Election crunch time: Frosted presidential candidate cookies prove to be a big hit

The sheer volume and viciousness of the down-to-the-wire election coverage probably isn’t making you think of “sugar and spice and everything nice.”

But for a limited time, Redmond’s Blazing Bagels shop is selling frosted cookies embellished with the likenesses of presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama.

Since they introduced the cookies on Oct. 16, customers have glommed on to them — sometimes because they really like one of the presidential candidates, other times because they want to bite his head off, said Dennis Ballen, owner and self-described “head bagel” at the shop, located at 6975 176th Ave. NE.

Who’s leading in the informal cookie-buying poll?

“It was pretty even the first day, but since then, Barack’s been ahead by about 26 percent,” said Ballen. “We had one cookie that crumbled. That was McCain. The older the cookie, the more it crumbles,” he quipped.

The presidential cookies aren’t made in-house, he explained. In fact, they’re the only product not made fresh in the store, which is famous for its fight with City Hall a few years ago — just Google “Blazing Bagels” — and its 28 varieties of bagels.

They’ve got everything from plain and pumpernickel bagels to sun-dried tomato, cinnamon chip, Snickerdoodle and French Toast flavors. And “shmears” of cream cheese come with berries, chives, bacon and horseradish, the traditional lox and more.

The shop also sells bagel chips, breads and hearty, New York-style deli sandwiches.

“We do lots of school events such as nutrition fairs, the Redmond Elementary Hawk Walk, different things for RedmodLights, lots of cancer events,” said Ballen.

He started out strictly as a wholesaler, which would explain the somewhat hard-to-find location, in the light industrial maze behind Whole Foods. But Blazing Bagels is now one of the busiest retail shops on the West Coast. They produce 6,000-7,000 bagels daily, selling about 65 percent to wholesale clients.

“People find us,” Ballen noted. “It’s packed in here on Saturdays and Sundays, especially during soccer season.”

“We use all-natural ingredients for all of our baked goods, salads and soups — no artificial colors or preservatives,” he added.

You can call ahead to place your order — or ask directions. The number’s (425) 883-1550.

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