Biscuit week started off with a unique challenge for the bakers: make 30 large, American-style cookies. Apparently, ‘American-style’ means oversized with a crispy exterior and chewy interior. Personally, I don’t think there is a monolithic style to US cookies, although I will admit that our portions are often on the side of excess. As predicted, Nigella got her eating under control this week, and the full complement of bakers was back because no one was sent home last week. Unlike previous years in which were two bakers were sent home the second week, only one left the tent this time.

Signature bake: 30 large, American-style cookies

Nigella and Paul thought Clara used too much icing which overwhelmed the cookies underneath. Paul said the coffee cookies would have resulted in a handshake without the excess icing. The judges found Yannis’ cookies attractive but they had too much jaggery caramel and the texture wasn’t good. Gary’s cookies were neat as a pin and just slightly overbaked but overall received high marks. Paul and Nigella thought Connie’s flavors worked well but were disappointed in the presentation and the lack of enough completed cookies. Gabe’s cherry Bakewell-inspired cookies were “gorgeous” according to Nigella, and Paul liked them as well. Nikki’s chocolate cherry and coconut cookies had great flavor, but they were underbaked. Shannon went the other way and her cookies were overbaked.

Mo’s lemon, coconut and mango cookies tasted okay, but the mango was leathery. Despite being warned by Nigella to use a light hand with the salt, Moyin’s cookies were deemed too salty. They were also slightly under-baked. Paul wanted Molly’s cookies to be more ‘naughty’ and Nigella immediately disagreed with the term, saying we need to take pleasure where we can get it. Nevertheless, both judges were underwhelmed by Molly’s chocolate chip cookies. Danni, who struggled mightily last week, also had problems with this assignment. Since the cookies weren’t vegan, she did not taste them, relying on friends and family to offer feedback. Her snickerdoodle-inspired cookies were overbaked and had too much baking soda and cinnamon. Tom’s Nordic-crunch cookies, on the other hand, were perfectly balanced in both flavor and texture.

Iced gems from Great British Vegan by Aimee Ryan

Technical challenge: Iced gems

This was a taste-and-bake assignment. Again, there was no recipe, but the bakers were able to taste the completed cookies and needed to figure out the recipe and technique. Gary ended up at the bottom with ‘leathery’ biscuits and off colors, followed by Danni, with tough biscuits and Clara was tenth with overbaked biscuits. Tom was in third place, with Mo taking second and Connie redeeming herself by nailing the technical.

Showstopper: Biscuit mosaic

Keeping with her quirky personality, Danni’s flavors were inspired by cyanide (basically, almond). The other bakers had more traditional inspiration, but all of them faced time issues. Danni had to re-bake her base, and the bakers who chose to use icing to color their mosaics had to rush compared to those who colored the dough of the biscuits. Tom was not able to finish his design.

Shannon’s garden received a hand-clap, but not quite a Hollywood handshake. Clara’s mosaic nailed the flavors and textures and received high marks. Nikki’s design was a bit messy, and both the shortbread and gingerbread were quite underbaked. Gary’s design was a bit simple and his gingerbread was slightly overbaked, but overall it was good. Mo’s toucan was gorgeous and the judges loved the top biscuits, but the base was too dense and fudge-like. Danni’s flavors were great but she overworked the dough and the biscuits were tough.

Paul and Nigella loved Moyin’s black cocoa and espresso flavors, but the yellow biscuits were underbaked. Yannis’ biscuits had the texture of fudge, which was not appreciated. The judges thought he focused too  much on complexity of the design and having multiple flavors, and not enough on the bake itself. Paul said Molly’s base was one of the best chocolate biscuits he’s had in some time and her design was neat as a pin. Gabe had mixed reviews, with the judges liking the bramble and berry flavors, but disliking the artificial apple flavor and noting that his base was tough. Tom’s flavors were spot on and the texture was impeccable, but the judges were disappointed with his messy, unfinished design. Connie became emotional when describing her Jamaican flag-inspired bake, and both Nigella and Paul raved about her cinnamon base and vibrant citrus flavors.

Tom was named star baker and Danni was sent home.