Bryoni Prentice works as a contestant on 'Halloween Cookie Challenge.'
Bryoni Prentice is as a contestant on 'Halloween Cookie Challenge.'
New Orleans native Bryoni Prentice competes against three other cookie makers in two rounds of baking challenges for the chance to win $10,000.
Bryoni Prentice works as a contestant on 'Halloween Cookie Challenge.'
Bryoni Prentice is as a contestant on 'Halloween Cookie Challenge.'
New Orleans native Bryoni Prentice competes against three other cookie makers in two rounds of baking challenges for the chance to win $10,000.
A local chef put her skills to the test and walked away with a $10,000 prize by whipping up spooky treats on the new Food Network show "Halloween Cookie Challenge."
New Orleans native Bryoni Prentice competed against three other cookie makers in two rounds of baking. Each round had an exciting yet frightening theme for the bakers, whose tasks included designing mix-and-match, cute and creepy cookies and making 3D structures.
In the end, she walked away with the cash and the title of Halloween Cookie champion.
Prentice said she was excited to participate in the new show, having previously appeared on the Food Network in December 2021 on "Christmas Cookie Challenge."
She said she hadn't heard about the show until a casting director scouted her via social media. To prepare for the competition, she spent months experimenting at home.
"Cookies were everywhere," she said. "My family ate a whole bunch of cookies all the time."
Though she didn't win the Christmas challenge, she went into the Halloween challenge with confidence because she was more familiar with process.
"I've finally found my passion," she said. "I'm grateful to be able to show it to the world."
Prentice is no stranger to the kitchen, having started her culinary journey when she was a child. She said that cooking has always been a creative outlet for her, and she wants others to experience it as well.
After graduating from Lamar University with a degree in hospitality administration and a certificate in culinary arts, she worked as a culinary instructor. But eventually she decided to pursue her first love: cooking.
She is now a private chef and operates Bryoni Catering, based in New Orleans. Her menu features dishes with lots of Cajun and Creole spice — dishes like crab and corn bisque, tri-pepper chicken, Cajun shrimp and jambalaya.
As for the cookies, Prentice said that after having children she realized just how much people were charging for decorated cookies, so she took the time to learn how to make them herself. Her custom creations include detailed designs, lettering and airbrushed work on cookies of all shapes.
Her go-to recipes are bananas Foster, wedding cake and various spiced cookies.
"I want to give everyone a special taste of New Orleans," she said.
In the future, she said she wants to expand her classes and workshops. She said she has a "cookies and cocktails" event theme in mind for a fun girls' night out or bachelorette party activity. Similar to sip and paint, participants can learn how to decorate cookies while sipping on drinks.
While she works on that, her advice for others pursuing their passions is to not shy away from who they are.
She added: "It's about finding what you love and finding a way to do it everyday."
Episodes of "Halloween Cookie Challenge" air on Mondays at 9 p.m. Central Time on the Food Network and Discovery app.
Prentice won episode two titled "Halloween Costumes and Haunted House." Reruns are scheduled throughout the month. More information at foodnetwork.com
1 cup of softened unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of butter vanilla emulsion
Preheat the oven to 365 degrees F.
In a stand mixer, use the creaming attachment to cream together unsalted butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy.
Beat in the egg and the butter vanilla emulsion.
Once the ingredients are combined, add in the salt, cinnamon, ginger, and flour.
When the dough comes together and leaves the sides of the bowl, take the dough out and divide it into three portions.
On a floured surface, use a rolling pin to rollout to ⅛ inch thickness.
Using your favorite cookie cutters, cut out your designs and bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies have a light brown color on the bottom.
Make sure the cookies are completely cooled down before decorating
4 cups of sifted confectioners’ sugar
8-10 tablespoons of warm water
Using a stand mixer and whisk attachment, combine confectioners’ sugar, meringue powder, and 8 tablespoons of water in the bowl.
On medium speed, beat the ingredients for 2 minutes. When lifting the whisk out of the icing, the icing should drizzle down and smooth out within 10 seconds. If it is too thick, add 1 more tablespoon of water to the bowl. You can add up to 12-15 tablespoons of water. Keep in mind that the longer you beat the royal icing, the thicker it will become.
Separate icing into bowls and add in 2 drops of food coloring until you get desired colors.
Bryoni Prentice offers this advice on cookies.
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