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The Second Annual Cookie Wars Recipe Contest!

Tags

baking, cooking, entertainment, Food, photography, photos, recipes

Today is the day. The day that the 2nd Annual Cookie Wars Recipe Contest launches! How freaking excited am I? SO EXCITED! I have a love affair with cookies. Not just an “OMG I love cookies so much!” love affair. But I actually LOVE cookies. I mean, I am even kind of emotional about them (STOP JUDGING ME!). But cookies are the baked good that made me discover my true passion for baking. It was through creating cookie recipes that made me discover my creativity in the kitchen. Cookies are so versatile. The flavor combinations, the shapes, the frostings, the fillings, the textures. Seriously endless possibilities. That is why I started the campaign last year that “Cookies are the new cupcake!” And that led me to creating this contest!

 

So here we are again, already a year later. WHAT?! And This year is even better than last. I have 4 amazing and beautiful co-hosts, 25 unique new challenge ingredients, and some awesome prizes!

The Judging Panel!: Kristin (me) of BakerBettie.com, Kayle of CookingActress.Blogspot.com, Laura of RingFingerTanLine.com, Charity of SweetsByCharity.com, and Kristina of WhippedBaking.com

The basic rules are the same as last year: Create an original cookie recipe using at least two ingredients from the Challenge Ingredient list and submit it with a picture of the final product. And this year’s Challenge Ingredients are… (drum roll please!)

• Challenge Ingredient List:
• Allspice
• Beets
• Blackberry Jam
• Black Beans
• Buttermilk
• Cashews
• Cocoa Nibs
• Coconut Cream
• Cornmeal
• Cucumber
• Dried Mango
• Fresh Ginger
• Gin
• Graham Crackers (any flavor)
• Liquid Smoke
• Marshmallow Cream
• Pears
• Pistachios
• Potato Chips
• Prosecco
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• Sour Patch Kids
• Smoked Paprika
• Stout Beer
• Sriracha

To learn all the details about the contest, how to enter, and what you could win check out the contest pages!

Click here for the FAQ’s page… 

Click here for the Official Rules page…

Click here for the Official Online Recipe Submission Form… 

Click here to meet this years judges! 

Click here to see last years winners! 

I am so excited to see and taste all of your amazing recipes! And to be fair, I felt I needed to create my own unique cookie recipe with the Challenge Ingredients to kick everything off. So stay tuned for my recipe coming up with week as well as my post on “How to Create an Original Cookie Recipe.” Let the baking and cooking inhaling begin!

Spicy Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash

Tags

baking, cooking, Food, life, photography, photos, pictures, recipes

Last week I let you all know the blog was moving. Well, now it has! As much as I was told that I could move my email followers with me, I still haven’t figured out how to do it… So I hope that you guys come follow me at bakerbettie.com! I am lonely over there!

So to get the recipe for this AMAZING breakfast head over to my new site! And if you like me, follow me over there too!

xoxo,

Baker Bettie

updated! FREE COOKIES: A Message to My Lovely Readers

Tags

baking, cooking, Food, life, photography, photos, recipes, Sweets, vegan

Update!: In order to subscribe via email if you are wordpress user, you must sign out from you account first and then visit bakerbettie.com and enter your email address into the “follow blog via email” in the upper right side of the page. I’m sorry for the inconvenience! I just found this out and I know it is obnoxious!

Hey guys, we need to talk. Do you see all these pictures of this delicious food? Do you want to KEEP seeing pictures of this delicious food?

 

Bakerbettie.com is about to move away from wordpress.com to wordpress.org.

What this means for those who are already email subscribers is nothing. You will continue to get my posts via email and you can pretty much just ignore this post.

What this means for those of you who are wordpress subscribers (meaning those who are wordpress users that clicked that “follow” button at the top of the screen) is that I will no longer show up in your wordpress reader. If you would like to continue to receive updates and posts from Baker Bettie you need to “Subscribe by email” in that box over on the top right hand side. And I hope you do, because I love you all! (In order to subscribe via email if you are wordpress user, you must sign out from you account first and then visit bakerbettie.com and enter your email address into the “follow blog via email” in the upper right side of the page.)

To sweeten the deal (and let’s be honest, I am bribing you) 2 email subscribers, picked at random, will receive a box of my famous thick and chewy Dark Chocolate and Toasted Pecan Cookies made gluten free, vegan, or without nuts if requested!  (if you are already subscribed you are still eligible to win!)

To enter you must be subscribed to bakerbettie.com by 11:59 pm CT on Wednesday, August 15, 2012. CONTEST IS CLOSED! The winners have been notified by email!

Key Lime Cashew Cream Pie

Tags

baking, cooking, Food, health, life, photography, photos, raw, recipes, vegan

Trying something new has always been an extremely uncomfortable experience for me. I have always gravitated toward the familiar, in pretty much every way possible. My husband cannot understand why I would want to watch the same movies I have seen over and over again. Am I the only one that enjoys watching a familiar old movie 10xs more than seeing a new one at the theater? Am I the only one that watches the re-runs of “Saved By The Bell” even though I have seen every episode at least 10 times?! They just never get old.

