Six Home Bakers Make Up The Pillsbury Bake-Off Classic’s Cookie Round, As CBS Names All 24 Competitors For November 23
Six home bakers from New Haven to Coeur d’Alene will compete in the cookie round of the “Pillsbury Bake-Off Classic,” which airs Monday, November 23, from 8 to 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CBS. CBS and Pillsbury named all 24 contestants on November 10, split into four rounds of six, and cookies are one of the four holiday staples the rounds are built around.
The special was announced in October, and our first look covered what the Bake-Off’s home bakers will make. It’s one of several shows on our holiday baking shows calendar.
The six bakers in the cookie round
CBS lists the cookie round’s bakers as:
- Brittney Williams, New Haven, Conn.
- Kareem Youngblood, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Katie Siu, Brooklyn, N.Y.
- Layla Rostami, Houston, Texas
- Sam McCabe, New Orleans, La.
- Scott Luft, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
When CBS first announced the special in October, it described the cookie challenge as “cookies for a cookie exchange.” Every round has the same rule: the bakers put their own twists on Pillsbury products while also showing they can bake from scratch.
How the night works
Each group of six bakes head to head in its own round, and each round is themed around what CBS calls “an iconic holiday staple”: cookies, cakes, pies or biscuits. The top baker from each round moves on to the “Best in Bake” finale, where they make “Edible Festive Wreaths for the Holidays.”
The winner is crowned the 2026 Pillsbury Bake-Off Classic champion and takes home a $25,000 cash prize, a complete KitchenAid equipment package and the Pillsbury Golden Rolling Pin trophy.
Drew Barrymore hosts, and Christina Tosi and Dook Chase judge. CBS has added Amirah Kassem, whom it calls a “celebrated baker and author,” as a roaming sideline reporter, bringing viewers reactions from the bakers, their families and the audience as the competition happens.
The other 18 bakers
Cake round:
- Aida Ahmed, Las Vegas, Nev.
- Amy Webb, Huntsville, Ala.
- Biobele Braide, Boston, Mass.
- Collin Helms, Warwick, R.I.
- Kathy Cargill, Cary, N.C.
- Legenia Bearden, Little Rock, Ark.
Pie round:
- Amy David, Bradenton, Fla.
- Dayvid Field, Delran, N.J.
- Dionna Humphrey, Orlando, Fla.
- “Mamaw” Gail Morris, Dorton, Ky.
- Nivek Anderson-Brown, Lawrenceville, Va.
- Travis Gilmore, Austin, Texas
Biscuit round:
- Alakananda Krishnan, Woonsocket, R.I.
- Daniel Will, Chicago, Ill.
- Dillon Evans, Gainesville, Ga.
- Emma Watkins, Arlington, Va.
- Lauriel Pera, Phoenix, Ariz.
- Rod Herrenbruck, St. Louis, Mo.
How to watch, and where the Bake-Off began
The two-hour special runs on CBS on Monday, November 23, Thanksgiving week, and streams on Paramount+ with a Premium plan.
CBS counts 53 earlier Pillsbury Bake-Off competitions, going back to 1949. According to Pillsbury, that first contest brought 100 finalists to New York City’s Waldorf-Astoria hotel, with Eleanor Roosevelt in attendance.
For a cookie round of your own, our Christmas cookie recipes are a good place to start, and the holiday baking shows calendar lists the other holiday baking shows this season, with dates and times.