It’s pizza, it’s breakfast, it’s a winner

Evie Rudley has been making Evie’s Kitchen videos with her mom, Marissa, for the past two years. Together, they’ve made cupcakes, banana bread, sticky mango rice and sunbread — a brioche-type bread formed into the shape of the sun. The videos are shared with family.

One of Evie’s latest creations, however, is gaining some wider recognition.

The Moscow 5-year-old recently earned first place in the Cosmic Crisp Cooking Challenge as a Kid Chef. Evie’s winning entry was the Cosmic Crisp Apple Breakfast Pizza. The challenge had four categories: Home Chef, Professional Chef, Retail Chef and Kid Chef.

“It was just a fun thing that I thought we could work on together,” Marissa Rudley said. “And it was the first recipe we made and we submitted it.”

Marissa and Evie’s father, Brad, were surprised when the email arrived saying Evie had won. Winning wasn’t something they had set out to do in the competition. It had been something fun for Evie to try.

Evie, with some oversight from mom, made a pizza with slices of Cosmic Crisp apple and a little bit of cinnamon. The crust is made of whole wheat flour and oatmeal. Marissa said it was like a breakfast bar in texture. The recipe, as well as the other winning recipes is available online at bit.ly/3yKKBda.

Marissa, who works as a registered dietitian and is a former campus dietitian for the University of Idaho, is no stranger to award-winning recipes. She placed second in the 2015 Lentil Festival Cookoff competition. She said she has been involving both her daughters, Evie and Elena, in the kitchen for years.

“Something that I’ve always wanted to instill in my kids is that passion for enjoying cooking and knowing where food comes from,” Marissa said.

Marissa said they had a toddler tower so each of her children could be at counter height when they are involved in cooking. Evie, under adult supervision, has also started making her own scrambled eggs in the morning.

Marissa said the culinary exploration for her children doesn’t end at the counter. They both help with small gardening tasks and the Rudleys watch cooking shows as a family.

Winners of the Cosmic Crisp competition receive a virtual meet-and-greet with celebrity judge Carla Hall, and other prizes. Hall is a former winner of the Top Chef competition and has co-hosted seven seasons of television’s “The Chew.” Evie said she is eagerly waiting for her Zoom meeting with Hall and for a box of prizes which she insists will fit in the family kitchen.

Other winning recipes include an apple pudding, bacon-wrapped Cosmic Crisp with a dipping sauce and a grilled apple and blue cheese panzanella.

Here’s what Hall had to say about Evie’s winning creation, according to the contest website: “The apple is definitely the star in this dish AND it makes a perfect breakfast that can be prepared ahead for those busy school mornings. I could also imagine making this pizza my own by adding simple toppings like granola or peanut butter.”

Nelson can be reached at knelson@dnews.com.