It seems as though everyone who bakes has their own take and flare on the classic chocolate chip cookie, or a special recipe throwing together an all-new flavor combo in cookie form.
Now it’s time to put it to the test. For a competition involving sugar, butter and a lot of love, there is no place more qualified in Philadelphia than the Famous 4th Street Cookie Company.
The Famous 4th Street Cookie Company was founded in 1978 with one goal: serving delicious, fresh-baked cookies made only with the finest ingredients. As the official description for the business reads, using the same recipe for their award-winning cookies for more than 40 years, owners Brian and Tina Phillips have grown the original bakery concept – born in South Philadelphia and raised in the Reading Terminal Market – into an e-commerce and wholesale distributor of the most delicious cookies money can buy. Today, Famous cookies can be found throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey and shipped anywhere in the United States.
2021 is an especially notable year for the famous eatery as well. For the first time ever, the city’s notable bakery has announced its first-ever baking competition in partnership with Reading Terminal Market. The Famous Cookie Baking Competition will take place during the month of October, in celebration of National Cookie Month.
“We want to use this competition as an opportunity to shine a spotlight on excellent home-bakers in the Greater Philadelphia region,” said Tina Phillips, owner, The Famous 4th Street Cookie Company in a statement. “We hope this will bring about some much-needed fun for fans of our cookies, customers of Reading Terminal Market, and our community as a whole. At the end of the day, someone’s cookie recipe will be made famous!”
Anyone who wants to throw their hat in the ring for a chance to compete can submit their recipe and application online by Oct. 8. According to the release, The Famous 4th Street Cookie Company will then review the submitted recipes and applications to select seven semi-finalists. Semi-finalists will be asked to provide their baked products and a minute-long video explaining the inspiration behind their recipe to The Famous 4th Street Cookie Company booth in Reading Terminal Market by Oct. 19.
A panel of Philadelphia tastemakers will convene at Reading Terminal Market to sample the submissions and select three Famous finalists. These finalists will be invited to Reading Terminal Market’s City Kitchen to participate in a live bake-off in front of a panel of judges on Oct. 29. Following the bake-off, one grand-prize winner will be selected on the same day.
What’s at stake? The grand prize winner will receive a $500 gift card from Reading Terminal Market, Reading Terminal Market and Famous 4th Street Cookie Company apparel, and a Reading Terminal Market gift basket.
Those who are willing to compete can find out more information on what to expect online by visiting famouscookies.com
