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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#71: Sugar and Spice

One of my favorite parts of the holidays is baking cookies. Or, to be more honest, eating cookies — but you can’t have one without the other! From peppermint to gingerbread to iced sugar cookies, there are so many mouth-watering choices, and that’s just in my own culture. The flavors get even more varied and delectable as you head around the world.

But whether you’re a professional pastry chef in real life or someone whose cookies turn out looking more like lumps of coal, in stories our desserts can be whatever we want them to be. So get your imaginations preheating, because this week we’re going to be exploring all the different reasons and flavors that drive people to pick up the mixing bowl.

This week's prompts

Write about a group of people determined to win an award for making the biggest cookie ever.

High School – 62 stories

Write about someone investigating a break-in at a bakery. The only thing missing? A very secret ingredient.

Mystery – 106 stories

Write about two people who run rival bakeries, but fall in love during their town’s annual holiday festival.

Romance – 137 stories

Write about someone trying to recreate a grandparent’s signature baked good from memory.

Kids – 161 stories

Write about someone hosting a cookie exchange as a cover to hide the true reason for inviting one of their guests.

Dark – 141 stories

Stories

“Gran Ma Ma's Sweet Potato Pie” by Chet McHenry

Submitted to Contest #71

Sharon was in a panic. In two days she was hosting her family’s annual Christmas reunion at her house. A tradition see sawing back and forth between the Washington family members for as long as she can remember. This year it was her turn to be hostess. The thought made her hair stand on end. Not only did she have to cook the traditional turkey and stuffing dinner for twenty or more of her cousins, aunts, uncles, grand kids, nephews, nieces, sister and brother in laws, she had to bake eight or nine of gra...

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“Bittersweet” by Jade Orien🍀

Submitted to Contest #71

Five years I Melody Stewart had the best pastries in Toronto! For any special occasion, my bakery has always been the top place people in town would go to!Melody's Fresh Bakery! Was the name of my bakery. People love my cookie melt pastry.It is called this because once you bite into the cookie the filling melts in your mouth.It was one of my top-selling pastries!then one day all of this changed when a guy across the street decided to open up a bakery called Cosmos Cakes!The people of the town had told me that the owner's name was Edward Cosm...

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“Day Break” by John Del Rio

Submitted to Contest #71

This is the latest in a series of 4 stories so far that feature a couple in a Post-Apocalyptic setting. They start with "Just another day" and are chronological. They all have "Day" in the title. I enjoy any feedback.She looked over at him and gave a silent look of reproach. He saw the look; he always saw the look. He asked her “What?” And she told him, “I can’t find that can of candied fruit.”“Excuse me?” he asked. And continued with “can of what?”She told him “candied fruit; it’s kind of like jujubes or jelly beans, or maybe licorice”....

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“Take care ” by Ghashmira Ahmed

Submitted to Contest #71

The cold winter hushed in silent whispers across the dark night, it had snowed all day. Outside the piling snow appeared like a huge pillow tucked perfectly on the sides with leaves frozen on the ground, cold window knocked on my window as I balanced my phone between my head and shoulder. "Pick up!" I said to myself as a wide smile swept across my face. "Hello! this is Jaden Root office how may I help you" "Serena its Hailey pass it to Mom!" I said licking my ice cream spoon. Serena smiled, "Hey Hails! How have you been!" She said. I lau...

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“The Sugar Cookie” by Cheryl Fulks

Submitted to Contest #71

The Sugar CookieDrew walked into the kitchen where Tara was in deep thought as she was making sugar cookies from the recipe her mama had left her. The cookies were delicious in themselves but what stood them apart from all the other was the decadent buttercream frosting. Her mother had chosen her over her sister Sandy to leave the guarded family recipe."Is everything alright", Drew asked Tara as she had that look on her face that just appeared during February when she was getting cabin fever? She told him everything was fine w...

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“Something Missing” by Adam Wan

Submitted to Contest #71

The sun had set by then and the world had drawn its curtains as the rain cloaked the darkening sky. The cold descending upon the earth, painting the streets in wet lights. And it all seemed silent; like a town about to pull the covers and drift into dreams, goodnight. But somewhere, near the town plaza where the fountain stands still for night, red lights glowed and grew in the dark, twinkling over the puddles and the wet asphalt about the roundabout. The shops around had closed up and there were no other people around, no pedestrians, n...

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“The secret ingredient” by Rachael Bruyette

Submitted to Contest #71

“911 whats your emergency?” “Hello there has been a robbery at ‘Granny’s baked goods and more’!” “Ma’am I need you to calm down and tell me what happened.” “So I was just sleeping when I heard gunshots. I went to check it out and mama was on the floor dead and the robber had taken mama’s sapphire necklace.They also kidnapped my sibling!” “Okay miss I have emergency services on the way can you tell me your name and your siblings name?” “My sibling goes by Blair or Blake and my name is Siren.” “Alright Siren why does your sibling have 2 names?...

