An Incredible Iowa Baker Will Be Featured on Food Network This Month

An talented baker from Iowa is going to be competing on the Food Network very soon! A recent article from the Des Moines Register reports that Justina Rucinski will be featured on season eight of the Christmas Cookie Challenge!

If the name Justina Rucinski sounds familiar, you may have seen some of her work when it went viral back in February. 33-year-old Justina got a ton of attention for her Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce-inspired Super Bowl cookies. Each cookie is a beautiful work of art, I don't know if I'd be able to eat them!

Justina was born in Southeast Iowa, but now runs her own business called Sweetems Co. out of Des Moines. The mother of two started baking and decorating cookies as a side hobby around six years ago, but now its become her career. The craziest part is that she's completely self-taught! A recent Instagram post from Justina says, "with my love for art, I channel it into my cookies. I’m very much an artist who also bakes."

Although Justina has found great success in her baking, she also went through an incredibly traumatizing ordeal. The Des Moines Register reports that she endured a "violent sexual assault perpetrated by a man pretending to be a customer" that almost caused her to stop baking. But, Justina's strength and resilience pulled her through. Her recent Instagram post says, "I fought for my business. I fought for my life and others and I won. That man was sentenced to prison for the pain I endured and laws changed in many states to help protect cottage bakers." Her story is featured on season one, episode nine of Lifetime's series #TextMeWhenYouGetHome.

Justina's episode of the Christmas Cookie Challenge is set to air on the Food Network on Monday, November 25th at 8 p.m. She has a chance to win the "Golden Ornament," as well as $10,000! The episode will also be available to watch the next day on MAX. We can't wait to see how she does!