{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@type": "NewsArticle",
    "@id": "https://badiyaa.com/magic-marshmallow-crescent-puffs-1969-bake-off/#article",
    "mainEntityOfPage": "https://badiyaa.com/magic-marshmallow-crescent-puffs-1969-bake-off/",
    "headline": "Edna Walker’s 1969 Pillsbury Bake-Off marshmallow puffs are trending again; the recipe has barely change",
    "description": "Twin Cities stores ran out of canned crescent dough after the Minnesota baker's win. The current recipe adds just 2 tablespoons of flour to her original coating.",
    "datePublished": "2026-10-19T18:59:00+01:00",
    "dateModified": "2026-10-19T16:17:02+01:00",
    "author": {
        "@type": "Organization",
        "name": "Badiyaa Editorial Desk",
        "url": "https://badiyaa.com/author/editorial-desk/"
    },
    "publisher": {
        "@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
        "@id": "https://badiyaa.com/#organization",
        "name": "Badiyaa",
        "url": "https://badiyaa.com/",
        "logo": {
            "@type": "ImageObject",
            "url": "https://badiyaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/badiyaa-logo-color-600x60-1.png",
            "width": 600,
            "height": 60
        },
        "email": "badiyaavideo@gmail.com",
        "publishingPrinciples": "https://badiyaa.com/editorial-policy/",
        "correctionsPolicy": "https://badiyaa.com/corrections/",
        "actionableFeedbackPolicy": "https://badiyaa.com/contact/",
        "ownershipFundingInfo": "https://badiyaa.com/about/#ownership",
        "sameAs": [
            "https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61595518283625",
            "https://www.instagram.com/badiyaa.com.ai/",
            "https://www.threads.net/@badiyaa.com.ai"
        ],
        "parentOrganization": {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "name": "Rezilient Digital",
            "url": "https://www.rezilientdigital.com/",
            "address": {
                "@type": "PostalAddress",
                "streetAddress": "Fl No 3, Nav Shyam Sadan, Plot No 38, Pestom Sagar, Chembur",
                "addressLocality": "Mumbai",
                "addressRegion": "Maharashtra",
                "postalCode": "400089",
                "addressCountry": "IN"
            },
            "sameAs": [
                "https://www.linkedin.com/company/rezilientdigital"
            ]
        }
    },
    "isAccessibleForFree": true,
    "inLanguage": "en-US",
    "wordCount": 714,
    "image": [
        "https://badiyaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/White_Marshmallows.webp",
        "https://badiyaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/White_Marshmallows-1024x683.webp"
    ],
    "articleSection": "Lifestyle",
    "keywords": "baking, Food history, Minnesota, Pillsbury Bake-Off, recipes",
    "articleBody": "Magic Marshmallow Crescent Puffs, the recipe that won Minnesota baker Edna Walker the grand prize at the 20th Pillsbury Bake-Off in 1969, is circulating online again this week. Nothing new happened to the recipe. The renewed attention follows Pillsbury’s own history of the contest, republished on October 14, 2026, which singles out her entry as the first winner built on refrigerated dough, and the company’s announcement that a Bake-Off Classic special airs on CBS on November 23. The recipe is short: a large marshmallow, dipped in melted butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar, sealed inside a triangle of canned crescent dough and baked in a muffin cup. In the oven the marshmallow disappears. What comes out looks like a small muffin but is hollow inside, with a sweet, almost candied lining where the marshmallow used to be. What the record actually shows The Minnesota Historical Society’s encyclopedia entry on the contest records that Walker took the grand prize in 1969 and that home bakers rushed to copy her. Grocers around the Twin Cities, it says, were soon out of canned crescent dinner rolls, the one ingredient nobody could substitute. Pillsbury had seen a run like that before: its 1954 winner, Open Sesame Pie, is credited with a national shortage of sesame seeds. The prize money needs a little care. The figure circulating is $25,000, and Pillsbury’s history says the top award sat at $25,000 through the 1970s. A detailed account of that year’s contest by a longtime Bake-Off cookbook collector explains how the total was reached: 1969 was the first year three division winners (flour, mixes and refrigerated dough) each took $10,000, and one of them received an extra $15,000. Walker’s refrigerated-dough entry got the extra money. That contest was held in Atlanta, with Art Linkletter hosting the awards. Her hometown varies by source. Pillsbury’s current recipe page and a 2014 newspaper recipe column list her as Edna Walker of Eden Prairie, Minnesota; the published list of grand-prize winners and the same collector’s account give Hopkins, Minnesota, as her home at the time of the contest. The collector adds that she bought new furniture with part of the winnings and invested the rest. Then and now: how the recipe changed Comparing the 1969 grocery-store pamphlet, reprinted in that 2014 column, with Pillsbury’s current version shows how little has moved in 57 years: Coating: the original mixes 1/4 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon; today’s version adds 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour to the same mix. Dough and marshmallows: both use two 8-ounce cans of crescent rolls cut into 16 triangles and 16 large marshmallows, with 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine. Oven: both bake at 375°F; the pamphlet says 10 to 15 minutes, the current card 12 to 15, until golden brown. Glaze: unchanged at 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 2 to 3 teaspoons milk, plus 1/4 cup chopped nuts. Getting the hollow right The hollow center is the whole point, and Pillsbury’s explanation is simple: as the rolls heat, the marshmallow melts away and caramelizes against the dough, leaving the cavity and its sticky lining. Use standard large marshmallows, the company says, not minis or jumbos, so the filling matches the dough. The most common failure is a leak. If any seam is left open, the melted marshmallow bubbles out and you lose the coating that makes the puff worth eating. Pinch every edge firmly so no marshmallow shows, then dip the sealed end in butter and set it seam-side down in a well-greased muffin cup. Pillsbury suggests a sheet of foil or a baking sheet on the rack below to catch spills, and an offset spatula or butter knife to lift the puffs out after one minute of cooling. Plan to eat them the same day or the next. Pillsbury says leftovers keep up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature, but advises against refrigerating or freezing them because the dough turns dense and soggy. A 10-second reheat on medium power in the microwave will melt the glaze, so room temperature is the better choice. Each puff comes to about 200 calories. For anyone who wants to see the contest that produced it, the Bake-Off Classic special is scheduled for CBS on November 23, with streaming on Paramount+ from November 24. Further reading Wikipedia: Pillsbury Bake-Off Image: John Morgan, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our Editorial Desk. How we work.",
    "markdown": "https://badiyaa.com/magic-marshmallow-crescent-puffs-1969-bake-off.md"
}