Let Award-winning Emmaus Bakers Inspire You

Emmaus residents can hold their heads up high at next year's Allentown Fair -- at least as far as baked goods competitions are concerned. 

Cookie bakers Sara Kurtz and her mother Sharon Kurtz taking second and third place, respectively, in the Gold Medal Flour Scratch Bakers Cookie Challenge. Sara was recognized for her Chocolate Chip Nutella Bars and her mom Sharon came in a close third for her Walnut Kiffles.

Emmaus also made a strong showing in the Baked Goods category for the Best Baking Contest, with Emmaus resident Ruby Jones taking home the blue ribbon for her Orange Coffee Cake.

All three of the award-winning recipes follow. Use them to wow your family with a special treat or take from them the inspiration to dream up a tasty item of your own.

Sara Kurtz' Chocolate Chip Nutella Bars
 2nd Place, 2013 Great Allentown Fair 

• 2 1/2 cups Gold Medal Flour
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1/4 cup Nutella chocolate hazelnut spread
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (12 ounce) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (8 ounce) bag toffee bits 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

In a mixing bowl combine Gold Medal flour, oats and brown sugar. Add butter and Nutella, mix until crumbly. Mix beaten egg with vanilla extract and add to mixture until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts. Reserve 1 1/2 cups mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish that was lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and pour sweetened condensed milk, evenly over hot crust. Evenly distribute toffee bits over condensed milk. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture evenly over top of toffee bits. Return to oven and bake for an additional 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven, cool and cut into bars. Garnish each bar with a walnut if desired.

Sharon Kurtz' Walnut Kiffles 
3rd Place, 2013 Great Allentown Fair

Dough:

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup margarine, softened
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 5 cups Gold Medal Flour

Walnut Filling:

• 3 egg whites, well beaten
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pound ground walnuts

Instructions 

For Dough: Mix cream cheese, margarine and butter together until well blended. Add flour, one cup at a time, until well mixed and a soft dough has formed. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, place balls in a baking dish and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. 

For Filling: Beat egg whites until frothy, then add sugar, vanilla and ground walnuts. Mix until well blended. 

For Assembly: Roll each ball out on confectioners’ sugar. Place 2 teaspoons of walnut filling on lower third of each piece of flattened dough, and then roll dough into a small log. Bake on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet at 400 degrees F for 10 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. 

Ruby Jones' Award-winning Orange Coffee Cake