Another year in the books! We had a lot of fun doing the Boga Bake-Off on the East Coast, and one advantage of having it at home was that we were able to facilitate a round of live voting the evening we finished our cookies. We won't disclose the votes of our close friends, but it was fun watching everyone pick their favorites. And by watching, we mean staring as each person nervously selected their top three in front of the Boga women who had worked so hard on their designs...
After that first night, we already had an idea of the cookie that would take home the win. Call it home field advantage, call it pop culture arbitrage, call it jealousy for now having the most Boga Bake-Off wins...but ROBIN has captured the "W" for the 2013 Boga Bake-Off with her Miley-inspired cookie, I came in like a Wrecking Ball. And she won by a fairly large margin (69 out of 300 total votes). Congrats, Bobs.
I can't say I'm proud we're giving the already over-exposed Miley even more attention, but I guess it's our own fault for creating the Wrecking Ball cookie. I, in fact, had grand plans for a cookie of the same theme, but when I saw Robin's well-proportioned figure, I just felt I couldn't compete. Plus, even if I wanted to, Robin created a new rule DURING the Bake-Off that once one person started a cookie "theme", another person couldn't use that same "theme". Interesting. We did, however, make one exception to that new rule...
The Mia category! It was apparent that the Mia cookies split the Mia votes, as none of them placed in the top three (though their collective votes would have earned a third place finish). Robin also claimed the Mia victory with Snowbaby, with my Mia's First Christmas cookie getting the second most Mia votes. Hilariously, Mom's Lil Bebe Mia only gained 4 votes, the least of ANY cookie in the Bake-Off:
Snowbaby Mia (Robin) - 30 votes
Mia's First Christmas (Jamie) - 19 votes
Snowbaby Mia (Nancy) - 4 votes!
Robin rounded out her submissions with R.I.P Paul Walker, and the 3rd place finisher, It's a Dick in a Box! with 38 votes. I was sure the voters would find that one outdated, and not that clever. I overestimated the voters. I guess people are a sucker for J. Timbs and the Christmas themed skit.
What about the "Bogas in a" franchise?! Mom made a comeback this year, getting a well deserved second place with Bogas in Outerspace (49 votes). Her Gravity inspired design included the four Bogas plus Mia floating in space, complete with space helmets.
While Doug usually just watches from the sidelines, he submitted one design this year: Duck Dynasty. While not the most technically sound cookie, it got a few laughs and a kinda respectable 11 votes. Good job, Dad.
And me? My best performer was It's a Minion (4th place with 34 votes). While Sharknado performed well during initial live voting, it only got 19 more votes. I thought that one had a chance! Until next year...
Here are the complete rankings:
1st: I came in like a Wrecking Ball (Robin) - 69 votes
Welcome to Boga Bake-Off 2013! This year we migrated the cookie decorating all the way from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Robin's new apartment in Arlington, VA. In addition to the new location, we also had a new attendant, and a new cookie theme...Baby Mia! While Doug usually presides over cookie decorating with a discriminating eye, instead he kept watch over Mia all day while Nancy, Jamie and Robin concentrated on their cookies. And each of them made a baby Mia cookie, the first time we've all contributed to the same theme.
Since it was just the immediate family this year, it's guaranteed that a Boga will win (sorry, Liberts). Will the "Bogas in a" franchise make a comeback? Which of the Baby Mia cookies will prevail? We're very excited for another year and can't wait to see the results.
Enlarged images are included first below, followed by the poll to vote. Select your three favorite cookies in the checkboxes, and vote once.
Voting is open all Christmas Day through 12/26 at Noon EST.
We'll reveal Doug's winners and the people's champions on Thursday! Thanks for voting :)
