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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

“Zombies by:Natalie Miller-Turesky” by Natalie Miller-Turesky

Submitted to Contest #71

It was the final weeks of summer and Olivia and I were making the most of it then suddenly Jason showed up screaming telling us to run. All I did was stand there and tilt my head sideways “why do we need to run Jason” I said not sure of what was going on. He looked at me as if I had just spoken gibberish then said, “the zombies are coming haven’t you heard?” my head was spinning at that point I couldn’t begin to comprehend what he just said to me. “what do you mean” Olivia said with a terrified look on her face. Jason turned to me and said “...

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“Say "Cheese"” by Alex Arias

Submitted to Contest #71

Martín bounced on the balls of his vans-clad feet, watching the precarious way his younger primo balanced the glass platter of chocolate chip cookies on top of his head. As the small boy rounded the corner into the kitchen, Martín imagined him tripping over his own shoelaces, or knocking his shoulder into the wall. The platter would shatter outwards, and hours of baking the mysteriously misshapen cookies would be for nothing. He started walking forwards, was about to snatch the platter from out of his grip when somebody grabbed his shoulder ...

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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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“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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“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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“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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“The Real Reason” by ∙𝕒𝕦𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕪 𝕡∙

Submitted to Contest #71

A small chime rang throughout the tiny bakery as Marcela slowly opened the creaky door, flecks of paint falling to the ground. The floor creaked underneath her feet as she studied the shop. Old porcelain sat upon dusty shelves, and bags of flour and sugar lay inside cabinets strung with cobwebs. Marcela reminisced of when the warm lights within the shop would radiate out into the cold bitterness of the world. Her dear grandfather would intone a Christmas carol, his voice a serenade in the quiet night. She sighed, wishing those days of bliss ...

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“Narcissus' Cookies” by Maddi G

Submitted to Contest #71

Jessica was exhausted. She had 3 more types of cookies to make and she only had one hour. She started kneading the apple snickerdoodle dough. It will be worth it she told herself. All her friends were coming, and one of her “not friends”. She had told Ashanti (and herself) that he was only coming here because he was famous for his baking. Jess was famous for baking too, only she was famous for making people sick with her baked goods. She hoped today would turn out differently. She had decided to host a cookie exchange a couple days before Ch...

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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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“Yes, We Can” by Joe Swanson

Submitted to Contest #71

Yes, We Can! “Any questions? If there are no questions, we shall begin. Do I have a nomination for Chairperson… no? If not, I will assume the position... I will preside over the meeting. Now…” He rambled on for a good half hour. It was difficult to hear, so I got only part of what he was saying. We were seated on bar stools around a pool table, that doubled as a meeting table. The plywood top, usually used to keep the hurricane winds outside where they belong, was placed over the felt to keep any acciden...

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“Breaking the Cookie Record” by Lisa Segale

Submitted to Contest #71

“Hand me another bag of flour,” I said. My hand was out, waiting to feel the weight of the bag. Nothing. “Okay, PLEASE hand me another bag of flour,” I said, this time with my palm up and my fingers wagging in anticipation. “Anna, that was the last bag,” said Layla, my best friend, and eighth-grade science partner. &n...

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“For Whom the Cookie Tolls” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #71

FOR WHOM THE COOKIE TOLLS By Lavinia M. Hughes “Mom always liked you best, Nick! You’re such a goody-two-shoes. You’re so damned square, you’re practically Amish,” said Ray, Nick’s 20-year old elder brother. “Shut up, Ray-gun. Maybe if you’d get off your ass, she’d like you better,” retorted Nick. “I do plenty around here. Why, ever since Dad left for that floozy, I’ve taken out the rubbish every week,” said Ray. “O...

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“St. Pete's Christmas Bake Off” by Jason Morton

Submitted to Contest #71

"Ugh…" Jonah sighed, walking into Kazarian's Bakery. "It's too early for this." Jonah was the only investigator from St. Petersburg P.D. that appeared to be there. Walking into the back of the bakery, it was obvious that the burglar, or burglars, made entry from the rear. He could see the pry marks and broken door jam. It seemed pedestrian enough, except for the deactivated alarm system. Jonah looks to one of the senior patrol officers, an older officer by the name of Tommy Flanagan. "So, what's missing?" he aske...

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“Missing Cane ” by Christian Hinrichsen

Submitted to Contest #71

The blustery winds of Jordero north pound with fifty to sixty mile per hour winds and pelt the landscape with freezing rain. An Inuk male dwarf with an ice brown beard and hair and wearing a polar bear fur jacket escorts Merrill Brillcrek, the Judiciary Provost Marshal of the Jordero Fort Kapaka into the local bakery. Merrill a white man with shaggy brown hair and a Five o clock shade beard and wearing a similar dress as the Inunk dwarf is taken to the local grocer and baker of Fort Kapaka. “Beatrice always panics when she is missing ...

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“The Cookin' Crisis” by Caroline White

Submitted to Contest #71

Hi, I'm Blakely Hudson. I'm 16 years old and I live with my mom, dad,little brother, Jackson who is twelve and a half and my golden doodle who's name is Miss Lola. I live in Bristol, Tennessee. In my opinion, Bristol is the best town in Tennessee. I have always loved doing detective work, but all the detectives I've worked for said I was really clumsy and honestly, I was really clumsy. I'm going to tell you a story about me and my best detective job ever! It all started on a Saturday morning the week before school got out. "Well, would ya lo...

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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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