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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 Proposal” by Max Arlo

Submitted to Contest #71

“Shhhh, he’s almost here!” I stand frozen, sudden terror locking my limbs in place. “Aiden, act natural!” someone shouts, but how can I? What if he says no? Then Oliver is walking through the door, and all nerves and worries melt right off me, water dripping into puddles beneath icicles. I can never be afraid or uptight when he’s around. I feel the box in my pocket lighten considerably. “So,” Ollie’s saying to me, “a cookie party, huh?” “Yeah, I thought it would be fun,” I murmur, leaning into his arms. They’re warm, despite the frigid t...

3 comments 3
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“A Sweet Surprise” by Sophia Chen

Submitted to Contest #71

“Audrey! This is an emergency!” Meya’s voice exclaims from my voicemails. “I need your help immediately. Call me back?” I scroll through the rest of my missed messages: all from Meya, and all probably vague, frantic, pleas for help.  I dial her number and wait for her to pick up. What has my overexcited girlfriend gotten into now? “Audrey!” Meya cries out on the first ring. “Thank god. Are you free? I need you to come over!” “What did you do this time, Meya?” I ask, amused. I’m not far from her apartment, and set off for it at a bri...

1 comment 1
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“The Return to Innocence” by Jim Snyder

Submitted to Contest #71

Most children—and in fact, most adults—were fearful of traveling too far into the woods, for no one quite knew what lie deep within. Jacob, however, had never been afraid of the long trek through the winding, barely visible paths almost completely concealed by underbrush and overgrowth. To the untrained eye, perhaps the narrow trails were nothing more than slight spots where sunlight never shone, but Jacob knew better. He had visited these woods several times in his youth. As he had grown older, though, he had lost interest in the trip, and ...

9 comments 9
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“Love is Blind” by Beverly Riddle

Submitted to Contest #71

Attention: This story is completely fictional. I tried to make it seem like one of those super cheesy Christmas movies. I watch them every year with my family. My favorite is the Princess Switch. Tell me yours in the comments below. I'd love to check it out. Also, just to fill in some of the words, if you want to for fun. You can answer some of the questions I put at the end of my story.I looked through my list again and again. Are you kidding me?! I couldn't believe I had forgotten the ginger for the gingerbread.My name is Beverly Riddle. I...

7 comments 7
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“Opal Can't Taste” by Aveena Bordeaux

Submitted to Contest #71

The first time I’d woken up in the morning was before the birds started singing their opera in front of my window to contemplate whether I’d be at fault for missing the Christmas reunion. The second time, I woke up to the rain beating down on my roof and the clock’s tiny hand on 11, which sent me into a frenzy.Today was The Holloway Reunion, the official name given to the time where our families bundled up in SUVs, overflowing into the trunk, and drove the trip to Nana’s house. If you didn’t go, you were sure to get a stank eye the next time...

6 comments 6
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“The Great Cookie Caper” by Greg Gillis

Submitted to Contest #71

           It was a cool November morning on the east side of town. I was hired by Gladys Barker to investigate a break-in at her tiny store named, “BARKER’S BAKERY”. My name is Johnny Hardcase, Private Eye. The seventy-five-year-old widow spent all day in that little store. People came from all over just to get a batch of her famous cookies that she called, “Granny’s Best”.            It was said that everyone who had a taste could...

2 comments 2
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“Cookies Are Not Always What They Seem” by Morgan Douglas

Submitted to Contest #71

It was that time of the year again. When Juniper Langston was scheduled to host her annual Cookie Exchange Christmas party, just days before the holiday itself. She made sure to make all the preparations, as usual. Sending out invitations and making sure to have her decadent house on Tenth street, ready. This year, Juniper decided to go with a more glamorous holiday color theme instead of the traditional green and red that she typically used. Deciding on silver and gold with just a touch of royal blue. Making sure to spare no expense in the ...

5 comments 5
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“The Wake-Up Stop” by Sandy Buxton

Submitted to Contest #71

   The first sign telling Maria she was in trouble was the swept path in the early morning dusting of snow. “It’s Tuesday,” she said as she approached the back door of the bakery/coffee shop. “Sally knows I open during the week.” She put her mittened hand on the doorknob and turned. Locked. Looking in the back window while she dragged her keys out of her pocket, Maria noticed the lights were still off.     Opening the door, she called, “It’s just me. Why didn’t you turn the lights on, Sally?” Maria flicked ...

