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Baking cakes, cookies and fudge are all in a day's work for Benoni's Yolandi Palmer, but creating the gigantic 100kg "Benoekie" took a special effort.
It was worth it though - after three days of preparing the mix, baking and decorating, her giant rectangular sugar Benoekie was done, measuring 2,7m by 1,5m. And the name? It was a joint effort by Yolandi and her husband, Craig Palmer, which they came up with by combining the words Benoni and koekie (cookie).
“Sugar cookies are my favourite cookies to bake because they taste amazing and you can decorate them in very pretty ways,” Yolandi says.
The giant cookie was made with 82 eggs, 12kg of butter, 20,5kg of flour, vanilla essence, lemon juice and cream of tartar, and decorated with 50kg of icing.
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Yolandi (36) undertook this massive project to raise funds for three charities in her area, Huis Thandi, Huis Charis Youth Centre and Clean Projects.
“These charities cater to abused, neglected and abandoned children, and Clean Projects cleans up Benoni. They're all underdogs in our community - they don’t get many donations, but they mean a lot to me,” Yolandi says.
“Life is tough, there are so many terrible things happening, people are suffering and I just want to show kindness because we all need it,” she adds.
“I would like the next Benoekie to raise awareness around gender-based violence and suicide. I want to bake and raise funds to help organisations who work towards preventing gender-based violence and suicide, and those who run safe houses for the vulnerable.
“It would be amazing if people could associate the word 'Benoekie' with charity work. I would love it.”
Most of the ingredients were donated by local organisations and residents, and it was decorated with hearts and handprints, with a little help from Yolandi's children, Crailand (7) and Lily-Rain (4).
The giant cookie was displayed and sold in pieces at the Grasslands Driving Range in Benoni, raising R7 000 which was shared among the charities. The unsold pieces of cookie were donated to the charities.
Yolandi was inspired to make the cookie after enduring a terrible 2023.
“Last year started off horribly. I was in hospital on New Year's Day, and in the middle of January I had brain surgery. I just thought that this year had to be different for me."
Yolandi was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a neurological disorder caused by an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain.
Since her successful surgery her health is the best it's ever been, she says, and she wants to make a difference in the lives of others.
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Yolandi had hoped the Benoekie would set a Guinness World Record - but it's a tough one to beat, as the current recordholder for the world's biggest cookie is an American company, Immaculate Baking Company, with a chocolate chip cookie weighing 18 tons, with a diameter of 30,7m, in 2003.
But her dream hasn’t faded - Yolandi says her first Benoekie is a trial run for a Guinness World Record attempt she's planning for later this year.
“I've learnt so much from baking this Benoekie and now I have an idea of how to improve the recipe and the quantity of ingredients I’ll need. I’m just excited and glad I could help a little bit with the charities I’ve chosen. Seeing how the community came together to help was also unbelievable,” Yolandi says.
“I already have so many sponsors for the next Benoekie and I can’t wait to start planning.”
EXTRA SOURCES: BENONICITYTIMES.CO.ZA, NINDS.NIH.GOV
