Utah woman wins Food Network’s ‘Christmas Cookie Challenge’

CEDAR HILLS, Utah (KSL.com) — When it comes to baking cookies, Anya Fazulyanov did not have to be intimidated by the older, possibly more experienced competition on the Food Network’s “Christmas Cookie Challenge.” They needed to be intimidated by her.

Last week, during the airing of her episode on the network, Fazulyanov’s friends, families and probably even her BYU professors discovered what she had to keep under wraps for weeks: She won the challenge and is one of the youngest to do so on a non-child focused program.

The contest between cookie bakers from across the country tests their creativity, baking knowledge and the taste of the sweet treats. In the first round, participants compete in a group of four. After one is eliminated, the remaining three then vie for the title of Christmas Cookie Champion.

The judges felt the BYU freshman’s work was the best — and yummiest — of all.

“I feel like this was a demonstration of all my hard work and all the baking and doing everything while still being in school. I’m really proud of myself,” Fazulyanov said. “But it was so hard to keep (the results) quiet. I had to put it on the back burner so I wouldn’t think about it.”

Along with the title, Fazulyanov got $10,000, $500 in Ghirardelli chocolate and a $500 Visa gift card for winning the first round. She also gets the opportunity to potentially participate in other Food Network contest programming, which she says would be great. She said she was “ready to be on another Food Network show as soon as this was over.”

Fazulyanov also went ahead and raised the price of the cookies she sells online at Anya’s Cookie — to $95 per dozen for custom-made cookies. Her site, anyascookies.com, also has winning cookie recipes available for baking-minded patrons. Fazulyanov is also pondering selling boxes of her winning cookies.

What is next for Fazulyanov — other than finishing her work at BYU: “When I got back, I had to remember, ‘Oh, yeah, I have an essay due this week,'” she said — is unclear. She would like to enroll in a pastry school in Europe, Utah or New York City to expand her baking skills. She can also see herself writing a cookbook or starring on another Food Network show.

Whatever she does after this win, Fazulyanov wants to ensure she is constantly moving forward, not resting on her laurels or waiting for things to come her way. She will continue to keep going after what she wants.

“This was definitely fun,” she said about being on the Christmas Cookie Challenge. “But I feel like there are so many different I want to do … including getting more training.”