Competition Department at mnstatefair.org By Tue Aug 4, 2026

Baking Drop Off Day:
Sat Aug 22, 2026
9:30am - 1pm

Winner Displays:
Creative Activities Building
Thu Aug 27 - Mon Sep 7
9am - 9pm

Every win begins with a great base recipe. Find inspiration with these resources and their respective social media:
LandOLakes.com
BlueRibbonFoodies.com
KingArthurBaking.com

Competitors (Exhibitors) Register at:
https://www.mnstatefair.org/competitions/creative-activities/baked-products/

Special Contest Questions:
[email protected]

Registration Questions:
[email protected]

First timer? Check out this post for helpful tips.
https://www.blueribbongroup.net/blue-ribbon-foodies/2026-minnesota-state-fair-special-baking-contests/

Go win in the kitchen and at the fair. Best of luck to all of you!