RECIPES: Food for the big game!

This Sunday is the NFC Championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks. The winner of the game is on their way to Arizona for Super Bowl XLIX. If you're a football fan you'll most likely be glued to the TV on Sunday to see which teams will punch their ticket to the Super Bowl. If you're going to be watching the game with some friends, try making some of these tasty snacks for the game!

Since the Seahawks game on Sunday starts at Noon, try making some classic Bloody Marys! Check out my recipe here.

For some brunch finger foods, try making some deviled eggs. Check out my recipe here.

No game watching is complete without chips. Try making some fresh Pico de Gallo! Try my recipe here.

For the sweet tooth, make some Chocolate Chip and Butterscotch Chip Cookies! Check out my recipe here.


I hope you have fun watching the game with good friends and good food!

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

BLOGGER NEWS: Happy Anniversary Semi Sweet Designs!

Happy Anniversary, Semi Sweet Designs! It was one year ago this month that my friend Mike, who is an amazing cookie maker and designer, started blogging about his awesome cookies! Over the past year, Mike has created some amazing cookies. To thank all of the people who have supported him over the past year, he created "Golden Girls" cookies to thank everyone for "being his friend".  Below are the cookies he created of each of the Golden Girls: Sophia, Blanche, Rose and Dorothy.

I can't overstate enough just how amazing Mike's cookies truly are. You have to check out his blog at Semi Sweet Designs to see all of his other great cookie creations!

Congrats, Mike! I wish you all the best in the years to come with Semi Sweet Designs, and thank you for being a friend!

BAKING: Mike's Amazing Cookies!!

Chow Down Seattle Logo

I want to send out a HUGE thank you to my good friend Mike who made these amazing cookies of my Chow Down Seattle logo! He is amazingly talented! Check out some of his other cookies pictured below. They look so good you don't even want to eat them, but they do taste good too. Each cookie he makes has amazing detail. Michael has a very cool blog showing how he makes his cookies. You can check it out at www.semisweetdesigns.com. Thanks again, Mike! I love the cookies!

Chow Down Seattle Logo

Arizona Cardinals Logo

Xbox Controllers

Ninjas & Thowing Stars

Oregon Ducks Hoodies

Sock Monkey Cookies

Indy & Toby Chocolate Chip Cookies

Christmas Light Bulbs



Rustic Christmas Spice Cookies

RECIPE: Butterscotch & Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today I decided to bake some cookies. I usually bake my favorite chocolate chip cookies, but I had some butterscotch chips in my cupboard, so I added them to the recipe. I used the chocolate chip cookie recipe from the Martha Stewart Cookie Book. The cookies turned out delicious! I cut the amount of chocolate chips in half and substituted the butterscotch chips. I will be making these from now on. I hope you enjoy the recipe!

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup semisweet and/or milk chocolate chips
• 1 cup butterscotch chips

 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Makes about 3 dozen.

RECIPE: Hershey Kiss Cookies

One of my favorite holiday cookies are Hershey Kiss Cookies. I always seem to see these around the holidays, so I decided to try and make a couple dozen myself.

First the ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Hershey Kisses, 1 for each cookie

Pre-Heat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cream together butter, both sugars and peanut butter. Add 1 egg and vanilla. Add flour, baking soda and salt.

Form dough in walnut-size balls. Roll them in white sugar and place them on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Press Hershey Kisses into each cookie when fresh out of the oven.

Place the cookies back in the oven for 1 to 2 minutes to soften the Hershey Kisses to give them a nice smooth glaze. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.