The butterscotch headlight simply wouldn’t stick to the marshmallow truck.

Dana Iwata fumbled with the frosting as a squad of judges approached her team’s display. The gooey vehicle was supposed to represent an L.A. food truck, similar to the ones that students frequently visit in South Campus.

Iwata and four of her Kinross Library coworkers created an edible interpretation of the not-yet-released “The Food Truck Cookbook” for UCLA’s third Edible Book Festival.

Held on Friday, the library-sponsored contest allowed students, faculty and staff to show off culinary interpretations of their favorite books in front of Young Research Library. Most made cakes; some used cookies.

“This is meant to be a low-key and fun event – it’s a great way to jump-start the quarter,” said Monica Hagan, chair of the event and a research guide at the Rosenfeld Library at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

The late Judith Hoffberg, an accomplished artist and UCLA library donor, concocted the first known edible book in 1999. With support from Hoffberg’s artist friends, the concept quickly morphed into an annual contest, Hagan said.

Participants worldwide are encouraged to launch competitions of their own and post pictures on the International Edible Book Festival website.

“Judith was a good friend of the UCLA library, and she saw the edible book as a way to promote literacy,” Hagan said. “This contest is a great way to memorialize her.”

At UCLA’s contest, a trio of judges, including the chancellor’s wife, Carol Block, stopped by each station before allowing spectators to devour every edible creation. Greg Leazer, a judge and chair of the information studies department, said he found it challenging to eat so much cake. Judges sampled slices from each of the 12 competitors. “I think this event shows that people need exercise more than they need cake,” Leazer said jokingly. “However, I do like the food truck team’s banana cake.”

Iwata’s team chose to interpret a cookbook of recipes from L.A. food trucks. Dozens of bite-sized cupcakes crowded Iwata’s display station, creating a mosaic of Los Angeles’s most popular food truck wares.

A “pancake” cupcake paid homage to Buttermilk, one of the team’s favorite food trucks. Vanilla cookie “pancakes” joined strips of red Starburst “bacon” atop a buttermilk cupcake. Another cupcake, inspired by Asian-style food trucks, featured chocolate cake adorned with green Starburst “broccoli” and a bed of “lo mein” fashioned from frosting.

Dubbed the “Lunch Ladeez,” Iwata’s team ultimately collected the People’s Choice Award in front of a cheering – and chewing – crowd.

Robin Flint was also a winner; her cake secured the “Best Student Entry” award. The health services doctoral student baked an edible rendition of “Salad Day’s Soup,” a poem by her late aunt.

Chocolate sheet cake served as an open book, and Flint scrawled the poem upon vanilla pages in inky-colored icing. Colorful sprinkles and a bookmark made from a long strip of chewing gum completed the display.

“Baking is my therapy,” Flint said. “My aunt was a spunky lady; she would have thought this event was beyond cool.”

Since library officials organized the contest and advertised to co-workers, the crowd was comprised largely of library employees. Students and community members also wandered by the event.

Third-year Middle Eastern and North African studies student Ashley Schilling nibbled Flint’s entry after the judging. “The festival works because students like free food,” the Young Research Library employee said. “I’m starting to remember all the books I used to read as a kid.”

One such read was “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff. Mihiri Tillakaratne, a graduate student in Asian American studies, celebrated her favorite story with a giant “cookie” of devil’s food cake and colored fondant.

A smaller cupcake represented the mouse’s quest for scissors, which Tillakaratne fashioned from marshmallows. Another held a slab of fondant to signify the mouse’s yearning for paper.

Tillakaratne’s mother works in UCLA’s neuroscience department and helped her daughter arrange the cupcakes on contest day.

“I started baking when we found out my mom was allergic to lots of common ingredients,” Tillakaratne said. “Now I’m famous for my espresso chocolate chip cookies.”

Tillakaratne said that discussions with fellow entrants left her with a list of new books she needs to read.

“The festival fosters conversation about favorite books and makes people aware of what stories are out there,” said Susan Parker, a Young Research Library librarian. “Recommending a new title to someone is incredibly valuable.”