We are on Day 3 of “Holiday Cookie Decision 2014,” as we await the official results from the Kay’s Naturals Holiday Cookie Contest.  Apparently, there is some dispute regarding hanging chads and the determination of voter intent in cases where they wrote in “Peppermint Biscotti,” as opposed to “Candy Cane Biscotti.”  Oh well, it is time for action!  As a result, I am declaring myself winner based on the following unofficial results…

First Place Winner – Candy Cane Biscotti (71 “Likes”)

Second Place Winner – No-Bake Coconut Balls (48 “Likes”)

I would like to thank all of you for your overwhelming support of my Candy Cane Biscotti.  Special thanks go out to Kara Brooker, my campaign manager and Cookie King Maker, Darwin Thorpe, who made my participation possible, and all of my other tireless cookie campaign staff and supporters.  Your talents amaze me daily.  You are the baking powder in my flour mixture.  You make good things happen.  I hope to make you all proud during the next year of cookie baking and I pledge to freely share the tasty results.

As an added bonus, I will be providing a “CookiesbyDave.com” prize package to one lucky supporter, who helped make victory a reality.

First I gathered up all of the 76 names (some just clicked “Like” on the wrong page), who voted for my Candy Cane Biscotti.  Then I alphabetized them based on your Facebook profile name, numbered all of the names, entered the parameters into random.org, requested a randomly generated number between 1 and 76, and presto…  a winner!

And the winner of a CookiesbyDave.com prize package is (drum roll, please)…  Kristie Wheaton Lowry!  Kristie has been a supporter of my on-line cookie baking efforts from the start and is also an amazing baker, who is featured in my cookie cookbook, “Today is a Great Day for a Cookie,” available for free download at http://cookiesbydave.com/today-is-a-great-day-for-a-cookie-my-original-cookie-cookbook/.  Congrats, Kristie!

Also, I wanted to share a treat with the rest of you, as a thank you gift.  Late last night, my post about Hall and Oates (http://cookiesbydave.com/a-hall-and-oates-moment/) put CookiesbyDave.com over the top and helped register the site’s 5,000^th visitor!  Thank you, one and all.  Both Daryl Hall and John Oates would be very proud.

Any who, onto the special thank you gift.  My father, Mike Paulsen, loved entering drawings, which probably helps explain my unabashed desire to enter contests simply for the thrill of victory.  Dad had an exceptional track record at winning.  Much of his success he credited to a “special” folding technique (a part of Paulsen Family lore), which gives your entry blank an unusual feel and therefore has a higher chance of being selected.  Well, without further delay, here is your special DIY thank you gift…  “How to Specially Fold an Entry Blank and Increase Your Chances of Winning.”

A typical contest entry blank.

A typical fold.

The “special” fold, which results in a “V” shape.

There you have it, the special fold in action.  Use it and watch your winning percentage skyrocket.  Thank you, Dad, and thank you to everyone who has shared in today’s thrill of victory.

“Give a man an entry blank and he might win.  Teach a man how to properly fold an entry blank and he will win for a lifetime.”