"The Bake-Off Contest has long epitomized the way America cooks,” says Jann Atkins, Bake-Off Kitchens manager. “As the demand for easy-to-make meal solutions increases, this year, we challenged contest fans to create original recipes that use no more than seven ingredients and take 30 minutes or less to prepare. The creative recipes that advanced to the contest finals demonstrate that great tasting dinners, breakfasts, appetizers and desserts do not have to be difficult to make.”

In addition to vying for a grand price of $1 million plus $10,000 in GE kitchen appliances, the 100 finalists will be competing for eight special awards:

The GE Imagination At Work Award recognizes the finalist who has the most innovative recipe with $5,000 in GE kitchen appliances.

The Jif Peanut Butter Award recognizes the finalist who has the best recipe using at least one-quarter cup of Jif Peanut Butter.

The Crisco is Cooking Award recognizes the finalist who has the best recipe using at least one tablespoon of Crisco Cooking Oil or at least one tablespoon of Crisco Baking Sticks All-Vegetable Shortening.

The Eagle Brand Signature Recipe Award recognizes the finalist who has the best recipe using one 14-oz. can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk.

The Pillsbury Gluten Free Award recognizes the finalist who has the best recipe that uses a Pillsbury Gluten Free product and does not contain wheat or any products that include wheat as an ingredient.

The Pillsbury Clever Twist Award recognizes the finalist who has the recipe deemed by the judges as the most clever twist on a family favorite dish.

The Watkins Vanilla Award recognizes the finalist who has the best recipe using at least one-quarter teaspoon of Watkins Vanilla Extract.

The Reynolds Baking Magic Award recognizes the finalist who has the recipe deemed by the judges as the best dessert recipe made using Reynolds Parchment Paper.

Additionally, the three category winning runner-up recipes will each receive $10,000 and $3,000 in GE kitchen appliances.

Earlier this year, Pillsbury invited home cooks to submit their original recipes for consideration in one of four categories: Simply Sweet Treats, Savory Snacks & Sides, Weekend Breakfast Wows or Amazing Doable Dinners. The Bake-Off Kitchens evaluated all of the eligible entries and chose the top 100, which will compete at the contest finals at the Omni Nashville Hotel.

At the contest finals, all 100 finalists will each prepare their original recipe for judging. A panel of independent judges consisting of leading food experts and media will select the best recipe in each of the four contest categories based on taste, appearance, creativity and crowd appeal. The four category winning recipes will be placed online, giving America the chance to vote for their favorite. The public vote will be combined with the judges' decisions to determine the $1 million grand prize winner.

Sponsors of the 47th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest include The J.M. Smucker Co., GE Appliances, Green Giant, The J.R. Watkins Co. and Reynolds Consumer Products.

For more information, go to www.pillsbury.com/our-makers/bake-off-contest.

Source: Pillsbury, PRNewswire