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I Threw a Cookie Bake-Off Party and Here's Everything I Printed and Bought
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items Planning a cookie bake-off sounded fun until I realized I needed ballots, scoring cards, prizes, and actual baking supplies that wouldn't break the bank. If you're the friend who hosts themed parties and wants everything to look legit without spendin...
Sections
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Printable Voting Ballots and Score Cards
Cookie Bake-Off Trophies and Winner Prizes
Baking Supplies for Cookie Contestants
Decorating Station for Cookie Entries
Party Decorations for a Bake-Off Theme
Scoring and Judging Supplies
Printable Voting Ballots and Score Cards
Nobody could agree on a winner until we started using actual ballots. Suddenly everyone took their judging role way too seriously and it was the funnest part of the night.
Print your own ballot design on these and they feel sturdy enough that people actually keep them as souvenirs. Perfect for anyone who wants a polished look without ordering custom prints.
Avery, Note Cards & Envelopes, 4.25" x 5.5" 50ct, Textured
Use these as mini voting cards. Each guest gets one per cookie entry. They fit in a mason jar for the final tally and look way better than torn notebook paper.
Avery Business Cards, Clean Edge, Matte White, 2" x 3.5"
Toss your ballot template onto glossy paper and suddenly your kitchen table looks like an actual competition set. Grabbed this the day before our party and the colors popped.
HP Everyday Glossy Photo Paper | 8.5 x 11 in, 50 Sheets
Laminate your scoring rubric so it survives frosting-covered fingers. Passed ours around to eight people and it still looked brand new at the end of the night.
Scotch, Self-Sealing Laminating Pouches, 25 Count
Stick these on each cookie plate so voters can match their ballot to the right entry. Saved us from the chaos of someone yelling whose snickerdoodle was whose.
Avery, Removable Labels, 1" x 3", White, Pack of 72
Cookie Bake-Off Trophies and Winner Prizes
The winner needed something to brag about. A certificate wasn't going to cut it. These prizes had people actually trash-talking each other's cookies.
Swap out the generic plate for a printed cookie label and you've got a trophy people will put on their desk at work. Our winner literally brought it to the office Monday.
Beistle Pack of 6 Silver Trophy Cup Award Party Favors
Pin a first, second, and third place ribbon on the winners and watch grown adults act like they just won the Olympics. For anyone hosting a party with competitive friends.
Fun Express Second & Third Place Satin Award Ribbons
Give this to the winner as their baking prize. Our champion had been using a plastic bag to pipe dough and almost cried when she opened it.
Wilton Cookie Pro Ultra II Deluxe Cookie Press (Pack of 3)
Second place walked away with these and honestly seemed happier than first place. Great for the friend who still mixes everything in a cereal bowl.
Kitchenaid Set of 5 Plastic Mixing Bowls in Pistachio
Wrap this up as the grand prize and the winner gets cookie cutters, spatulas, and a cooling rack all in one box. Wish someone had given me this when I first started baking.
Betty Crocker 20-Piece Cookie Cutter Set
Baking Supplies for Cookie Contestants
Half our contestants showed up without a single baking sheet. Now I keep a stash of basics so nobody has an excuse for flat, burnt cookies.
Keep two of these on hand for contestants who forgot their own pan. The non-stick actually works. No more chiseling cookies off with a spatula.
Wilton Perfect Results Non-Stick Mega Cookie Sheet (Grey)
Tear off sheets for every contestant and watch their cookies slide right off. Before this, someone's entry was permanently fused to my baking sheet.
Reynolds Kitchens Unbleached Parchment Paper Roll
Pass this around so every cookie is roughly the same size. Keeps the judging fair and stops that one person from making cookies the size of their head.
OXO Good Grips 1055893 Medium Cookie Scoop
Stock a bottle of this because someone always forgets their vanilla at home. Happened twice at our party. Real extract makes a noticeable difference over imitation.
McCormick All Natural Pure Vanilla Extract 4 fl oz
Grab the big bag because eight bakers will blow through flour faster than you think. Ran out halfway through our first bake-off and had to make an emergency run.
Great Value All-Purpose Flour, 10 lb Bag
Decorating Station for Cookie Entries
We set up a decorating table and it turned into the most chaotic, hilarious hour of the party. Kids and adults fighting over sprinkles. Worth every penny.
