We wish you a Merry Takedown, and sweet New Year! Yes friends, Takedown mastermind Matt Timms is back. And yesterday at Brooklyn’s Bell House he stood in for Santa Claus, delivering all good girls and boys a “Cookie Takedown” to end all bake-offs. 30 home cooks would compete for sugary supremacy. The LocalBozo crew was in the house to bring you all the deliciously decadent details.

Chocolate chip may be my favorite cookie, but there was no way something that simple was going to take first prize at a bake-off where creativity is king. As our crew walked both lines, we gazed upon the sweet confections made by these dedicated home cooks. Each of the 30 participants brought their A game, causing our plates to be overflowing with sugar biscuits.

One of our favorites truly pushed the boundaries of what you could call a “cookie.” It was called “Don’t Call Me A Tart,” a lemon cookie with lemon pastry cream topped with a juicy raspberry. The contrast of sweet to sour made this a delightful treat, to be popped in one’s mouth and finished in one bite.

The cookie innovation did not stop there! Strangely inspirational was a cookie that looked exactly like a piece of mouth-watering fruit as one Takedown competitor brought them with a Watermelon cookie. It was a bite sized look-a-like to an actual slice of the thirst quenching fruit. In fact, this competitor even took the time to infuse it with actual watermelon, which you could taste on the back end. 

If you’re going to try 30 different and highly unique cookies you need to wash that down with a proper beverage. Luckily the great people at Bullet Bourbon were a sponsor of this Takedown. Bullet kept the holiday season going by spiking the Christmas favorite- egg nog with their excellent spirit. For a full hour guests could dunk their cookie creations in this potent brew, enough to make anyone’s nose red. These drinks were free and a great way to put everyone in the spirit of the season.

After the last gingersnap was snatched, and the final cup of spiked nog was chugged it was time for the all important judging. With so many stand out cookie concoctions, this was a difficult final decision. Timms’ prefers to honor a judge’s selection and a people’s choice selection for honoring the best of the day. The judges went for “Miss Becky’s Sinful Salty Samoas,” a delectable variation on the popular Girl Scout cookie, while the sugar drunk crowd picked The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen’s, “Chocolate Salty Cara-Mal-Lard Cookies.” It appears that the salty, sweet combination worked for everyone. I just feel bad for the real Santa Claus, because there are no more cookies to leave for him on Christmas. Too bad, St. Nick!

- Jay Rubin