Emily Gerken likes the flavor of "cookies and cream" in ice cream and pretty much anything
else.
So when she discovered a recipe for cookies and cream fudge, she had a sneaking suspicion it might go
somewhere.
Indeed it did. Emily’s fudge won the Senior Best of Class rosette in the 4-H Bakeoff at last month’s Wood
County Fair.
"I was looking through all my mom’s cookbooks at other recipes," Emily recalls, when she came
across this one in "A Taste of Home" book from about 1998.
Competitors were required to submit a baker’s dozen – one piece for the judges and a dozen for the public
auction held at the conclusion of the Bakeoff.
Among other categories in the senior bake-off, for 4-H’ers ages 14-18, were a 12-inch cookie and a recipe
including apple as an ingredient.
Emily entered that one too. "I actually tried an apple lasagna. You included ricotta and cheddar
cheese. It didn’t win anything, but I thought it was pretty good."
Coming out on top in the fudge competition was quite a thrill for this 16-year-old.
"I like baking a lot. But we usually do more cookies. This was the first fudge I ever made, so I
wasn’t really expecting it to be that good."
To be safe, she tested it ahead of time with a group from her church, St. Mark’s Lutheran.
"A few of the youth were going to the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans. We had a potluck
before we left to finalize everything, so I tried the recipe out on them. They liked it a lot!"
Through trial and error, she did discover a few secrets.
Most importantly, "keep it in the refrigerator long enough. The first time, I left it in for an hour
like it said on the (original) recipe. And I thought ‘Oh this isn’t going to be good.’" It was
clearly too runny.
So I put it in the refrigerator over night and it really set up."
Second hint: "Don’t be afraid to use a generous amount of the crumbled cookies and cream. I didn’t
think the recipe said to use enough."
So she went with more at the 4-H Bakeoff. The judges obviously agreed.
In Emily’s opinion, the brand of cookies used doesn’t matter. "They don’t have to be Oreo. I think
we used Great Value from Wal-Mart and they were fine."
For other teens thinking about entering the Bakeoff next year, she offers herself as an example that
sticking with something can really pay off.
"A few years ago I made peanut butter cookies and Rice Krispie dessert for the Bakeoff,"
although neither was a winner.
"My sister Elizabeth, 13 1/2, has done it in past too. This year she did sugar cookies."
The Gerken girls "make a lot of cookies during holidays, like Christmas and Easter. We definitely
learned to bake from my mom," Cindy Gerken, herself a former Cook’s Corner subject with a memorable
recipe for grapefruit pie that once belonged to Emily’s great-grandmother.
In her sixth year in 4-H, Emily chooses projects because they sound like fun.
"Last year I took Global Gourmet. A few years ago I tried Quick Breads."
But most of the time she does clothing projects. She had the most fun with "Sewing For Others,"
in which she made a set of pajamas and little robes for her cousins ages 3 and 5.
The Bowling Green High School junior has a chock-full schedule: "I’m involved in tennis and Model
UN, Student Activities Board, peer mediation, Key Club, Girl Scouts, and obviously 4-H. I’m also in
band; I play the saxophone."
Within Girl Scouts she’s working on her gold award, which is the female equivalent of Eagle Scout status.

"At church I’m involved with puppet ministry and bell choir."
Emily most recently made her prize-winning fudge for fellow band members attending a group meeting.
"Some kids said no thanks," probably concerned about calories, but when they heard the
enthusiastic reaction of others "they changed their minds!"
After all, these kids already know Emily as a great baker.
"In band we all have nicknames. Mine was Betty. Then I brought in cookies" and the kids
promptly gave her a new moniker: "Betty Crocker."
Cookies and Cream Fudge
16 chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies, broken into chunks, divided
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2-2/3 cups vanilla chips
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Coat an 8-inch-square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Place half of the broken cookies in the
pan. In a heavy saucepan, combine milk, butter and chips; cook and stir over low heat until chips are
melted. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Pour over cookies in pan. Sprinkle with remaining
cookies.
Cover and refrigerate overnight. Cut into squares.
Yield: 3 dozen