Squeeze a tiny dot into royal icing and the colors are intense. Our contestants went from plain beige cookies to full art pieces in about ten minutes.
Wilton Edible Gel Food Coloring Set, 12-pack of 0.5 Oz jars
Pair these with disposable bags and even beginners can pipe decent rosettes. Watched my brother-in-law figure it out in about three tries.
(4 pack) Wilton Open Star Cake Decorating Tip 1M
Keep a few tubes of this at the station for people who didn't bring their own icing. Squeeze, decorate, done. No mixing required.
Betty Crocker Decorating Tube Icing, White, 4.25oz
Six different sprinkle types in one pack means less shopping. The nonpareils were gone in five minutes because everyone wanted that confetti look.
Cake Mate, Dessert Sprinkles, Rainbow Fusion
Use one per person so nobody's sharing a bag and mixing colors by accident. Toss them after and there's basically zero cleanup on the decorating end.
Wilton 12 inch Disposable Decorating Piping Bags
Party Decorations for a Bake-Off Theme
Walking into a kitchen that actually looks like a bake-off set makes people take the competition seriously. A few banners and some tablecloths did all the heavy lifting.
Hang this above the judging table and your kitchen instantly looks like a cooking show set. Took 30 seconds to put up and everyone commented on it.
Beistle Birthday Banners for Party Decorations | Multicolor
Roll this over your table for a rustic bakery vibe. When it gets covered in flour and frosting, just crumple it up and toss it. Cleanup took two minutes.
Creative Converting Octy-Round Paper Table Cover
Serve cookie samples on these so each judge has their own tasting plate. They're cute enough for photos and cheap enough that you won't care about tossing them.
Unique Industries Polka Dots Disposable Paper Plates
Write each contestant's name and cookie type on these little signs. Looks professional and helps judges keep track without asking whose cookie is whose every five seconds.
Name Cards Tables
Display all the cookie entries on tiers so everyone can see them at once. Stacking plates was a mess before this. Now it actually looks like a bakery counter.
6X 3 Tier Serving Tray Wood Tiered Tray Decor Cake
Scoring and Judging Supplies
Letting people just yell out their favorite cookie was chaos the first year. Adding pens, clipboards, and a real scoring system made it feel official and way more fun.
Hand each judge a clipboard with their ballot attached and suddenly everyone sits up straighter. For the friend group that gets competitive about literally anything.
Pen+Gear Double-Sided Clipboard, Letter Size, Black
Let judges circle scores in different colors so you can tally votes faster. Also doubles as entertainment for any kids who lose interest in judging after cookie number three.
Customer reviews for Crayola 12 Count Colored Pencils
Stick anonymous feedback on each entry so bakers can read comments later. Some of ours were hilarious. One just said ‘marry me’ on a chocolate chip entry.
Post-it Super Sticky Notes Limited Edition Pack
Scatter these around the judging area because pens vanish at parties. Bought ten and only found six at the end of the night. No idea where the others went.
Pen+Gear Retractable Ballpoint Pens, Medium Point 1.0
Use this as your official bake-off record book. Write down winners each year and bring it back for the next one. Ours is on year three and people flip through past results every time.
Pen+Gear Composition Book, Wide Ruled
Cookie Storage and Leftovers
After the competition, everyone wanted to take cookies home. Having containers ready saved me from wrapping 40 cookies in aluminum foil like a maniac.
Send every guest home with a container of leftover cookies. They snap shut and actually keep cookies soft for a couple days. Way better than a ziplock bag.
Rubbermaid TakeAlongs 4.0-Cup Rectangle Food Storage
Wrap up prize cookies in foil so winners can transport them without crumbling. Learned this after someone's winning snickerdoodles fell apart in their purse.
Reynolds Wrap Everyday Strength Aluminum Foil
Bag up two or three cookies per guest as party favors. Tie them with the included ribbons and it looks like you spent way more effort than you actually did.
Gold Dot Treat Bags with Twist Ties, 5" x 3" x 11"
Store your leftover bake-off supplies, ballots, trophies, and decorations in one bin between events. Keeps everything together so you're not hunting for it next year.
Sterilite 12 Qt Plastic Gasket Box, Clear
Print custom labels that say ‘Official Bake-Off Winner Cookies’ and slap them on the winner's container. Silly detail but it got the biggest laugh of the night.
Avery Address Labels, 1" x 2-5/8", White, 3000 Labels (5160)