By KEN CARPENTER
Great Bend Post
Once again, A440 Musical Instruments won the annual cookie contest in Great Bend. It's the retailer's fifth win in the last six years. The competition was held last Saturday during the Home for The Holidays Festival. Lyle Jones, A440's manager, explained what he believes was this year's secret to winning.
“This one had a lot to do with the preparation I feel as much as the recipe,” Jones commented. “We had a chocolate chip salted caramel surprise. It has a layer of caramel in the middle. We took it out of the oven while they were still a little bit gooey. So the air crisped the outside, but it left the inside nice and soft. I think that was the key to it.”
The cookies were baked by the store's co-owners Kim and Dan Heath, along with their son, Quinton, who is the cookie recipe decision-maker. A440 will be competing again next year, but Jones said the store will be doing even more than that.
“We’re going to be putting out a video series ahead of time, almost like a sports documentary - showing maybe the process a little bit - a little peek behind the curtain,” Jones explained. “Make it a little bit more fun, keep people’s interest up.”
The annual cookie contest raises money for the Community Food Bank of Barton County to help those in need during the holiday season and beyond. $1,310 was donated this year, just $20 shy of last year's record amount.