Spicy Garlic and Herb Swirl Bread

Tags

baking, cooking, Food, life, photography, photos, pictures, recipes

I have the kind of job that is already going full speed before I even wake up in the morning.

A Cookie Cake for Chris

Tags

baking, cooking, Food, life, love, photography, pictures, recipes

Photo by Shelley Stephens

I have been in the mushy kind of mood lately…

It seems like life has been smacking me in the face over and over again lately saying, “Life is precious and short. Take the time to really show people how much you care about them.” So I have been trying to do just that.

Mini Flourless Chocolate Tortes

Tags

baking, cooking, Food, life, photos, pictures, recipes, summer, Sweets

The big stuff…

How much I love and appreciate my family and friends.

The realization of how much I could be affecting my client’s lives.

The realization of how much my clients are affecting my life.

Trying to figure out what I REALLY want to do with my life.

My attempt at trying to find a level of compassion and understanding with each person I meet.

SuperFood Salad and Recipes Perfect for Summer

Tags

baking, cooking, Food, health, life, photography, photos, recipes, summer

There is just something about the frigid cold of winter that makes me forget about the stickiness of summer. I spend the winter dreaming of summer. Then summer comes and I’m cranky and sticky and stuck to anything I sit on.

Mother’s Day Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Tags

baking, cooking, Food, holiday, life, love, mothersday, photos, recipes

This post is for my mother.

Yes, a recipe is involved too.  But I choose this recipe with my mother in mind.  To honor her in some way.

Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes

Tags

baking, Food, health, life, paleo, photography, photos, recipes

It has been the perfect Saturday morning.

I slept in until 730, which feels REALLY late to me. I went to the gym and got in my workout first thing.  My husband and I walked to the grocery store (we don’t do that enough) and got a few things for breakfast.  Then I made these pancakes…

“No Excuses” Single Serving Chocolate Chip Cookie

Tags

baking, cooking, Food, gluten free, health, paleo, photography, photos, recipes

I walk around with a constant level of anxiety.  And when I say constant, I really do mean that.  I’m even anxious when I sleep.  It is hard to explain.

Baking has been my escape from the anxiety.  Whenever I need to shut out the world and turn off the nerves.  I get in the kitchen.  I brown butter, whisk eggs, pinch salt, sift flour, stir batter, scoop dough, bake cookies, share them with friends, bring people joy.  It is all so beautiful and relaxing to me.  It is my therapy.

“No Excuses” Apple Cinnamon Jicama Breakfast Porridge

Tags

all, cooking, Food, grain free, health, life, paleo, photos, recipes

At the risk of sounding conceited I need to brag on myself for a moment.

You see, I am really good at a few things.  Really good.

These things include: Procrastinating, Making Messes, and Making Excuses.

I am also really good at combining these talents.  Such as making a fantastic mess, procrastinating the clean up of said mess, and making some great excuses as the why these two things happened.  Pure talent.

Cookies Wars 2012! “And the Winner is…”

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all, contest, cooking, Food, friends, life, photos, pictures, recipes

The time has come to announce the winners of Cookie Wars 2012!

But wait, wait, wait.  Do not scroll down to the bottom yet!

I HAVE to recognize all of these awesome entries first.  I was seriously blown away by all of the recipes submitted.  When all was said and done there were 21 entries, making our judging very tough.

I really wish I could let all you all know how much it means to me that you put in your time and creativity to enter this contest, and you are all fabulous!

A few of the cookies lined up for tasting!

A few more of the cookies! I wish I would have taken pictures of everything but we got a little too caught up in the hard work of tasting…

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie: Grain Free, Dairy Free, Refined Sugar Free

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all, baking, cooking, dairy free, Food, gluten free, grain free, life, paleo, photography, photos, recipes, sugar free, vegan

Sometimes I just need to slow down.  Press stop.  Then rewind. Go back to the beginning. The basics.

It’s like learning to ride a bike for the first time by yourself with no training wheels.  You’ve seen people do it and you say to yourself “Self, I can do that. I don’t need anyone’s help. I got this.”

“Cookie’s Are The New Cupcake” Round Up and Contest Reminder!

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all, baking, blog, contest, cooking, Food, photography, photos, recipes

It is almost here.  The end of the cookie series.  It has been a good run.  And I feel we raised some awareness for the under-rated baked good.  Mission accomplished. I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the journey that brought us to this place.  And also to do another shameless plug for The Cookie Wars 2012 Contest.  You have until Sunday April 15th at 11:59pm, Central standard time to enter!  Remember you have to use two of these ingredients and click here for more details.

Garlicky Kale, Tomato, and Onion Cauliflower “Hash”

Tags

all, cooking, Food, health, holiday, life, photos, pictures, recipes

Those of you who follow my posts regularly may think that I don’t cook much.  Almost every single post of 2012 has been of a sweet or baked good.

You see, it isn’t that I don’t cook savory stuff.  I am just usually too impatient and eat what I cook before I get some good photographs of it.

This is the reality of a food blogger.  If you want to get some good shots, your food is going to be cold before you get to eat.