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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

“The Cookie Exchange Police Department” by Nataleigh Sandberg

Submitted to Contest #71

Sergeant Jack Washburn was a sergeant in the police department of Tekhood, Minnisota. He was a strict yet kind gentleman, recently married to his wife, Lilliane. Lilliane was exactly like her husband, except on the softer side. She had a soothing, soft voice, a big heart, and was too kind to be a human. She was more like a god.It had been a few days since the return from his honeymoon when Jack Washburn received a call from the Saint Paul Police Department. Saint Paul was about 50 miles away from Tekhood, and Jack saw no reason why they...

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“Cookies for Love” by Lama Diriyeh

Submitted to Contest #71

Long you mustn't wait Till one comes that shall Lit your heart And pull you out the pit She gazed at it hanging on the wall, as she did before every cookie exchange. I jumped on her lap. She smiled and stroked my back gently. “Come, let’s go Tweety” I purred indignantly. My name is Twilight. I’m not a silly yellow canary! She laughed and led the way to the hall. I have been with Valerie since her childhood. She was a lively girl, and a brave one too. She lived with her parents in a humble house with a very large garden. H...

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“Cookie Exchange” by Lupe Fuller

Submitted to Contest #71

The Cookie Exchange “Hey Kevon, thank you for coming,” Venia said as she opened her bakery shop door. The gentleman greeted Venia with a big grin. He came in and took off his jacket. Kevon said, “Your sign said closed. I hesitated for a moment. Then I remembered you said the shop had not officially opened yet. So you're hosting a “Cookie Exchange” tomorrow? How will that work since your the owner of a Cookie Bakery?” Venia took the mans jacket and hung it on coat holder. She held her arm out to lead him to her unusual black and g...

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“Cookie Royale” by Navneeth N

Submitted to Contest #71

Agent 000 walked briskly through the street. He sidestepped through the crowds, making his way through the groups of tourists. He sighed. Sometimes he wondered why the rendezvous point was in Venice. It was jammed with tourists. His eyes darted back and forth, sizing up potential suspects. His hand gripped the gun hidden in his waist belt, ready to fire. He walked like this until he reached the steps of a large building. His nimble feet danced against the limestone, showing signs of his training. His muscles twitched, ready...

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“Robbery at Classic Creations & Confections” by Lisa Segale

Submitted to Contest #71

The phone rang, pulling me out of my sleeping slumber. I blinked quickly, trying to get my eyes to focus, and sat up in bed. I looked at the clock on the nightstand, it read 3:06 AM. Who was calling me at three in the morning? “Are you up?” the voice on the other end of the phone asked. It was my Aunt Martha, the dispatcher for the police department. “I am now,” I replied, yawning. “Get dressed, someone broke into the bakery. Kyle is already down there,” Aunt Martha said before hanging up on me. ...

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“A Sweet Tooth” by Josephine Andersen

Submitted to Contest #71

A Sweet Tooth“Now I know why people hate me!”“Why do people hate you, Cathy?”“Because I don’t have a sweet tooth and I like savoury food.”“So what has sweet and savoury food got to do with hate, for goodness sake?”“If you eat sweet food like you do, Maria, you have a sweet disposition, and then people love you. If you eat savoury/ spicy food like me, you are: judgemental, manipulative, unhelpful, insensitive, anti-social and bordering on the psychopathic, the list grows.”“Where did you find all that out, about your qualities?”“On t...

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“Batter Way to do Business ” by Sandra Russo

Submitted to Contest #71

“Wakey Wakey, Mister Black. Mister Winky is waiting, “ the baritone brickhouse spoke. His oily little partner snickered. I was summarily picked up by the scruff of the neck and whisked away in a dark Kia sedan so fast I only caught the last three digits of the license plate: 666. The sedan quickly navigated every dark alley the city had to offer before coming to an abrupt halt outside Mommas Bakery on 81st and Lexington Ave. Mommas bakery had looked better. The front window was smashed and the front door had an unnatural be...

