ENTRIES SOUGHT FOR COLOSSAL COOKIE CONTEST

The Southeast Missourian's Colossal Cookie Contest is under way.

Recipes will be accepted through Wednesday, Nov. 19. As many recipes as possible will be published in the Dec. 3 edition of the newspaper, in plenty of time for holiday baking.

Christmas cookies are a natural part of the holiday season. And the paper hopes to pull together several hundred recipes that can become a valuable holiday resource to be used year after year.

Ten semi-finalists will be asked to bake up two dozen of their best Christmas cookies and bring them to the Southeast Missourian Monday, Nov. 24 for a taste test by a community panel of cookie and cooking experts.

The winner will receive a 26-week subscription to the Southeast Missourian -- a $76.25 value. Second place will receive a 13-week subscription, a $38.50 value, and a comic strip umbrella. Third place will receive a comic strip umbrella.

The remaining seven semifinalists will receive a Jean Bell Mosley "Seeds on the Wind" hardcover book.

All finalists will be photographed and interviewed about their cookie capers. All recipes will also appear on the Southeast Missourian's web site.

There are basically five categories of cookies: drop, bar, molded/pressed, refrigerator and rolled.

All will be welcome in the Colossal Cookie Contest. Judges will choose a variety of cookies as finalists -- representing a broad range of imaginative cookies.

COLOSSAL COOKIE CONTEST:

WHO

Anyone is eligible to enter their favorite Christmas cookie recipes. Enter as often as you like. be sure to include your name, address and telephone number.

WHAT

Any type of Christmas cookie.

WHERE

Entries can be faxed, 334-7288, e-mailed, jadams@semissourian.com or mailed: Cookie Contest, Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701

WHEN

Deadline is Monday, Nov. 19.

10 finalists will be asked to bake up two dozen of their treats for a taste-test by a panel of community judges. Most all the recipes will be published Dec. 3 in the paper.