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Md. Woman Places 2nd In Nestle Cookie Contest

WALKERSVILLE, Md. (AP) -- Kathy Sweet is living up to her name.

The Walkersville resident placed second in the Nestle's Toll House Bake a Little Love Contest with her cookies.

Sweet competed against about 560 entries to get to the company's final 10 choices. The public made the final vote on Facebook.

"I just saw it on Facebook," said Sweet, office manager at Bach & Associates Real Estate in Frederick. "I just did it on a whim."

The food company provided the recipe for the basic cookies, which had to be heart-shaped; then it was up to the contestants to create a special delight.

"I made a large cookie, about 2 1/2 inches wide and a smaller one, about an inch and a half wide, and put it on top," Sweet said.

"I melted Nestle's milk chocolate and dipped them in that, then made a Dutch lace design on top with white buttercream frosting. It was kind of a heart and swirl design on top."

Facebook could vote on the final 10 entries each day between Feb. 16 and 21.

"They could vote every day, but only once each day," Sweet said. She said Nestle didn't reveal how many votes she got, only that she came in second.

"It was a nationwide vote," Sweet said. She said contestants had to be 18 and a U.S. resident.

In the initial judging, 50 percent of the score was based on originality and creativity; 25 percent on the ease of remaking the cookies and 25 percent on taste.

"I didn't have to send any cookies, just a photo," Sweet said.

A native of San Diego, Sweet moved to the area about 18 years ago when her husband, an employee of Covanta Energy, was transferred to the company's Dickerson power plant.

She grew up in a family of eight. "When my father died I was 12. We started baking out of necessity. We couldn't afford to buy sweets."

With three sons, she often baked at home. Two of her sons were on the local hockey team, and Sweet often made cookies and cupcakes for them and their friends.

"Their hockey friends got very used to that," she said, joking.

She has also made birthday and wedding cakes for family and friends. She is going to Ohio in March to bake a wedding cake for a friend. In August, she plans to go to San Diego to make a wedding cake for her best friend's son.

Information from: The Frederick (Md.) News-Post,

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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