Wife of 2023 PA Farm Show Oatmeal Cookie Contest Winner Takes Blue Ribbon: Get the Recipe | Farm Shows, County Fairs, Events and Conventions | lancasterfarming.com

Lorrie Rauch shows her first-place oatmeal raisin cookies.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Nine days after a Lehigh County woman’s family voted her oatmeal raisin cookies the best, judges at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Contest agreed.

Lorrie Rauch of New Tripoli beat 17 other bakers — including her husband, John — to win first place for her Irresistible Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Delights.

Other winners were Sharon Kurtz of Emmaus, second place; Scott Felix of Alum Bank, third place; Angie Espenshade of Grantville, fourth place; and Darlene Noll of Pine Grove, fifth place.

Sharon Kurtz’s soft and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies took second place.

“I won the blue ribbon,” a delighted Lorrie Rauch said, while waving the ribbon in the air. “On New Year’s Day, I made a batch with this recipe and a batch with my brother’s recipe. My husband made cookies with his recipe. Then our family voted. They liked my recipe the best.”

Studded with plump and juicy raisins and sometimes nuts, oatmeal raisin cookies are an old-fashioned treat. Legend says they are a descendant of the Scottish/British oat cakes soldiers carried to war to give them extra energy.

Three judges evaluated the cookies, each tasting all 18 entries, before picking the winner in 45 minutes. While they tasted, the bakers discussed their varying recipes.

Terri Weiss, also of New Tripoli, found her recipe in an old shoebox.

“A couple weeks ago, I went through an old shoebox of my great Aunt Helen’s recipes,” she said. “I found this recipe, which doesn’t use eggs or oil. I call mine Aunt Helen’s Crispy Oatmeal Cookies With A Twist.

John Rauch made orange-flavored oatmeal cookies dipped in white chocolate.

Asked about the twist, Weiss laughed.

“I made maple syrup pecan brittle, then broke it with my hands into small pieces,” she said. “I added that and white raisins to the cookies. They are good.”

Rauch said she used oats, chopped honey roasted granola, pecans and chocolate chips. She also plumped the raisins by soaking them in boiling water for 20 minutes.

John Rauch, who won the contest in 2023 and entered it again, said he made cookies with an orange flavor.

“I soaked the raisins overnight in freshly squeezed orange juice,” he said. “I also added roasted and chopped pecans. I under-baked them a bit. After they were cool, I melted white chocolate, dipped the cookies in and sprinkled finely chopped pecans on top. I weighed each cookie to be sure they were the same.”

Mary Miller of Strongstown added craisins, white chocolate chips and pecans to her cookies while her daughter, Amanda Harry of Mechanicsburg, added fresh raspberries and pecans to hers.

Jared Murphy of Newburg described his oatmeal raisin cookies as healthy.

An oatmeal cookie entry.

“I tweaked the recipe my mom made for me to take in my school lunch,” he said. “I used half whole wheat and half white flour. I used molasses, honey and a little bit of brown sugar. Oatmeal raisin cookies make people feel good about themselves.”

Here is Lorrie Rauch’s winning recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Put raisins in bowl. Add boiling water to cover raisins. Let sit at least 15 minutes.

In large bowl, toss together the drained raisins, granola, rolled oats and chocolate chips.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Whisk to combine well, add pecans and set aside.

In mixing bowl, beat both sugars until blended. Add butter. Beat until smooth and creamy. Scrape sides of bowl. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until incorporated, scraping sides of bowl. At low speed, add the flour mixture, beating just until incorporated.

Scrape mixture into bowl with the chocolate chip mixture and mix together.

Using a scale, weigh 1-1/2 ounces of cookie batter for each cookie. Roll cookies into balls and place on parchment paper on baking sheet, making only six cookies at a time.

Bake cookies for 11 to 11-1/2 minutes. Remove from oven and use two spoons to shape the cookies into perfect round shape. Cool and enjoy!

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Lancaster Farming

While the Pennsylvania Farm Show offers countless edible options at its Food Court, workers and patrons can quickly burn off those calories by walking through the 24-acre complex.

Laura Fultz took home the blue ribbon for her pumpkin whoopie pies at the Pennsylvania Farm Show’s competitive Whoopie Pie Contest.

Terri Stewart of Altoona, who was momentarily speechless when she was named the winner, beat out 77 other bakers to capture the $500 prize, a blue ribbon and bragging rights as the state’s best chocolate cake baker.

Sharon Kurtz of Emmaus edged out 16 other contestants to win the blue ribbon and $200 for her Blueberry Crumb Bars at the 109th Pennsylvania Farm Show Jelly/Jam Cookie Bar Contest Jan. 5.

The Farm Show's Family Living Department allows participants an opportunity to unleash their creativity with everything from a to-scale tractor balloon sculpture to a Highland Cow cake.

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