Pillsbury Bake-Off Winning Recipe Is An Entire Cheese Plate Stuffed Into Pastry

Pillsbury
By  Gwen Ihnat

Who among us hasn't dreamed of winning the Pillsbury Bake-Off? A $50,000 prize, new appliances, and all the accolades you can handle. Since 1949, the Bake-Off has inspired home cooks and filled cookbooks with recipes we can't wait to try; in fact the Bake-Off helpfully lists all previous winners of its website, from 1949's No-Knead Water-Rising Twists to 1971's Pecan Pie Surprise Bars to last year's Bejeweled Cranberry-Orange Rolls.

Like this year's winner, basically an entire cheeseboard stuffed into a french bread loaf: Congratulations to Melissa Jollands of Hudsonville, Michigan, for her Bake-Off-winning Dublin Cheeseboard-Stuffed Appetizer Bread.

According to the press release, Jollands says she was inspired by a trip she and her husband (high-school sweethearts) took to Ireland for their 25th anniversary, during which time they ate an especially memorable cheese plate. To create her recipe, Jollands stuffed Pillsbury french bread dough with salami, white cheddar, and honey goat cheese, topped with almonds and sea salt. The baked product is then served with fig jam and arugula.

The grand-prize-winning appetizer (from the Appetizers For Any Party category) defeated her fellow category winners and finalists:

  • Cozy Weekend Breakfasts Category: Lauren Katz from Ashburn, Virginia for her Cherry-Cream Cheese Crumb Cake Bombs
  • Winning Weeknight Dinners Category: Andrea Espinoza from Stockton, California for her Poblano Shrimp Flatbread
  • Sweet + Simple Desserts Category: Joanna Crumley from Hubbard, Oregon for her Reese's Piece 'O' Bliss Fudge

    • Those all sound amazing, so this appetizer bread must be an absolute standout. All four finalists made it to the Food Network show The Kitchen, where Jollands was announced the winner. She received $50,000 (in the form of a giant check), a suite of GE Appliances, and will be featured in an upcoming issue of Food Network Magazine. The lifetime friendship of the Pillsbury Doughboy apparently also goes along with the package. Just wait 'til next year.

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