When it comes to baking, here's the family to beat at the Hamilton County Fair

photo Lola and Brice Howell prepare to bake a batch of peanut butter cookies.

IF YOU GO• What: Hamilton County Fair• When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 27-28• Where: Chester Frost Park; fairgoers must park at either Northgate Mall or Middle Valley Recreation Center and catch a shuttle to the fairgrounds.• Admission: Free, included in shuttle fee of $6 adults, $4 ages 3-12• Information: hamiltontn.gov/fair

photo Lola Howell baked and decorated this cake and the apple pie at far left.

ENTER THE COUNTY FAIROnline entries for the home-centered/baking categories will be accepted until Monday.To apply, log onto hamiltontn.gov/fair/register. Find a category of interest and fill out an application. Applicants compete in age categories of Youth A, ages 6-11; Youth B, ages 12-18; Adult, ages 19 and older.Deliver home-centered entries to Chester Frost Park on Thursday, Sept. 25, from 2 to 6 p.m. All competitors must have preregistered; walk-up entries will not be accepted.Cash prizes for ribbon winners are $5 blue, $4 red and $3 white.

photo Lola Howell makes peanut butter cookies at the Howell house in Hixson.

Banana Nut Quick Bread1 tablespoon cider vinegar3 tablespoons milk1/2 cup butter, softened1 cup white sugar3 ripe bananas, sliced2 cups all-purpose flour2 teaspoons baking soda1 cup chopped walnuts2 eggs, beatenHeat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two 4-by-8-inch loaf pans.Mix cider vinegar and milk together in a small bowl, set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Beat in sliced bananas until well incorporated, then stir in the milk mixture. Mix in the flour and baking soda until just combined, then mix in walnuts and eggs until evenly distributed.Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Place pans on a baking sheet for easier handling.Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or about 45 minutes. Cool loaves in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap in plastic wrap and store in refrigerator.

Eleven-year-old Lola Howell is a competitor. So much so, she and her BFF, Alyssa Rogers, hold mini-cookoffs based on "Chopped," their favorite Food Network show, when they have sleepovers at each other's homes.

Lola is ramping up the sibling rivalry this week with her brother, Brice, 18, as they ready their entries for the Hamilton County Fair on Sept. 27-28 at Chester Frost Park.

It's not their first fair-go-round.

Lola, Brice and their mother, Charity Howell, have competed in crafts, vegetables, photography, painting, sewing and baking categories at the Hamilton County Fair for six consecutive years -- and won multiple ribbons each year. Last year alone, the trio brought home 45 ribbons -- 25 of them Lola's -- and swept their respective baking categories with blue ribbons each.

"Three years ago, when I was really little, we stayed up all night finishing projects," says the fifth-grader at McConnell Elementary School.

Maureen Davis, home-centered chairwoman for the fair and recreation programming specialist for Hamilton County Parks and Recreation Department, says there are more than 100 categories of competition. They range from agriculture and livestock to crafts and baking. Ribbon winners receive small cash prizes in addition to bragging rights for a year.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Hamilton County Fair, Davis says a special "Anniversary Challenge" has been added to home-centered categories. Competitors are asked to use their medium (sewing, baking, crafts, etc.) to display a favorite memory from a previous fair, something fairgoers see at the annual fair, or even the number 25 used in an unusual way.

"There will be special ribbons that we've had designed just for this silver anniversary. One winner in each category will get the anniversary challenge ribbon," says Davis.

Lola has an anniversary challenge incorporated into her decorated cake entry -- a secret she wouldn't reveal -- but she chattered excitedly about other baking wins -- past and present.

"This year, my Grandma is going to help me do my pie. I've never entered pies. We are doing her recipe for apple pie. Four years ago I won a blue ribbon in snickerdoodle cookies. Two years ago, I got a blue ribbon for banana nut bread. Three years ago was my first year to enter decorated cakes and I got second. Last year was my first place in cake decorating," she reels off.

Charity Howell explains that each ribbon carries a cash value and, at the fair's end, all ribbon winnings are totaled into one check for the competitor. In Lola's case, that's serious cash; she came home with $170 after the 2013 county fair.

"When I got my first check, I spent it all in one day," Lola laughs. "But now I have this bottle, and I'm filling it up with change to get a puppy. I want an Afghan hound."

Brice and his mom got involved with fair competitions because of Lola's enthusiasm. The teen began by entering his art -- painting, drawing, photography, woodworking. Cooking was almost an afterthought. But he's been so successful in baking wins that now he says he's toying with the idea of some type of culinary career.

After six years of competing, Brice says he's learned the judges appreciate creativity.

"I remember one year we made gingerbread houses. Our stairs outside my house are made of stone. That gave me the idea to make a brick wall out of Starburst candies on one side of the gingerbread. If you can do something that is really out of the box, they really like it," he advises.

Mom says that, after turning in their entries on Thursdays each year, anticipation builds in the Howell household until the fairgrounds open Saturday and they discover whether an entry bears a ribbon or not.

"You just feel excited that someone else likes your stuff," says Charity.

Below, the Howells share recipes for the banana nut bread that won blue ribbons for Brice and Charity, and Lola's blue-ribbon fudge.

photo A completed batch of peanut butter cookies baked by Lola and Brice Howell sits on a table in the Howell house.

Cookies and Cream Fudge

3 6-ounce packages white chocolate baking squares

1 14-ounce can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 cups chocolate creme-filled sandwich cookies, coarsely crushed

In a heavy saucepan, over low heat, melt white chocolate squares, sweetened condensed milk and salt. Remove from heat; stir in crushed cookies.

Spread evenly into wax paper-lined, 8-inch square pan. Chill two hours or until firm.

Turn fudge onto cutting board. Peel off paper and cut into squares. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator. Makes 2 1/2 pounds of fudge.

Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.

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