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“The spice of life” by Ruth Major

Submitted to Contest #71

When I was hired to look into the bakery break in, I was extremely surprised. For one thing, I am not a detective so I wondered why I got this job. I am a wizard, mundane things like bakeries is not what I usually work for. The woman who ran the bakery, insisted I do this. She paid more than I would expect, too. Just for idle curiosity of why a baker would want me to take this job, I did. OK, maybe it was the money too. I hadn't gone on an adventure in quite some time, being close to retirement age. I went in the bakery, smelling the temptin...

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“Love Bakery” by Floraine Thwin

Submitted to Contest #71

In May 1991, a family moves to New Orleans from Las Vegas. There are three family members in family. They are Amy the mother, Lucien the father and Laura the child. Amy had to move over here for living with her relatives and family. Amy’s mother was lived in New Orleans. Lucien had move to here with his family because he lost his job and trying to start the new career life. Then, they arrived to the town. Their family members were gathering at Amy’s mother house for greeting them. When they arrived, relatives were warmly welcoming them and h...

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“Bakery love” by Azalea Silver

Submitted to Contest #71

The harsh winter wind nipped at his skin as he hurried to the quaint bakery/cafe at the end of the street. His breath came in little cloud-like puffs as he forced himself to walk faster. He arrived, pulling out a bunch of keys from his wallet and opening the door.He quickly ducked into the warmth that the bakery/cafe offered, shutting out the frigid air by closing the door behind him. He glanced around the dining area, feeling a rush of pride. After all, this bakery/cafe, small though it was, was his dream come true. He walked to the kitchen...

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“Christmas 2020” by Jordan T

Submitted to Contest #71

The last sliver of sun dipped behind the trees. Anna sat and watched. The glow in the sky lasted only minutes this time of year. The world was decorated for Christmas. Somewhere out in the distance she could hear carols being played on a radio. So many memories from being a girl danced in her mind. When the memories faded, they took with them her smile. Only then did she realize she expected to not be alone. Why tonight was a mystery to her? What had she expected? Anna had been alone for weeks. Occasionally someone would drop food off outsid...

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“Bedtime stories: A tale of Hansel and Gretel: The curse of the witch print ” by Cali H

Submitted to Contest #71

Come close my Loves and sit by the fire. I will tell you, tell you a story about my grandmother and how she came to be the story you tell your children at night to lure their eyes to slumber. Once upon a time a young girl was cursed by the witch of the forest. This witch upon her dying breath, grabbed the woman by her leg and said the curse that passed on her terrible power, and then the witch died, turned to dust and blew into the wind. Her wretched life was now in a new body, a younger body. Possessed, my Grandmother walked bac...

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“The Switch” by Joe Swanson

Submitted to Contest #71

The Switch “If you’ll come this way please, we’ll be able to begin.” Her words seemed innocuous, not quite what I was expecting, but then I find that more often to be the reality of situations I find myself in, than the imagined gratifications of external events that I know shouldn’t exist, but sometimes do. I couldn’t help but entertain the question, “Where are the aromas meant to blow your mind.” The exact wording almost, of the notice stapled to the utility pole across from Beerman’s Household Emporium. I found the address provide...

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“Red Velvet Cake ” by Annelise Hawkins

Submitted to Contest #71

I always hated that bakery across the street.I hated the name, "Sweet Honey's,". I hated the smell of the red velvet cake. My least favorite cake, yet that smell alone could change my mind. Not that that was a compliment to the owner. I hated the fact that as soon as she opened her bakery people would come to her before me. Maybe I was just being petty, but god she really ticked me off. Could she not see that there was a bakery already on that street and just carried onto the next street? Everyone says that her sweets are delicious. Sure she...

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“Winning by losing.” by Magnus Thomsen

Submitted to Contest #71

Our story begins, in small town, in late November. Where a bakery opened up, down the street from another one. In a small town like this, that was big news and everybody knew and talked about it, and what it meant. Competition. The bakery, that had been there for generations, had just been handed down, to the daughter, of the former owners, who had retired. Her name was Amethyst Thompson, Amy for short. She was 29 years old. Her parents had her, when they were quite old, having only found one another, later in life. Amy had worked in the bak...

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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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