The results are in: Here are our favorite holiday cookies

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Here are the 10 favorite holiday cookies in the first-ever L.A. Times Holiday Cookie Bake-Off:

Grandma Chandler’s Christmas Cookies, submitted by Christy Cowell

Peppermint Pinwheels, by Shauna Cruz

Silver Bells, by Holly Hall

Sour Cherry Rugelach, by Leah Koch

Amanda’s Amazing Sugar Cookies, by Amanda Rettke

Banbury Tarts, by Jacqueline Shubitowski

Nana’s Russian Tea Cookies, by Jody Truitt

Bourbon Balls, by Kate Wheeler

Keeflees, by Michelle Yockey

The Ultimate Wedding Cookie, by Bonnie Zanardi

Congratulations to all.

When we first announced the bake-off earlier this year, we had no idea what to expect. Given our production deadlines and the testing schedule, we had to put a Nov. 15 deadline on the contest. Some worried that it was too early -- that it didn’t give readers enough time to get into the holiday cookie spirit.

We worried for nothing.

In the end, more than 350 cookie recipes were submitted for a reader vote, and more than 79,000 votes were cast. We took the 50 favorite recipes as determined by the public vote, and put them to the test Saturday at the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Pasadena. There, student bakers prepared the top 50 vote-getters. And L.A. Times Food editor Russ Parsons, deputy editor Betty Hallock and test kitchen manager Noelle Carter joined Lachlan Sands, dean of Cordon Bleu, Rebecca Marrs, director of career services at Cordon Bleu, and Porsche Reid, a student, and taste-tested their way to their 10 favorite holiday cookies.

Recipes for the 10 will be posted online Dec. 15 and published in the Dec. 16 issue of the Times Food section.

-- Rene Lynch
Twitter / renelynch

for the L.A.Times Holiday Cookie Bake-off. The entries were judged on texture, flavor, richness, visual appeal and holiday spirit. Credit: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times