MARY ELLEN WRIGHT | Staff WriterChocolate cake. Apple pie. Nut bread. Cookies.
These are just some of the tasty treats that turn talented bakers from all around the Keystone State into friendly rivals each year at the PA Farm Show.
Pennsylvania home bakers, who know their way around batter and dough, carried their top-drawer pies, cakes, bars, cookies and candy into the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg earlier this month to do battle.
These are bakers of all ages who know how to deftly apply a leaf cutout to a pie crust, make an airy angel food cake or create a Pennsylvania maple syrup-forward cookie that doesn't overpower the senses with sweetness. Some of these bakers earned ribbons for their creations.
Here are some recipes from Farm Show baking winners from Lancaster County and beyond.
Nuts and maple syrup
Bakers from Lancaster County and beyond won prizes and bragging rights in baking contests in which they had to use nuts or maple syrup produced in Pennsylvania.
Here are some of their recipes.
Debra Martin Berkoski of Conestoga, who along with her husband, Steven Berkoski, always takes home plenty of ribbons in baking and other competitions at the Farm Show, won first prize in the maple syrup pies category with this recipe.
MAPLE CRUMB-TOP PIE
Ingredients for the crumbs:
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
Directions:
Work with hands to form crumbs. Set aside.
Ingredients for pie:
• 1 1/4 cup dark maple syrup
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 tablespoons buter
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Bring maple syrup to a boil. Add the milk and cream, along with the butter. Whisk in the egg yolks, salt and cornstarch.
3. Fill pie shell (see Never Fail Pie Dough recipe below) and bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Top with crumbs and bake 20 minutes more.
NEVER FAIL PIE DOUGH
Ingredients:
• 4 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk, cold
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
Directions:
1. Combine flour, sugar and salt. Add shortening, and work with hands to form crumbs.
2. Beat together egg and vinegar and add to mixture add milk as needed to form pie dough.
3. Roll onto flour-covered cloth.
Cara Weil of Lancaster, who has also brought home lots of ribbons from past Farm Shows, won second place in the category of pies using maple syrup with this recipe for maple pie.
MAPLE PIE
Ingredients:
• Dough for a single-crust pie
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 3/4 cup corn syrup
• 1 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup coconut
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a disk and place in a 9-inch pie pan. Flute edges.
3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt. Stir in oats, syrups, butter and vanilla; pour into crust. Sprinkle with coconut.
4. Bake until set, 50-60 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Weil won fifth place in the nut cake category with this cake featuring pecans.
PECAN CAKE
Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup pecan halves
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease two 9-inch round pans.
2. Place pecans and sugars in a food processor; process until ground.
3. In a large bowl, cream butter and pecan mixture until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in syrup and milk.
4. In another bowl, whisk flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture, beating well. Pour into pans.
5. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25-30 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.
Winners from beyond Lancaster County
Of course, bakers from many other counties across Pennsylvania won blue ribbons in Farm Show contests this year.
Dawn Bodenberg of Adams County, who is secretary of the Pennsylvania Nut Growers Association, edits the "Kernel" newsletter and served as a judge for the second annual Farm Show Mullet Contest this year, won first place, best of class and best of show among nut-food baked goods with her bar cookies using Pennsylvania pecans.
TOFFEE PECAN BARS
Makes 2 dozen.
Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cups sifted flour
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans.
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour and 3/4 cup brown sugar in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Press the crumb mixture into a greased, 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
3. Beat eggs well. Add 1 1/2 cups brown sugar and vanilla; blend well. Combine 3 tablespoons flour, baking powder and salt. Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture; mix well. Stir in coconut and pecans.
4. Spread topping over baked layer. Bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is brown. Cool in pan on rack. While warm, cut into bars.
Here are two recipes from bakers in other parts who the state that took top prizes in special baking competitions that are held throughout farm show week.
Annabelle Martin, 9, of the town of Russell in Warren County, southeast of Erie, won the junior baking contest with this exotic-sounding confection. The contest is sponsored by PA Preferred, the organization that promotes Pennsylvania-produced products. So Annabelle used Keystone State eggs, milk, cream and butter in her macaron bars.
SEA SALT CARAMEL FRENCH MACARON BARS
Ingredients for macarons:
• 1 1/2 cup almond flour
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 4 egg whites, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Pinch of sea salt
Directions:
1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Sift almond flour and powdered sugar together, then sift again and discard any large pieces.
3. In a stand mixer, add egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar. Beat on medium-low speed until stiff peaks form. Do not over-beat the egg whites.
4. Sift dry ingredients into the bowl with the egg whites. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the egg whites until the batter is thick. The batter should slowly fall off your spatula when you pick it up, and any peaks in the batter should settle down within 20 seconds.
5. Transfer batter to a piping bag. Pipe batter onto the parchment paper (into rectangular shapes). Once all the macarons are piped out, slam the baking sheet against a flat stable surface to get the air bubbles out. Let the macarons dry out on the countertop for an hour. They are ready to bake when you touch the top of the macaron and it is completely dry.
6. Preheat oven to 345 F. Bake macarons in the middle rack of your oven for 9 minutes and 45 seconds. Once fully baked, let them cool down to room temperature on the baking sheets. Then, gently remove from the parchment paper.
Ingredients for the caramel:
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 stick butter, cubed, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
Directions:
1. Whisk sugar and water together in a deep saucepan over medium high heat.
2. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved. Continue to simmer without stirring until mixture is a deep caramel color, swirling pot to maintain even caramelization as needed.
3. Remove from heat and whisk in butter. Once incorporated, add heavy cream and whisk to combine. Add salt and whisk once more. Set aside to cool.
Ingredients for buttercream:
• 2 cups of powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 tablespoon of caramel
Directions:
1. To prepare buttercream using an electric hand mixer, beat together butter, milk, powdered sugar and caramel until thickened and creamy.
2. Pair up the macarons that are similar in size and shape. Pipe buttercream filling onto half of the macarons and fill with caramel in the middle. Top them with the other half of a macaron, and then top with sea salt.
Finally, Sharon Kurtz of Emmaus captured the blue ribbon in the Jam/Jelly Bar Contest, in which bakers have to use jelly, jam or preserves in their creations. Kurtz's winning bars feature blueberry jam and fresh blueberries.
BLUEBERRY CRUMB BARS
Ingredients:
• 4 cups rolled oats
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 pound butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (16-ounce) jar blueberry jam
• 3 cups fresh blueberries
Directions:
1. Sift flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda together. Add brown sugar and oats. Mix until well-blended.
2. Cut butter into pieces, put in microwave-safe bowl and heat on high for 1 minute or until melted. Add vanilla to butter and mix until well blended.
3. Add butter mixture to crumb mixture. Reserve 3 cups of crumbs. Place the rest in a parchment-lined 9-by-13-inch pan. Press dough firmly into bottom of pan.
4. Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and spread blueberry jam evenly on hot crust. Place blueberries evenly on top of jam. Sprinkle reserved crumbs on top of blueberries.
5. Bake for 55 more minutes. Place on cooling rack until cool and cut into 2-inch squares.
For more winning recipes from the 2025 PA Farm Show, visit lanc.news/FarmShowRecipes2025.
