Round 3 – Snack for Santa
"Well, well," Holly smirks, "Congratulation Chefs, you've made it to the final round. This might be a first for Cutthroat Cook-Off, I don't think we've ever had a couple going head to head before! Let's hope this outcome doesn't ruin a relationship."
"Doubt it," Brittany giggles as she looks to Santana lovingly, "She's stuck with me."
"Then let's get into it!" Holly says, "I've been pretty specific for the past two rounds, but I think I want to see how creative you can be. The big guy himself will be coming to town soon and I'm sure he would've worked up an appetite after making the long journey. I want to see you whip up your best snack for Santa."
Brittany looks the most excited she has been all round, "This is going to be awesome!"
"You got that right, Hot Stuff," Holly nods, "But don't think I'm letting you two off that easy. For this round, you'll go straight into your 30 minute cooking time right after your 60 second shop. From there, you'll see what's up for auction."
Santana and Brittany nod, well aware of how the competition works.
"And on that note your 60 seconds starts…NOW!"
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Santana and Brittany take off towards the pantry at full speed.
Brittany gets there just a second before thanks to her long legs and she zooms around the pantry for everything she could possibly need to make her Christmas candy bar. One of her most cherished memories of the holidays is the accidental creation of her family's Christmas candy bar. At first it was a fudge recipe gone wrong, but it ended up tasting great the way it was. Now Brittany makes it every year around this time!
Santana on the other hand is going to go with her take on the traditional cookies and milk, but just a little more glammed up with the milk portion being a mini cocktail instead. Like Brittany, Santana is also pulling from a Christmas memory with her family and making the very first cookie her abuela ever taught her – crinkle cookies.
What sets these cookies apart from the usual take on them is that her abuela always incorporated Mexican chocolate into her recipe. There's just that tiny touch of heat from the spice that leaves you feeling extra warm on the inside, perfect for a cold winter's night. Santana's confident they can't be beaten!
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"5…4…3…2…," Holly counts down but both girls escape the closing pantry doors in time and go straight for their stations to get prepping.
Brittany upturns her whole basket onto her counter while Santana is a little more meticulous in organizing. With a much shorter cooking time, the pressure is on! The Chefs scramble to get started, but soon Holly begins to announce her first sabotage up for auction.
"Listen up Chefs!" Holly says as she waves as elves roll out a smaller Christmas tree with an array of presents beneath, "Win this auction and you'll force your opponent to give up their entire basket in exchange for whatever they might find wrapped in these presents."
Brittany cringes at that. Last round she barely made it with a similar sabotage, it would be such a pain in the ass to have to do it again.
"$2,000!" Santana bids to Brittany's surprise.
"Oh you're just throwing money away now," Brittany laughs, "$2,500!"
"$3,000!" Santana fires back.
"$4,000."
Santana grimaces, she was not trying to spend this much but she can't give up her ingredients. Brittany's too persistent though and that worries Santana.
"$4,500," Santana tries one last time.
"Do I hear $5,000, Chef Brittany?" Holly asks.
Brittany pauses a second before shaking her head. She guesses she can handle this one; no way there's anything too crazy in those presents.
"Sold!" Holly cheers and meets Santana at her station to pick up the money, "I'll just help myself. You look a little busy. Elves! Take away Chef Brittany's ingredients."
A couple elves come rushing over to confiscate Brittany's basket just as Brittany heads over to the Christmas tree. She plops down and starts tearing open box after box.
So far, it's not looking good for her.
"Pineapples?" Brittany unwraps. She shakes her head and continues, "Okay chocolate-coated candies, I might be able to do something with this. Red and green, super festive. Great, a pack of socks. That's not going to help me at all. A rock?! Holly, who did your shopping this year?"
Holly only shrugs though her face looks like she's been up to no good.
Brittany groans but keeps going. So far she has been gifted with pineapple, a single stick of butter, pretzels, Christmas socks, candy canes, a jar of pickles, cereal, maple syrup, a rock, popcorn kernels and an avocado.
"Hey look San!" Brittany calls out as she holds up the avocado, "It's your favorite!"
Santana looks up and instantly scowls, "Avocados have no place in this kitchen. I've said it once and I'll say it again."
Brittany just laughs as Santana starts to rant about a past contestant's attempt at making vegan cupcakes using avocados, "Is Marely Rose watching? Look what you've done to me. Avocados have been ruined because of you."
"Don't be mean," Brittany chastises lightly, "It's Christmas."
"Fine," Santana sighs then grumbles one last time. "Vegan my ass."
