Bijoux chef named grand champion at Destin Desserts
The Girl Scouts of the Florida Panhandle recently held their 5th Annual Destin Desserts at The Palms.
Area chefs showcased their talents by creating their own original desserts utilizing Girl Scout cookies as the main ingredient. Guests sampled the creative and delectable desserts, and along with Judges Chef Dan Petis of One 20A Modern Bistro, the Destin Desserts 2012 Champion; and Lauren Delgado, Features Reporter for the Northwest Daily News; votes were cast to name 2016 Grand Champion and two runner-up chefs.
A drumroll please… this year’s Grand Champion, taking 1st place, was Pastry Chef Angie Malabet from Bijoux. Her mouth-watering “Creamy Peanut Truffles Delight” dessert was made using Tagalongs Girl Scout cookies.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse Sous Chef Chris Hockman took the 2nd place honors with his “Samoa Cookie Cheese Cake” dessert. LuLu’s Sous Chef Katrina Prebula was 3rd place winner with her “B’s Blueberry Love” creation using the Girl Scouts’ shortbread Tresfoil cookies.
Other competing chefs this year included Chef Nikhil Abuvala of Roux 30a, Chef Chris Rakas of Aegean Restaurant, and Chef Brian Murray of DIG.
In a silent auction, guests bid on unique products and services from the area. Live entertainment was by Shades of Blue. Guests also enjoyed heavy hors d’oeuvres and cocktails.
Proceeds from Destin Desserts solely benefit the Girl Scouts’ Camp Kolomoki, located just west of DeFuniak Springs in Walton County. The camp, which had fallen into disrepair because of heavy rains and inclement weather a few years back is currently not able to be utilized by the Girl Scouts. The funds raised from this annual event go towards completion of the repairs and will aide in re-opening Camp Kolomoki.
Young 12 year-old Girl Scout Cadet, Kate Mellette, gave an inspirational speech at the event. Aspiring to be an actress and a singer, Kate is one of 5,019 Girl Scouts in the 19 county area of Northwest Florida, and one of over 3 million Girl Scouts world-wide. Another bit of Girl Scout trivia is the fact that globally, the girls sell 200 million boxes of cookies annually.
“This year’s Destin Desserts was a great success, we so appreciate the community support,” commented Chair and long-time Girl Scout advocate, Gretchen Erickson. “We’re getting closer and closer to being able to make the Camp Kolomoki repairs a reality and get it running again for our girls.”
For more information, or to make a contribution, visit the Girl Scouts of the Florida Panhandle online at www.gscfp.org or call 888-271-8778.
“Creamy Peanut Truffles Delight” featuring the Tagalongs Girl Scout Cookie
No Bake Cheese Cake Layers
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sour cream
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter, room temperature
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
Blend the cream cheese, sour cream, peanut butter and 1 cup of the confectioners’ sugar until smooth and creamy with a hand mixer.
Peanut Crunch Layers
1 box of Cocoa Crispies
1 1/2 cups crunchy peanut butter
2 boxes frozen Tagalongs Girl Scout Cookies
1/4 cup flour
1/4 sugar
Blend frozen cookies and peanut butter in food processor until pulverized. Mix all ingredients in a mixer until well combined. Spread the mixture into a sheet pan in a thin layer and bake at 300 degrees for 25 min. Let cool then crumble by hand.
Create layers of prepared cheese cake mix and peanut crunch mix and garnish with a chocolate truffle of your choice, and voila, you have the 2016 Girl Scouts Destin Desserts Champion recipe, guaranteed to delight the taste buds.
Winning Recipe