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“Rugelach - The Jewish Pastry” by Samadhee Ismail

Submitted to Contest #71

Every one has gathered around the meeting room. Excitement and anticipation filled the air as Mr. Davis, the marketing director, is going to announce who is going to be the next senior manager at the marketing department. All eyes were on Aisha Mahmoud, as the rumor in the mill was, Aisha would get the promotion. Aisha was one of the hardworking employees in the marketing department who knows each and everything about the projects and manages to smoothen the department out with her adequate work and diligence. "You are going to get the promo...

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“The Adventures of Detective Fred Bunn - The Indonesian Butter Mystery” by Doug Goodrich

Submitted to Contest #71

I’m Detective Fred Bunn and these are, The Adventures of Detective Fred Bunn, at least until I find a more creative title.As soon as I walked into The Muffin Pan, a quant little bakery in the better part of town, I knew this was going to be an unusual case. A case like no other. The place was a wreck. I mean there was so much flower and sugar all over the walls and floors, it looked like someone had caught the Pillsbury Dough Boy and Little Debbie in an affair and murdered the both-of-them.I looked around making mental notes. I noticed a tra...

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“Love ” by Melia Mendoza

Submitted to Contest #71

My name is Hope Hope Adams. I'm sixteen years old. I go to Eagle high but that’s not what I'm here to talk to you about. What I am here to talk to you about is my. Secret my deep dark secret I'm in love with my best friend but he is dating my sister. I know that Joe doesn't like me and that I have no chance with him but I love him. I love him so much I just had to try. I got the iea a few weeks ago to hold a cookie exchange for Joe and my family. "Hey Hope" I hear Joe say he jogged over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist....

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“Social crumbs” by Joan Marc Capo Payeras

Submitted to Contest #71

There were days when Aaron hated his live. Most of those days were when he was obligated by an unstoppable force to do the most atrocious action he could imagine. That day the force was his wife, and the action was socialize. Aaron was never a people’s person, he was lucky to meet his comprehensive wife when the elevator in the building they lived malfunction, and proceed to spend the next two hour of their lives having a forceful small talk and beginning to know each other. In the end everything turned alright, they married, moved to a lo...

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“The Appeasement ” by Luiza Marcus

Submitted to Contest #71

Part oneI can remember that night but I can barely recall what happened after that incident which has changed my life. That terrible thing I did and all the decisions I took before I’ve committed that crime… I can’t say that I regret them all because they made me the human being I am today.Early in that night, before the evil even began, I took my long, red coat from the hanger –it was a very elegant coat- and I dressed up as I stared at my shoes. I grabbed a biscuit from the extended table which was settled against the wall and I poured som...

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“Bedtime Story” by Kamryn Halvorsen

Submitted to Contest #71

Bedtime Story “Hey Grandkids! Do you want to hear a bedtime story?” Luke asked. “Of course we do!” exclaimed the children! “Okay! It was a long time ago when your grandmother and I worked at rival bakeries. Molly, your grandma, named her bakery, Molly’s Doughy Delights, and mine was titled Bake My Day. At that time, your grandma was sassy and rude.” he said with a side glance at Molly. She forcefully nodded in agreement. “I guess I was. But unlike me, Grandpa was kind and funny.” Molly said with a quiet giggle. “On the first o...

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“Creations of the Mind” by Jasper Wood

Submitted to Contest #71

Trigger warning: blood, drugging The sound of ice skidding underfoot made Serena yelp and grab onto the frost coated metal mailbox with one desperate hand, the other clutching at the cling wrap clad paper plate of goods in the other. Serena's heart beat hammered away in her chest, like a loose hummingbird in a cage as she regained her composure, cursing harsh words at the bleak slick patch of ice that had caught her feet by surprise. It was the dead of winter, the time when the snow was crusted over enough to get away with ditching th...

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“The Former Olivia Marie Foster” by Christy Sutton

Submitted to Contest #71

“Olive, maybe we could brainstorm about some normal activities you can participate in. I think you are probably ready. How do you feel about that?’ I am fairly confident she is not supposed to use the word normal in her sessions but I let it slide. Today is our twenty-sixth meeting. I have shown up at her office for half a year. Of course, I did not have much of a choice but I still made the effort to be here on time and never laughed at her ridiculous questions. I had only rescheduled one appointment over the past six months and that w...

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$50

Prize money

607

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 11, 2020 EST

Won by A.Dot Ram 🏆

Title: The Craving

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

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