"Leave the vegans alone," Brittany laughs as she still hunts for more ingredients. She's not going back to her station until every damn gift is unwrapped because so far she has no idea what she's going to make. There's no way she can go with her original plan now, she doesn't have nearly enough chocolate to make any type of fudge!
Suddenly it hits her, she's going to make a Santa snack mix! Most of the items she has been gifted are perfect for a trail mix so Brittany decides to go with that and quickly carries all of her new ingredients back to her station to get started.
But again, before Brittany can even find a rhythm Holly is interrupting once more.
"Look what I found!" Holly calls out as an elf rolls out another clothes rack, "It's an exact replica of Santa's suit. Win this auction and force your opponent to wear this for the rest of the round. Spoiler alert, it's heavy as hell."
"$1,000!" Brittany yells before looking to Santana.
"$1,500," Santana bids with a sneer.
"$2,500," Brittany matches Santana's expression, "I'm not backing down so go ahead and waste your money, honey."
Santana sees the determination in those pretty blue eyes and starts to waver. God, when did she become such a sucker for a smokin' hot blonde? No one can know that Brittany's practically got her wrapped around her pinky. She's just going to stop bidding because she wants to leave here with a least $15k! That's her story and she's sticking to it.
Besides, it's just a Santa suit. What's the worse that could happen?
"I'll take it," Santana grumbles, "Just hurry up and get me into it."
"Yes!" Brittany cheers as elves quickly help Santana into the outfit while Holly comes to collect her money.
Santana has the most unamused look on her face as a Santa hat is pushed onto her head. The suit looks huge on her but she kind of pulls it off. Maybe Brittany's just too in love to see Santana as anything other than perfect. Either way, Brittany wishes she could capture this moment forever.
"This thing is like a sweat suit!" Santana complains, "Why is it so heavy?"
"The journey from the North pole is treacherous," Brittany explains jokingly, "He has to stay protected against the elements!"
Santana just grumbles beneath her breath before she catches Brittany giggling away.
"You're loving this aren't you?" Santana asks. She's already breaking a sweat as she tries to scoop out her dough onto a baking sheet.
"My very own Santana Claus," Brittany teases as she quickly skips over to press a kiss to Santana's cheek, "What's not to love? I think this look soots you."
"Not funny," Santana smirks as she leans into Brittany's kiss, "I'm very hot."
Brittany grins, "Hell yeah, you are."
"Hey, hey!" Holly calls out, "You're supposed to be enemies. No flirting!"
"Oh that's right," Brittany winks at Santana before running back to her station to finish up.
Santana just shakes her head, but she doesn't even try to hide her smile. Leave it to Brittany to have her feeling smitten in the middle of a cooking competition.
Then again, what's new?
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Santana's cookies are nearly done and the clock is winding down, so she moves on to make her mini martini. To make it extra festive she has melted down some white chocolate to use on the rim of her glass so she can dip it into green and red sprinkles. It's just the right amount of color alongside her Mexican chocolate crinkle cookies.
Brittany's currently tossing her trail mix while she hunts for the perfect serving dish when she hears the distinct sounds of a cocktail shaker being shaken.
"Are you making a drink too?" Brittany gasps.
Santana just smirks and continues to shake, "Of course, aren't you?"
"Damn. Why didn't I think of that?" Brittany curses; she didn't even think about accompanying her dish with a drink. Santana's sure to get major bonus points there if it's well executed.
Still, she doesn't let it get to her as she begins plating.
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"Time's up, Chefs!" Holly announces. Elves quickly help Santana out of the Santa suit while others clean up Brittany's mess of wrapping paper and boxes before Will returns.
Seconds later, Will reappears and makes his way over to the judging table where Holly awaits him.
"Chefs, please bring forward your desserts," Holly says before turning to Will, "This round was all about the perfect snack for Santa."
"Wonderful," Will smiles, "That leaves a lot of room for creativity so let's see what we've got."
Up first is Brittany.
"Chef Brittany, please explain your dish," Holly says.
Brittany nods, "Today I have prepared something that I like to call Santa Snack Mix. I remember when I was younger, we would make reindeer food at school and I wanted to do something like that but edible so this happened. It's a holiday take on a typical trail mix but I've kicked it up a notch with making my own caramel popcorn which I've hit with a little cinnamon and maple."
Will nods and pops a handful of the mix into this mouth. His expression shifts as he chews but Brittany isn't sure where she stands. He hasn't keeled over but he doesn't look blown away either.
"Well Brittany, it's a tasty treat," Will compliments, "I like the balance of salt and sweet and your caramel corn is great. However, I do think it's missing something. I was expecting your final dish to wow me considering what you've been putting forth in the past rounds. Maybe not your best work."