0 comments 0
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“Let's play” by Merel Cooijmans

Submitted to Contest #71

Lisa looked at the last empty fold-out chair across from her in the circle. She was until now the last to arrive. The room was calmingly silent. Somewhere in a corner a radio was softly playing Christmas songs. In the circle of chairs were 5 people seated. Next to her sat her friend Crystal, who looked at the Tupperware on her lap which held some homemade cookies. On the opposite side of Crystal sat a nervously looking boy in his late teens. He, like Crystal, was holding a Tupperware. The boy looked mostly at his lap, but glanced now and the...

3 comments 3
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“Wherever We Are Needed” by Calico Holmes

Submitted to Contest #71

"Don't fire me, master! I have done nothing!"                     "Done nothing?! This pesky brat stole my secret formula, great detective Asher, oh, oh what should I dooo! Asher wrinkled his eyebrows, clearly annoyed with this unexpected brawl.   " Listen, Baker," he clamored, basking in absolute anger, "I am a sophisticated detective solving the highest crimes, and a petty bakery accusation saga, is  NOT my cup of ...

4 comments 4
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“Everything Nice” by Emily Germaine

Submitted to Contest #71

I stood watching the door, my elbows resting on the table. Every now and then, my brother and I would glance at the clock, counting the minutes until we locked the door.  Jackson pulled his apron off and threw it on the table the second the minute hand moved. “Why do we even bother?” “It’s our businesses.” I hung up my own apron and wiped the counter.  “We don’t stand a chance… I have half a mind to go down and find a way to shut them down.” I shook my head. “That’ll only make everything worse. Just leave them alone. If we ...

0 comments 0
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“The Real Stuff” by Louise Coley

Submitted to Contest #71

Dawn broke like a slow to warm up energy saving light bulb being hit with a sledgehammer. I watched the grey light seep it's way across the maze of grey streets from the grey-smudged window of my apartment- magnolia, with accents of grey. The steaming coffee in my hand reminded me of the inhabitants below. Dark. Bitter. Strangely pungent.The phone rang. I picked up.“Dick here,” I told the receiver.“We've had a message come in,” said Sally, ”Someone wants you to investigate a break-in up on 5th. Shall I come pick you up?”“See you in ten,” I r...

2 comments 2
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“Some WEIRD Cookies” by Madam GOAT

Submitted to Contest #71

Finally, my mother took me to the grocery store, but I wasn’t the one who actually wanted to go inside the store. I had some business to attend to in the car.  “So you said you needed, what again?” My mom asked me. “Chocolate chips, vanilla powder, and epsom salt.” “Epsom salt?” “Umm, my feet are um, swelling.” I answer, remembering some boring book that talked about the combination of epsom salt and feet. “Ok?” Finally, she walked away and I noticed her mask still hanging on the back of my chair.  “MOM! You forgot your mask!” I ho...

2 comments 2
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“With Friends Like These” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #71

Katrin stood in her front room, biting her lip, frowning at her coffee table. In one hand she held a tablecloth, in the other the stack of doilies. When she’d been planning the day her mind had settled on doilies, and from the instant she’d seen them in the shop she’d been picturing. But now the time had come to put them out, she was having second thoughts. It wasn’t just that half her guests would mock her for them – after all the years she’d known them she was used to their gentle teasing. The problem bugging her was whether the skinny whi...

3 comments 3
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“The Cookie Contest ” by Lucy Biermann

Submitted to Contest #71

Cora stares at herself in the mirror, taking a deep breath. In the past, it was her parents who did all the baking during the annual holiday festival in their little town, but this year they'd returned to Mexico to visit her Abuela. That meant she was left on cookie duty. And it was a lot. She had to make enough cookies for everyone who attended, which was usually anywhere between 100 or 200 people. And then, on top of that, her cookies have to be better than whatever the bakery next store makes.Ever since that bakery popped up next to their...

1 comment 1
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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.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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