For months islander Gerryanne Bohn toiled, experimenting with different cookie doughs to brace herself for what the Food Networks “Christmas Cookie Challenge” might bring. Bohn is a contestant on the show airing Dec. 11 at 8/7 p.m central on the Foodnetwork or streamed on Discovery Plus.

“I was working at school all day, then coming home and interviewing with the producers, They have you create different cookies at home to see if you would be a good contestant,” Bohn said. Five contestants to prove their holiday cookie-making skills in this national bake-off show. Hosts Chef Eddie Jackson and Ree Drummin judge each creation and crown the holiday cookie winner.

Bohn has always enjoyed having a creative outlet and searches for new mediums for expressing herself. She said she has always preferred baking over cooking and was more interested in the art aspect.

She dipped her toe into cookie baking after discovering icing techniques on Instagram. Between the equipment and ingredients baking can get expensive, Bohn said, so she hesitated. Friends encouraged her, however, so she decided to try. Her first attempt was as a goodbye gift for a co-worker.

“They were ok, but not great. It was supposed to be an emoji, but it looked more like an egg yolk,” Bohn laughed. She improved through practice and experimentation.

Bohn’s favorite baking tip is improving dry cookies. Substituting some brown sugar for granulated sugar can solve the issue. “Brown sugar gives the dough a little more moisture and softens it up,” Bohn explained. Bohn also owns Driftless Cookies, where she does custom orders online. She also can be found at the farmers market and the occasional pop-up in Friday Harbor.

As she practiced, friends and family began encouraging her to try a cookie competition.

“I said no way. At the time I only had one recipe, and they don’t give contestants enough time. I’m a perfectionist, so it would bother me not to be able to really show what I could produce,” Bohn explained.

She was approached by the network and was still planning on declining.

“My husband pointed out that I would never get another chance at something like this, so I sent in an audition,” Bohn said.

By day, Bohn is a special education teacher. She has been in the field for 10 years and worked at Friday Harbor Middle School for two. Bohn spends time with 24 students throughout the day.

Before flying to Knoxville, Tennessee to film the competition in April, Bohn simply told the students she was taking a vacation. However, being perceptive, the students knew there was more to the story. She ended up confessing she was about to be on television, and Bohn’s group of English students could not contain their excitement.

“I ended up showing my English group a teaser after the filming, and they just lost it. They started screaming they were so excited,” Bohn said. She is having a watch party at the San Juan Brewery and handed each of her students an invitation and again the children were thrilled.

“I felt like a little celebrity like I had a little fan group and I wasn’t expecting that,” Bohn said, adding that it was very sweet and touching.

The competition itself was even more intense than the interview process, Bohn said. Not cooking in her own kitchen, with tools she was used to was one stress, but the bigger issue was the time factor.

During the first round, contestants have 90 minutes to bake four cookies with two different designs. While the flavor of all four is the same, it is not a simple vanilla-flavored sugar cookie.

“You really have to know your recipe,” Bohn said, to meet the time limit.

Bohn faced off against four competitors from around the country; Andrea de Gortari based in Houston, BreAnna Anderson based in Los Angeles, Lauren Jacobs based in Versailles, Kentucky, and Fred Csibi-Levin based in Boston.

The second round eliminates two of the five, and Bohn said she can not say whether she continued. If the first round sounds intense, the next level becomes even more grueling.

In two and a half hours the remaining contestants must create a three-dimensional cookie with two different doughs, and a secret ingredient is thrown in the mix as well.

Bohn practiced creating three-dimensional cookies, something she had never made before, except for perhaps a gingerbread house. Experimenting with different icings gave her a feel for what would hold up better should she win round one.

Her students are convinced Bohn moved on to the next level.

“They keep asking, saying ‘you won, right?’ and when I giggle in response, say ‘she won.’”

For more information visit https://www.driftlesscookies.com/.