Ann Fennell was beaming when she won the grand prize at the 2008 National Peanut Festival Recipe Contest in Dothan on Oct. 30. But you couldn’t tell it was Fennell’s third time to take top honors at the contest. She was all smiles as her Peanut-Chicken Quiche took top honors in the Adult Division, having already won first place in the Adult Miscellaneous Division.Held in conjunction with the National Peanut Festival, this year’s contest attracted nearly 200 contestants ranging from students as young as 10 to cooks old enough to be their grandmothers. Each recipe featured peanuts, peanut butter, peanut oil or other peanut products. Judges selected winners on the basis of texture, excellence in flavor, appearance, originality and effective use of peanut products.Standing next to Fennell was 10-year old Paxton Peacock of Wicksburg who had just been named the grand prize winner in the student division with Paxton’s PB Cheesecake. He also won first-place awards in the pies and candy divisions.Although decades apart in age, they both share the love of cooking and the love of peanuts.”I tried to come up with something really different for this year’s contest,” Fennell said. “The quiche recipe is a compilation of several recipes I had. I made it several times as a trial run for the contest and each time every bit of it was eaten, so I knew people liked it.”Fennell previously won grand prizes in 1996 and 1998 for her candies.Peacock, the son of Cornel and Sue Peacock, attends Pinedale Elementary School in Enterprise. When he’s not spending time in the kitchen trying out new recipes, he enjoys showing hogs, playing golf and baseball. Last year, he won first place in the student pie division and took second in the student, miscellaneous division.”I was surprise when they called my name as the grand prize winner,” he said with a big smile. “I really need to thank my family, especially my daddy cause he does all the taste testing for me, and my grandmother, Betty Peacock, cause she brought me here today.”Paxton’s PB Cheesecake
Paxton Peacock, Wicksburg
Grand Prize Student WinnerCrust:
1 1/2 cups crushed peanut butter Oreo cookies
4 tablespoons melted butter
4 tablespoons sugarFilling:
Four 8-ounce cream cheese packages
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 large eggs, add slowly to mixPB Mix:
2 cups peanut butter
Two-thirds cup evaporated milk
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/3 cup light brown sugar
Mix crust ingredients together and place in a springform pan (a two-piece round pan with sides that can be removed through an interlocking band). Cool. Combine ingredients for filling and mix with a mixer. Pour filling over crust. Combine PB Mix ingredients in a pan and bring to a boil on the stove. Drop PB Mix in several places on top of filling and swirl with knife tip.
Bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes. Cool to room temperature, sprinkle with crushed peanuts and freeze. Once frozen, remove from freezer, take left over PB Mix and smooth around edges. Thaw and serve.Peanut-Chicken Quiche
Ann Fennell, Dothan
Grand Prize Adult RecipeCrust:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup cocktail peanuts, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/3 cup peanut oilFilling:
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 large eggs, beaten
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup fresh onion, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried dillweed
3 drops hot sauce
1/4 cup cocktail peanuts, chopped
Preheat over to 350 degrees. Combine flour, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, one-half cup chopped cocktail peanuts, salt and paprika. Stir well and add peanut oil. Press on bottom and along sides of a 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Cool completely (about 15 minutes).Mix sour cream, broth, mayonnaise and eggs. Stir with whisk until smooth. Stir in chicken, one-half cup cheese, onion, dillweed and hot sauce. Pour into cooled crust and put peanuts on top. Bake for 55 minutes. Cool 10 minutes and serve.Booty-licious Banana Foster Buttons
Joanne McGhee, Dothan
First Place, Cookie DivisionCookie Mixture:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Crisco Butter Flavor Shortening
1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, reserve egg white
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup Jif creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, choppedCombine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Beat shortening, egg plus egg yoke and sugars in a large bowl on medium speed. Then add peanut butter until mixture is blended. Gradually add flour mixture, mix well. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Dip in slightly beaten egg white.Roll in chopped peanuts and place on an ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Press thumb gently into center of each and bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet onto wire rack to cool. Banana Filling:
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tablespoon rum extract
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
3 bananas, sliced into small bitsMelt butter in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add sugar and stir until it begins to bubble, about 3 minutes. Add extract and cinnamon; simmer for 3 minutes. Add bananas and stir for 1 minute. Set aside for 10 minutes. Place 1 teaspoon of Banana Filling in each cookie.Topping: 1 container Pillsbury Creamy Supreme Vanilla Frosting
Place ¾ cup frosting in a ZIPLOC bag and cut a tiny hole in one corner; drizzle back and forth over each cookie. Store in a covered container and refrigerate. Makes 3 ½ dozen cookies.WILD WEST ROPING PEANUT CANDY
Barbara Baxley, Midland City
First Place, Candy Division1 (14-ounce) bag of peanut butter bars (chopped fine)
5 BUTTERFINGER candy bars (fun size, chopped fine)
1 pound confectioners sugar
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 tablespoons margarine (melted)
4 blocks vanilla almond bark (melted)
In large bowl combine all ingredients except almond bark. Mix well. Melt bark in microwave. Spoon in molds, press and chill. (Dipping is optional.) Yields 8 dozen.