Winner of the KitchenAid Mixer!

Wow what a great giveaway! There were a total of 281 entries (after cleaning out ineligible entries: outside of US, no contact information, etc) and Random.org chose entry #106... and the winner is....

Mandy, also known as Gourmet Mom on the Go! Mandy will have 5 days to respond or a new winner will be drawn. Thank you to all that entered and commented, I really appreciate it and hope everyone has a fabulous holiday season!

Congratulations Mandy!!

Raspberry Shortbread Sandwich Cookies & Brown Sugar Brownies

When C&H/Domino Sugar contacted me and asked if I would like to try some of their recipes, AND offered to send me a $20 gift card to cover the ingredients, of course I said yes :) They have some really fun ideas on their website, including plenty of Christmas cookies, ideas for hosting a cookie swap, recipes for homemade sugar scrubs and cookie mixes in a jar, and plenty more.

You can find the recipes for both of these on the right side bar here.

After perusing a while, I decided on the Raspberry Shortbread Sandwich Cookies and Brown Sugar Brownies.

Their recipe suggests using a star cookie cutter, but I chose a bell. I used the wide end of a decorating tip to make the hole that the jam peeks through. This was a very simple recipe, easy to roll out and cut and they tasted great! I made some with blackberry jam, some with Nutella, and some with both.

As with all shortbread, at least in my opinion, they taste best when cooled to room temperature, and even better the next day when the jam has had a chance to soak into the cookie! Yum.

As an alternative, I made some reindeer from the bell cutters by turning the bell shape upside down, pressing some broken pretzel sticks into the dough, and cutting two holes for eyes.

I didn't have any red hot candies, which would have worked well for the nose, so instead I pinched off small pieces of dough, rolled them into balls and rolled them in red sugar. Then I gently pressed those onto the dough and baked!

I definitely recommend polling the dough between sheets of parchment paper. It's easier to roll and to lift and chill.

Now for the brownies. Because I can never seem to leave well enough alone, I added some mint chips to my brownies instead of nuts.

This made them rather gooey, they were quite good! The recipe was very easy to put together, though next time I think I would stick with either regular chocolate chips or leave them out all together.

I lined the baking pan with foil before adding the batter. That makes it much easier to remove the brownies from the pan. Let them cool completely, then simply lift them out of the pan and cut!

Be sure to browse around their site to find plenty of cookie and brownie recipes!

Kitchen Aid Mixer Giveaway!

Last Christmas I bought myself a present. It was big, and beautiful, and matched my stainless steel appliances. It was a brand new KitchenAid mixer and I have never loved an appliance more than I do this one. I use it several times a week making cookies, cakes, pies and bread dough. Oh yes, I LOVE my KitchenAid. :)

So when Sam's Club contacted me and said they wanted to give one my readers a KitchenAid mixer, how could I possibly say no?? This one is even spiffier than the one I have, so I know the winner is just going to love it!

I know right??? A KitchenAid mixer! :) A KitchenAid Commercial 5 Series Bowl-Lift, 11 Cup Stand Mixer to be exact. You can click here to read all the details about this great machine. This puppy is valued at $545.00!

So how do you qualify to win?

You must be a U.S. resident to win. Sorry to all our Canadian friends and abroad :(

First of all, if you comment anonymously, make sure you include your email address in case you win so I can get a hold of you! 

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post stating what you enjoy most about Amanda's Cookin'. Is it the desserts? Dinners? Photography? My charming wit?? Bahaha! Just let me know, I love to hear how I'm doing. That's it, you'll qualify for this fabulous prize.

Additional Entries!

You can earn up to 5 more entries, but you MUST submit a separate comment for each of these to qualify as individual entries. That's a total of 6 possible entries!

[If you already qualify for one of these (for example, you are already subscribed or already a follower), just mention that in the comment.]

1) Twitter - Follow me on twitter @amandascookin and tweet about this giveaway. I won't know unless you tweet my twitter name in there, so be sure and start or end your tweet with @amandascookin, that way I can follow you too!

2) Follow Amanda's Cookin' - you can follow by clicking the follow link at the very top of the page on Amanda's Cookin' , or on the upper right sidebar. If you subscribe in a different fashion, please mention that in your comment.

3) Facebook - become a Fan of Amanda's Cookin' on Facebook!

4) Blog or Facebook about it - If you have a blog, include this contest within one of your posts, or you can write a separate post about it, just be sure to link to this page. If you don't blog, I will accept a Facebook post, just be sure and leave me a link where I can verify it :)

5) Follow my craft blog - If you like crafts, be sure to check out and follow my craft blog, Crafts by Amanda.

This giveaway ends on December 15th at midnight, CST. One winner will be chosen via Random.org. If the winner responds right away, you can even receive the shipment by Christmas! The winner will have 5 days to respond, otherwise a new winner will be drawn.

Oh, and before you run off, I wanted to tell you about this cool Holiday Helper that Sam's Club has put together! Click on over and check it out. They have plenty to browse, including great holiday ideas, appetizer tips, and some cool videos as well.

Good luck!

New Winner

I'm afraid that the deadline has passed for the first drawn winner to contact me, so she forfeits her prize :( That's a good thing for the runner up though!

The winner is post #6....

Tasty Eats at Home!! Congratulations! Look for an email from me :)

Winner Announcement!

Thank you to all who entered our giveaway! According to Random.org our lucky winner is....

Barb from Ca, post # 77. Barb has seven days to respond and claim her $100 gift card. Be sure to subscribe to this blog for future giveaways!

Pepperidge Farm Baked Naturals Cheese Crisps & a $100 Giveaway!

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Pepperidge Farm Baked Naturals Cheese Crisps

Some friends of ours invited us over to watch football. Of course, me being me, I had to bring some sort of snack along. Finger sandwiches wouldn't do. No, these aren't women at a tea party, these are manly men screaming at the television set every time their team moves up the field. No, I needed something more grown up, no brownies or cupcakes for this crowd.

Pepperidge Farm has come out with these fabulous snack crackers, Baked Naturals Cheese Crisps, in two flavors, Four Cheese Medley and Four Cheese Italian Herb. Four Cheese is made with Aged Cheddar, Asiago, Romano and Parmesan, while Italian Herb is seasoned with flavorful herbs and spices. Well, I happen to know, living in Wisconsin, that the guys here love cheese, bingo! The perfect cracker for Cheeseheads!

These are natural, preservative-free snacks, made with an artisan blend of real cheeses golden baked to bubbly perfection on top of a thin, crispy, crunchy cracker. Perfect!

These crackers are perfect topped with a cream cheese mixture or a slice of fresh cheese. Pile the crackers into a bowl and you'll be surprised and just how fast they disappear! Make sure to have a couple extra boxes handy so you can keep replenishing the dish.

Real Taste, Real Crunch, Real Goodness. Naturally, the best things in life are real.

And now, a fabulous giveaway! Win a $100 Visa Gift Card! 

To enter leave a comment below and tell me what type of snacks and goodies you put out for game day. Contest run dates are 10/5/2009 through 11/2/2009. Make sure that the e-mail address you leave is correct in case you win!

The Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.

You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.

This giveaway is open to US-residents age 18 and over

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.

You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

Please see the official rules here: Official Rules

Visit other BlogHer Reviewers for seven other chances to win a $100 Visa gift card.