Prepared mixes were off limits and all ingredients for the cakes, pies and cookies had to be measured, mixed together, then baked.

Fathers and sons tackled the recent Cub Scout Pack 238 Father/Son Bakeoff with serious resolve.

“They absolutely took this pretty seriously, especially the boys,” said Cassie Bonifacio, one of the judges from the National Institute of Culinary Arts at Mountain State University. “I was shocked when I went in and saw how well the boys did. You don’t think of little boys being so into something like that, but they came up with some really creative ideas.”

James Bowen and his son Nick, 8, baked some brownies that gave them second place in the cakes category. The best part, however, was working with his dad, Nick said.

“I really liked spending time with my dad. He works a lot and I don’t get to spend time with him as much as I would like. It was great!”

Bill Addison and his son Isaac, 9, won a first place in cakes for their Hawaiian wedding cake.

“He always helps his mother cook and he watches TV cooking shows,” Bill Addison said. “We had a really good time doing this together. We are proud of what we did.”

Isaac said he enjoyed the cooking part. “It was fun. I especially liked cooking with my dad,” he said.

Dr. Kevin Dickenson and his son Lucas, 7, took home a first-place award in cookies and Best of Bakeoff award for their chocolate caramel delights.

“It was great to have the students from the culinary arts school there to do the judging. That meant a lot to the kids,” Kevin Dickenson said. “They gave us some very good constructive comments when they critiqued the entries.”

Lucas, who does some cooking with both of his grandmothers, enjoyed a chance to team up with his dad for the event.

“We had fun. We really liked the baking part and being there and seeing what everybody else did,” he said.

Harold Scarbro and his son Michael took home second place in the cookies category with their hot dog cookies.

Each pair of contestants had to create a themed display for their entry. The Scarbro team’s hot dog stand drew lots of interest from the crowd and judges.

“That was really a cute idea and they did such a nice job putting it together,” Bonifacio said. “I could tell they spent some time putting the whole thing together. They did a great job.”

Here are their prize-winning recipes:

Chocolate caramel delights

Cookie:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg, separated

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup baking cocoa

1 cup finely chopped pecans

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon salt



Filling:

12 to 14 caramels, unwrapped

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon shortening



In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in egg yolk, milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa and salt; add to the creamed mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle. Roll into 1-inch balls. Beat egg white.

Dip balls into egg white and coat with nuts. Place two inches apart on greased baking sheets. Using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make a 1/2-inch indentation in the center of each ball. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool. Meanwhile, in a heavy saucepan, melt caramels with cream over low heat, stirring until smooth.

Place 1/2 teaspoon caramel mixture into each cookie. Melt chocolate chips and shortening. Drizzle over cookies. Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Brownies

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1/2 cup cocoa

2 cups sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup butter melted



Mix all ingredients well. Bake in 9x13 greased pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Cool before cutting.

Hawaiian wedding cake

Cake batter:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups granulated sugar

2 teaspoon baking soda

2 eggs lightly beaten

1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple with juice untrained

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup walnuts coarsely chopped

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup walnuts coarsely chopped



Frosting:

1/2 cup or 1 stick unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces of softened cream cheese

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla



Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat a 13-by-9-by-2-inch pan with nonstick baking spray.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, eggs, pineapple with juice, coconut, and walnuts. Stir with wooden spoon until just combined and all ingredients are moist. Spoon mixture into pan. Bake at 325 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.



Prepare frosting:

In a bowl, beat butter and cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar and vanilla until smooth. Frost cake when fully cooled.

Hot dog cookies

3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 egg yolk

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Red, green, and yellow decorator gels

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

Liquid food colors

Sesame seeds

Shredded coconut



Combine butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and egg yolk in medium bowl. Add flour, baking powder and salt, mix well.

Cover, refrigerate about 4 hours or until firm.

Grease cookie sheet.

Use 1/3 of dough to make “hot dogs.” Refrigerate remaining dough. Mix food colors in small bowl to get reddish-brown color following chart on the back of food color box. Add reserved 1/3 of dough. Mix color throughout dough using wooden spoon.

Divide colored dough into 6 equal sections. Roll each section into thin log shapes. Round edges. Set aside.

To make “buns,” divide remaining dough into 6 equal sections. Roll sections into thick logs. Make very deep indentation the length of the log in the centers; smooth edges to create buns.

Dip sides of buns in sesame seeds. Place 3 inches apart on prepared cookie sheet. Place hot dogs inside buns.

Freeze 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake 17-20 minutes or until bun edges are light golden brown. Cool completely on cookie sheet.

Top hot dogs with green tinted shredded coconut for “slaw” or “relish,” white coconut for “onions,” red decorator gel for “ketchup,” and yellow decorator gel for “mustard.”

Makes 6 hot dog cookies.

— E-mail:

bdavis@register-herald.com