Food Network’s ‘Halloween Baking Championship’ features Middle GA cookie master
Middle Georgia’s cookie connoisseur and owner of Sweet Evelyn’s in downtown Perry returns to the Food Network to compete in the “Halloween Baking Championship.”
Cory Jones, of Unadilla, will go head to head with nine other bakers inside a haunted mansion to create spooky confections for the chance to win $25,000.
“Halloween is my favorite,” Jones said. “For a long time, I produced my own haunted houses and was part of like, doing horror makeup and stuff.
“So Halloween’s just always been my jam.”
The seven-episode “Halloween Baking Championship” kicks off Sept. 15 with a two-hour premier at 9 p.m. EST on the Food Network. Then, the episodes stream the next day on HBO Max.
The first challenge is for each contestant to create a dessert that depicts his or her “No. 1 Halloween terror,” according to a Food Network sneak peek video.
In 2023, Jones competed in the Food Network’s “Holiday Wars.” His team won. He made his debut on the Food Network in the 2022 “Christmas Cookie Challenge.”
Jones is best known for his decorated cookies that he hand-crafts one at a time.
Jones has been baking and decorating cookies for just under 10 years. He became hooked from taking a class with his mother in December 2016.
He started Sweet Evelyn’s in the kitchen of his home, showcasing his baked goods on social media and selling them by custom-order and via pop-up shops.
After his first appearance on the Food Network, his mom and stepdad gifted him a commercial kitchen that’s located in his hometown.
In June 2023, Jones opened his storefront Sweet Evelyn’s at 910 Carroll St. He was sold out by early afternoon the first day. He often still sells out.
His cookie business is named after the late Evelyn Goodroe, or “Nana,” his grandmother on his mother’s side.
Jones expects to offer what he bakes each week as part of the “Halloween Baking Challenge” at his storefront after each episode that he participates in airs.
Does he win the contest that was filmed in March? Fans will have to watch the show to find out.
“The biggest thing I like to tell everybody in these type competitions is it doesn’t matter where you start, as long as you just keep pushing yourself to do things that you don’t always do,” Jones said. “It’ll take you far.
“So like knowing and going into a competition that is baking more than cookies, which is what I’m known for, if you don’t step out on a limb, I mean, you don’t know how you’ll do. So I always just like to say, push yourself to do something that you’re not always used to doing, and just see how far you can go.”
Sweet Evelyn’s hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m Saturday. The number is 478-224-0559.
This story was originally published September 8, 2025 at 9:27 AM.