This morning, Carolyn Gurtz went from being one of field of 100 finalist to becoming the latest Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest grand prize winner with her Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies. Having also picked up the "Sweet Treats" category award and the Jif® Peanut Butter Award, her cash winnings total $1,005,000 in addition to her new GE Profile™ Double Oven and the fame associated with being a publicly recognized kitchen talent.

The award ceremony was a heart pounding affair - even for the folks who knew the results before the announcement. Many of us were getting chills from just seeing the excitement build among the finalists as category and special prize award winners were announced. With the naming of the grand prize winner, there was an explosion of confetti, fanfare and a standing ovation from the crowd.  It was very cool to see and experience.

Before being whisked away to New York City for media appearances (literally within an hour of winning), Carolyn took some questions from the press. She spoke of her love for the Pillsbury Doughboy™, how her 14-year-old dog helps her refine recipes as a taste tester, and the prescient words from her son upon tasting her recipe for the first time, "this is a winner!" She's darling and I know Pillsbury is thrilled to have her as its newest champion and spokesperson.

Carolyn is on her way to NYC as we speak, so we'll have to keep up with her adventures over the next several days. As for the rest of us, we are getting packed up and getting ready to ship all of our things back to Minnesota. It's been a great few days.