Bloggers brought some serious heat to this recipe challenge! The recipes they came up with were innovative, creative and delectable. It’s no easy task creating cold recipes that are hot at the same time.

We sent bloggers a slew of dried chiles and asked them to create original recipes for dishes that were meant to be served cold. Now that all of the recipes and votes are in, it’s time for the champions to be crowned.

The first winner was selected through our public poll. Chosen with resounding certainty, the first winner is Baketard and his Summer Chilled Corn Soup with Pequin Chiles & Lemon Oil. Congratulations! Your chilled soup recipe was a favorite in the polls and we loved it here as well, bravo!

Our second winner was chosen with NOT so resounding certainty…in fact, we had a 3-way tie after tallying the results of our internal vote. It was incredibly difficult to pick just one winner, so even though we DID pick a second winner, the two runners up will also receive a prize.

Justin cast the tie-breaking vote and our second winner is Farmgirl Gourmet with her Spicy Mexican Coffee Gelée! Congratulations! Your recipe is lusciously delicious and we love your unique idea.

Now for the honorable mentions: Okay, Check it Out‘s Spicy Coca-Cola Float Cake & the Lychee-Tepin Ice Cream over Thai Basil Granita from The Solitary Cook were in a dead heat with Farmgirl Gourmet for the second crown. These two recipes are enticingly creative and each deserve their time in the limelight. We’re sending them each a 4oz bag of the dried chile of their choice.

A big THANK YOU to all of the bloggers for participating! This challenge was a ton of fun for us and we hope you enjoyed it too. Stay tuned for more recipe contest opportunities on the horizon…