SWAMPSCOTT — Mike and Winn Vanderslice, of Swampscott, came in first place for the Parent Child Decorated Cookie Contest at the Topsfield Fair. The father-son duo won a blue ribbon and a $40 prize for their cookies, which were based on characters from the Disney show “Phineas and Ferb.”
Vanderslice explained that, while he’s been baking for years, this was the first year that Winn, 6, was eligible to be join the competition. He added that this year’s theme for the fair was sugar cookies decorated however the contestants desired.
“My wife and I were like, ‘How are we gonna do that?’… So I found this company that has hundreds of cookie cutter designs, and they 3D print them,” Vanderslice explained. “They can do all the different cartoon characters.”
He added that he included characters like Phineas, Ferb, and Perry the Platypus.
His wife researched the recipe, and, as Vanderslice explained it, baking the cookies was a team effort. Winn handled “all the measuring and a lot of the mixing,” he said. Vanderslice added that Winn “also helped her get the color just right as we mixed the food-coloring into the icing.”
“We’re just so thrilled (to win first place),” Vanderslice said. “I have been baking for years, and I have a couple of ribbons from the North Carolina State Fair, several from the Topsfield Fair, and we just love it.”
Winn said one of the best parts of making the cookies was being able to mix the food coloring and that winning first place with his father was “really good.”
In order to keep the playing field completely level for every participant, Vanderslice explained that the winner of the event is ineligible from participating in the next year’s contest. However, he and Winn plan to continue competing in the fair to some degree when it returns again. The Fair’s last day open is scheduled for Monday.
