Victory was sweet - and savory - at the 2009 Great Garlic Cook-off for champion Andrew Barth of Winnetka in Southern California. He executed a recipe Saturday for spicy garlic butter cookies with garlic goat cheese and honey that can serve as either an appetizer or a dessert.

"The flavor was sultry and then popped at the end," said chef and judge Jay Minzer. "Simply outstanding."

It's the cayenne pepper in the recipe that gives it the "pop," explained Barth, 37, an avid home cook who had never entered a cooking contest.

Barth was shocked to hear his name announced as the winner by masters of ceremonies Dan Green and Kate Callahan, and to have the garlic crown placed atop his head by Miss Gilroy Garlic Jessica Brewka.

"The competition was so stiff," he said.

Barth was also worried that his cookies were flatter than normal.

"They were more of a crisp and less of a cookie. When you're baking, you get what you get," he said. "I made a garlic cookie viable."

Barth came up with the unusual idea while he was munching on a butter cookie about six months ago.

"It thought it would be nice if it had a little heat in it," Barth said. "I just made it. Shockingly it worked."

The judges confided that it was particularly difficult this year to choose a winner from the eight contestants vying for the $1,000 first-place prize.

"They were pretty much all up there," said Andrea Froncillo, judge and executive chef at The Stinking Rose in San Francisco. "This year they all shined. Anybody could've won. I've been coming down here for 14 years, and it was really tough."

In fact, second place was a tie between Trent Sheldon of Zionsville, Ind., and Michael Cohen of Los Angeles, who both took home $750. Sheldon made short ribs with black bean barbecue sauce and saffron- and garlic-infused root veggies. Returning to the festival after preparing Monterey duck rolls in last year's competition, Cohen made Baja California coconut and garlic sopa.

Also returning to the cook-off stage were Mary Shivers of Ada, Okla., with her garlic and walnut pork spirals with smoky mocha barbecue sauce and Boni Passmore of Antelope with her garlic herb chicken with cranberry vermouth sauce.

Erin Evenson of Brooklyn, N.Y. brought her garlicky three-cheese and basil-mint savory French toast bites with candied walnut crust, lavender-scented hot beet syrup and crispy bacon.

"I loved the lady that did the French toast," Froncillo said. "I liked it. There were a few things missing to be perfect. I gave it a 10 for being gutsy."

Making his gooey garlicky mushroom mac was Derick Thurman of Charlotte, N.C.

The criteria for the contest were simple: at least six cloves of garlic and a recipe that serves six. Many of the contestants far exceeded the amount of garlic the rules required. Thurman used two and a half bulbs of the pungent vegetable in his macaroni and cheese.

"I cook with garlic so much," he said. "My house smells like Gilroy smells - wonderfully garlicky."

Not to be outdone, Barth said he keeps one clove of garlic in his pantry and one clove in his fridge at all times.

This year a total of 140 recipes were submitted. Normally, between 200 and 250 are sent in, but recipe chairman Dennis Harrigan said that entries were down due to new guidelines restricting the number of entries per cook to three and requiring a photo of the prepared dish with each recipe.

"We used to have people enter four, five, or six entries," Harrigan said. "The quality was the same this year. Look at the very good variety we have here."

Approximately 50 recipes were then sent to a professional food consultant who prepared them to ensure correct measurements and use of ingredients, as well as ease of preparation in the home. She narrowed the field down to eight contestants and two alternates.

On Saturday, a panel of six celebrity judges examined the final dishes on flavor, texture, appearance and use of garlic. The judges included Devon Boisen, head chef at Spenger's Fresh Fish Grotto in Berkeley; Wendy Brodie, food consultant with Art of Food TV; Froncillo; Minzer, a personal chef; Evelyn Miliate, head chef at Raley's Bel Air and Nob Hill Foods; and Jan Wahl, KCBS Radio movie critic.

"This is my first year as a judge," Wahl said. "I was just going along, doing the judging. Two dishes blew my hat off - the soup and the cookie. [The cookie was] creamy, sweet and savory."

The festival's Cook-off Committee disagreed with the judges' pick, awarding its first-ever Committee's Choice Award to Karen Harris of Castle Rock, Colo., for her slightly north of the border garlic shrimp salad summer rolls with garlic adobo lime drizzle.

"We have never agreed with the judges," said cook-off stage manager Joanne Curro. "We just have different taste buds."

Internet viewers also picked a winner, selecting Sheldon and his photogenic short ribs.

Although not everyone left with a prize, all of the contestants agreed that simply being at the Garlic Festival was an award. Besides, the champion must hang up his garlic apron for three years before becoming eligible to enter the contest again.

"The downside of winning is you don't get to come back," Shivers said. "I am always amazed at the scope of this whole project and that this is all for charity. It's pretty inspiring."

How to make Spicy Garlic Butter Cookies with Garlic Goat Cheese and Honey:

Makes 20-25 cookies

Ingredients:

Cookies:

1 cup all-purpose flour (unbleached preferred)

½ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ tsp baking powder

1 stick plus 3 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

5 cloves roasted garlic

Topping

3 ounces goat cheese, softened

3 cloves roasted garlic

Honey

Hungarian paprika

Method of Preparation:

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the cloves of roasted garlic and beat for another minute or until cloves are incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture. Mix until just combined. Form dough into an 8" to 10" log (approximately 2" diameter) and wrap it in plastic wrap. Chill dough until firm.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut log into 1/8" to ¼" slices and fill ungreased large baking sheet(s), arranging slices about 1" apart.

Bake cookies until the edges are golden, approximately 12 minutes. When pulled from heat, immediately indent center of each cookie with the back of a spoon. Cool on the sheets then transfer to wire racks to completely cool.

Meanwhile, combine softened goat cheese and 3 cloves of roasted garlic in a small bowl, combining well.

Once cookies have cooled completely, add a good-sized dollop of garlic goat cheese mixture in the center of each cookie. Drizzle some honey over each, add a dash of Hungarian paprika and serve.