Brittany tries to keep the polite smile on her face as she nods, "Thank you Chef."
Santana looks to her girlfriend and frowns. What does Will know anyway? If we're going to measure success, Santana has him beat. Hell, Kurt has him beat! Brittany shouldn't be listening to a mediocre Chef's critique – from where she stands, Brittany's dish looks way more festive that her own.
Santana begins to feel that familiar fire building within her – the kind of fire that usually leaves contestants crying and producers shaking their heads at her – but it's probably not the best idea to go all Lima Heights on the judge. Especially when the judge is the deciding factor of whether or not she's walking out of here with a bunch of cash.
Maybe she'll save the beat down until after the winner is announced?
"Chef Santana, you've outdone yourself again," Will compliments as he admires her dish.
Santana smiles politely although she still kind of wants to punch him in the face.
"Chef Santana, explain your dish," Holly instructs.
"So I've prepared my abuela's crinkle cookies," Santana explains, "Growing up, we always incorporated Mexican chocolate just for that little kick of heat. Paired with it is a sugar cookie martini."
"Cookies and alcohol, huh?" Will comments as he bites into the cookie. He looks a little unsure about the combination but that soon changes as he tastes more of the cookie, "Okay this is delicious. It's just the right amount of spice and balances well with the chocolate."
Santana bows her head at the compliment as Will picks up the cocktail.
"That's really nice," Will compliments again after taking a sip, "I would definitely love to see this at a Christmas party and I'm sure Santa would too. Although I'm still not sure how I feel about the cookies and cocktail together. Thank you Chef."
"Thank you," Santana nods.
With both of their dishes not hitting their mark completely, this could go either way for Santana and Brittany.
They come to stand in front of their stations together as they find each other's pinkies to link. Brittany's actually a little nervous this time, maybe the most nervous she has been all competition. When she looks to her side, Santana remains confident with her head held high.
"Another hard decision this round," Will notes, "Both dishes had their ups and downs but I think the deciding factor will have to be what I believe Santa will enjoy the most. Because of that, I'm going to have to go with…Chef Santana."
Santana's draw drops as Brittany wraps her up in a squeeze.
"You did it!" Brittany cheers as she sways Santana from side to side.
"Congratulation Chef! It looks like it pays to be a little naughty," Holly jokes but Santana doesn't even hear her – too surprised that she managed to pull this off despite being slowed down by her Santa suit.
"Wait, why are you so excited?" Santana asks Brittany with a chuckle, "You just lost."
"Maybe," Brittany shrugs as she sets Santana down. She still has her hands resting on Santana's hips, "But when you win, we both do. What's yours is mine and all."
Santana giggles, "Babe, that only works if we're married."
"Good thing you just won a bunch of money then," Brittany winks, "You did say to remind you to buy something nice for me."
Santana tilts her head at the suggestive tone but she's not quite sure if they're on the same page so she jokingly says, "There you go again trying to get a proposal out of me…"
Brittany throws her head back as she laughs, "Well if you won't do it, I just might."
Santana's brows rise as her suspicions are finally confirmed. They've teasingly talked about it over the past couple of months and Santana always pictured it happening at some point, but she didn't think it would be happening this soon.
Then again, why not? They're in love and Santana can't imagine anyone else but Brittany by her side.
"I want to do it," Santana beams as she pulls Brittany in for a kiss, "I'm sure I can find you something nice for $18,300."
"Totally," Brittany giggles as she mumbles against Santana's lips, "Best. Christmas. Ever."
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The Cupcake Battles' kitchen arena has been changed back to how it normally looks aside from the Christmas decorations still hanging around. Now there is a giant red sleigh in the middle of the room where Santana, Brittany, Kurt and Sugar are all gathered as they smile and wave at the camera.
It pans out to reveal Holly standing on the outside, leaning against the sleigh. She has one of the cocktails Santana made last round in one hand and Brittany's cupcake in the other.
"And there you have it folks!" Holly announces, "This Cupcake Battles' takeover is officially over." She turns to look at Santana and Kurt, "Thanks for letting me crash your show and doing whatever I want! It was very awesome."
"It wasn't really up to us," Santana chuckles.
"Come back anytime," Kurt adds with a wink.
"I just might!" Holly smirks before turning back to the camera. She raises her glass and says, "See ya on the flip side, America. Happy Holly-days to all and to all a lit night!"
If you'd like to show your appreciation a little differently this time around, consider treating me to a coffee because if anyone loves a coffee break - it's me...get it? lol anyway, you can look me up on Ko-Fi: Wheresmynaya