Baking has been part of Koku’s life since his mom began sharing new recipes and brought home a cookbook. Over the years, he’s honed his skills through YouTube tutorials, trial and error, and baking for friends and family. His specialty, before becoming a winning chocolate chip cookie baker, was millionaire shortbread.   
Here is what Koku had to say about his cookie recipe development: “I had a lot of fun developing this recipe! I did a lot of research on what makes a chocolate chip cookie a true chocolate chip cookie. Most recipes rely on the same basic ingredients, but I wanted to see how far I could take those fundamentals—I put miso for depth, toasted sugar for complexity, and a touch of bourbon for warmth. I’m happy that I found something that my friends and I enjoyed, and thankfully, the judges at the Columbus Cookie Classic did as well. I hope you can make this recipe and further iterate it to fit what you like best in a chocolate chip cookie!”

Joseph learned to bake as a teenager so that he could eat scones whenever he wanted. Twenty years later, baking has slowly but steadily grown into a passon. He obsessively tests new recipes, from cookies and pies to crème brûlée and macarons. Joseph's favorite things to make are cookies and steak!

Here is what he said about being a part of the Columbus Cookie Classic: “I loved this event and already can't wait for next year. It was great meeting so many people who also get way too obsessed with cookies and details like what type of chocolate to use. I loved all the variety to the cookies. One of the best things about chocolate chip cookies is how many different styles they can take on.”

Hannah is a self-taught baker who loves finding new recipes on social media, reading cookbooks, and just playing around in the kitchen. She's currently into reading old cookbooks to see how the recipes stand the test of time.

Here’s what she said about being a part of the Columbus Cookie Classic: “I absolutely loved being part of this inaugural community event with fellow friends and bakers. Spending the afternoon surrounded by good people, good treats, and good vibes is an absolutely delightful way to increase joy in our world.”

Sara learned to bake from her grandmother and 4-H. As a 9 year old member of the Sew Clever club, she entered a chocolate chip cookie + place setting competition in her county fair. She hasn't entered a baking contest since, but she's continued to level up her baking by watching Great British Bake Off, obsessing over cakes online, and trying nearly every recipe that makes her think “yeah, that’s going to be good.”

Here is what Sara had to say about being a part of the Columbus Cookie Classic, “I loved participating in the Columbus Cookie Classic! The weeks between buying my baker’s ticket and the event were so fun. At first my partner and close friends thought I was joking and couldn’t believe that I entered a chocolate chip cookie contest, but once the cookies from trial recipes started stacking up my community got INVESTED. So many people talked to me about their family recipes, tried my experiments, gave me feedback, and asked about how the baking was going! It was awesome. We all had something to look forward to. I still can’t believe I won People’s Choice!”

I always enjoyed baking, but really got into trying to learn new baking skills during the pandemic. I’m mostly self taught through tweaking recipes and seeing what works. I took an online baking class on the creative process of baking from Christina Tosi which was fun!

I try out different online recipes and try to put my own twist on them. I love trying out different baking techniques that are new to me, just to see how it goes.

Developing this brownie recipe was a very fun challenge for me! Until prepping for this event, when I started trying out recipes, tweaking them, and researching the roles of the ingredients, I had yet to personally make homemade brownies that I thought could beat a classic boxed mix. I started the process with a great recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction and then from there slowly adjusted the ingredients to get the texture I preferred. I’m a huge fan of nuts in brownies, so I mixed in some walnuts for crunch. The walnuts and the addition of instant coffee and espresso powder offer a good balance to the inherent sweetness and richness of a fudgy brownie. I’m glad I had the chance to dedicate some time to building this recipe and I hope other’s enjoy it as well!

I'm a self taught home baker, I started with my mom bringing a cook book home and from there, I practiced and watched youtube videos. I bake almost every day.

I grew up baking in the kitchen with my mom and I've been baking ever since! She inspired me to bake for others and for every holiday, birthday, or random occasion, there's always a baked good to share!

I try to bake something new every week and am always looking for new recipes. I love looking for inspiration from Instagram and Pinterest and watching baking influencers to learn new skills and techniques.