The Chocnip Festival and Cookie Cook-off

The Chocnip Festival and Cookie Cook-off


Spring and summer had come and gone, and fall was in the air, and the great Chocnip Festival and Cookie Cook-off was just around the corner.

It was held each fall in the capital city of Catuary, San Kata, and was a wonderful three day event in which cats came from all corners of the kingdom to celebrate, to play games, to dance and have fun, and most of all to eat as many chocnips in as many forms as possible.

The chocnip was a wonderful large dark red berry similar to the cranberry with a slightly chocolaty flavor. Chocnips were harvested in the late summer, and made into many lovely and delicious things. There was chocnip fruit drinks, and chocnip jams and jellies. There were chocnip pies, and muffins, and even chocnip curries. Many of the lovely chocnips were dried and used for cooking. And as far as BabyCat was concerned, the best way to use a chocnip was in a chocnip cookie. In fact, her love of chocnip cookies was well known.

So on this lovely fall day, she was puttering around in the kitchen experimenting with chocnip cookie recipes to enter in the Cookie Cook-off that was just a week off.

BabyCat had a secret ingredient, and she was sure her cookies would take a prize, maybe even the grand prize. Just as she finished transferring a big batch of her cookies to a plate to cool, the doorbell rang, and she hurried off to answer it. It was her good friends, Frisky Tat and Rena. Well, before long the three were sitting in her warm kitchen eating chocnip cookies and drinking tea, and discussing the upcoming festival. Rena, famous for her hats, was entering a hat in the Festival. She planned to decorate it with dried chocnips and flowers. By the time the three finished talking and eating the day was gone. And so was the plate of chocnip cookies. But that was okay, for the cookies had not been perfect. BabyCat decided she would try again the next day.

So the next day BabyCat got up at the crack of dawn and started baking again. She just had to get this right. She baked several batches, and no sooner was she done than her doorbell rang again. This time it was her old friend Chippy, his wife, and their new litter of hungry raccoon kitts. And before she knew it, there they were all in the kitchen talking and eating chocnip cookies, and drinking tea and milk. And before she knew it, the day was over. Chippy and his large family had left, the plates of chocnip cookes were gone, and night had fallen. BabyCat sighed. It was too late for further experimentation.

The next few days were a bit more peaceful, and BabyCat baked and baked until she knew that she had the perfect chocnip cookie. But she only had a little of her secret ingredient left. It was just enough for one more big batch of cookies. BabyCat was ready and up for the challenge.

The night before the festival BabyCat baked a big plate of her special cookies. Then she carefully wrapped them and left them sitting on the counter. She was very tired after the long week, and soon she had fallen asleep on the couch. She was so soundly asleep that she did not know when her two friends, Sassy and Charley, came in later that night. They were here to help judge at the Festival, and BabyCat had invited them to stay with her. They found BabyCat fast asleep, and didn’t want to disturb her. Instead the two tired and hungry cats went into the kitchen for a snack. They spied the plate of cookies, and Sassy made a pot of tea, and before long the two had eaten the plate of cookies. Then they too fell asleep.

The next morning BabyCat woke up early and wandered into the kitchen, where she let out a loud meyowl, for there on the counter was an empty plate. Not one chocnip cookie was in sight! BabyCat was furious! Who could have eaten all of her cookies? She stomped into the living room, and then she noticed her two friends fast asleep, with cookie crumbs on their furry mouths and in their whiskers.

Suddenly BabyCat smiled. She could never be mad at her dear friends. After all, they were only cookies, and she could always enter next year. If only she had a little more of her secret ingredient. She sighed. Then softly she woke the two. They were very sorry when they realized what they had done, and they hoped they could find a way to make it up to their friend. Soon they were all headed for the Festival, the Cook-off and the judging.

The festival was in full swing when the three cats arrived. First they went to see the Hat Contest. Their friend Rena won first place for her lovely Chocnip decorated hat, and BabyCat clapped with delight. Sunny came in second with her beautiful and colorful creation. And SassyJazmine won third place for the funniest hat of all. It was a basket filled with chocnips, and every time she took a step the basket would dip and spill chocnips everywhere. Chocnips covered the stage as she bowed low, and the last of the berries fell out of the basket.

Next they wandered over to watch the Chocnip Pie Eating Contest. Cats lined up on each side of a huge table filled with pies, and soon the contestants' faces were covered with yummy chocnip pie, as each cat tried to gobble down the most pie the fastest. Loganberry easily won the contest, with Rajah coming in second and Daenida's Cookie Man taking third place.

Finally came the judging of the chocnip cookies, and Charley and Sassy hurried to take their places witht he other judges. The judges walked from plate to plate, sampling a bit of cookie from each of the entries. Then they put their furry heads together and deliberated for a very long time. Finally Sassy stood up to announce the winner, and all the cats held their breath.

“Well”, she said, “this was a very hard contest to judge. But after much deliberation, here are the winners.”

“Third prize goes to E.T. and Ginger, for their Chocnip Coconut Delights.” All the cats clapped as E. T. and Ginger walked to the stage.

“ Second place goes to Tramp for her Chocnip Catnip Oatmeal Cookies.” Again all the cats clapped as Tramp took her place on the stage beside E.T and Ginger.

“ First place goes to Gypsy Fluff for her very interesting Chocnip Wattleberry Seed Cookies.”
The crowd clapped wildly as Gypsy Fluff walked up on stage.

“And I have one more presentation to make. BabyCat, would you please come up to the stage?”
BabyCat walked up slowly to the stage. “This is a special award which we are giving to our wonderful friend BabyCat whose cookies didn't quite make it to the Festival. Sassy handed BabyCat a huge basket filled with delicious chocnip cookies. BabyCat smiled with delight, for she knew that the best prize of all was having so many special friends. That evening she invited all of her friends to her house for chocnip cookies and catnip tea.

And as they sat around eating and drinking and laughing, BabyCat vowed that the next year she would bake the best chocnip cookies ever, and enter them in the festival. And so ended another great Chocnip Festival and Cookie Cook-off.

And they all lived happily ever after.