298617 Mon Sep 27 14:40:35 -0700 2004 32 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 1651731 I am trying to figure out what to make for a Bake Sale coming up this weekend. I'm trying to figure out what I could make that would: 1. Stand out from the crowd, and 2. Make the most money. Should I deal in volume and make cookies / Brownies or should I make a cake/pie/fruit bread that would get a higher per-piece price? or is their some other choice that I'm over-looking? Any opinions would be helpful. People with experience in bake-sale economics would be especially welcome. Also, any recipes you might wish to include would be welcome... Thanks in advance Mon Sep 27 14:40:35 -0700 2004 0 Gary Rolin 1 1651735 I would make the Gramercy Tavern Gingerbread on Epicurious. I bake it in two 9 inch loaf pans instead of a bundt for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted has a little bit of gooey crumb left on it. I find if you cook it past that it gets to dry as it cools and sets up. I would then slice each loaf into 10 slices and sell them individually. I make the recipe exactly as stated... don't worry if the batter seems a little thin. It cooks and doesn't necessarily seem "done" when it comes out of the over, but it sets as it cools. I make this recipe for every occasion and get rave reviews every time. It is also best if you can make it a day or two ahead because it gets better with age. Link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/103087 Mon Sep 27 15:25:39 -0700 2004 1651731 0 Emme 2 1651832 I made this for a bake sale once, and frosted it with lemon buttercream. As I recall, the cake sold for $15 as soon as it was put out on the table. Tue Sep 28 11:08:33 -0700 2004 1651735 0 zora 1 1651743 Go for eye appeal and popular ingredients. Fruit breads and pies have a lesser appeal at these things than chocolatey overly sweet things. Seven layer bars don't really count as baking something, but they're always popular, as are buckeyes or other chocolate/peanut butter combos. Seven layer bars: http://cookie.allrecipes.com/az/SvnLyerBrs.asp Link: http://southernfood.about.com/od/candyrecipes/r/bl30223j.htm Mon Sep 27 15:53:41 -0700 2004 1651731 0 Chris VR 1 1651746 Definitely chocolatey ooey gooey is probably the most popular, but something like gingerbread can sell a lot. Is the bake sale for kids or adults? That makes a big difference. If it's adults, I've seen the suggestion of mini pavlovas, made with meringues, and assembled to order. Those would be of the more labor intensive but higher price category. Mon Sep 27 15:59:40 -0700 2004 1651731 0 Caitlin Wheeler 2 1651752 Just for clarification, the bake sale is for adults. It will start on Saturday morning if that inlfuences the suggestions in any way (say perhaps a breakfast-based baked good as opposed to a dessert-based baked good). Mon Sep 27 16:27:05 -0700 2004 1651746 0 Gary Rolin 3 1651757 I stand by my suggestion for something goey and/or sweet. At my church's bake sale, at the end of the day, the fruit breads and less sweet items always have leftovers, while the brownies, fudge, etc. are long gone. One more grownup idea is small cheesecakes. You can sell those for a higher price- I think the woman who brings those to our bake sale asks something like $10-$12 each for a (guessing on size here) 6" cheesecake. Mon Sep 27 16:51:45 -0700 2004 1651752 0 Chris VR 4 1651802 home made peanut brittle and Aunt Bill's go instantly here. And pecan pies. Mon Sep 27 21:44:25 -0700 2004 1651757 0 Betty 5 1651813 and homemade English Toffee. Tue Sep 28 08:02:14 -0700 2004 1651802 0 kc girl 5 1651868 What are Aunt Bill's? Tue Sep 28 13:48:51 -0700 2004 1651802 0 JessicaSophia 6 1652108 Aunt Bills Brown Candy - I'm sure you can find a recipe on the web. It is an old timey candy/near sacred in Oklahoma. It is incredible, must be a low-humidity day, and involves mostly cream and caramelized sugar and pecans and a heavy cast iron skillet and a sturdy cooking pot. Two people are best, because somebody has to pour the caramelized sugar in a stream into the cream somebody else is slowly stirring. Wed Sep 29 22:14:34 -0700 2004 1651868 0 Betty 1 1651759 I would stay away from anything unfamiliar. People love to indulge in the favorites - chocolate chip cookies, brownies, etc. The key is to make them over-the-top: huge cookies or cookies with M&Ms, thick frosting on the brownies or really great topings (chocolate and caramel swirls or marshmallows or Andies candies). That way, you can also charge a little more for them as well. Bread does not sell well nor do fruit pies. And dates and raisins are the kiss of death for most people. Too healthy. Mon Sep 27 16:53:41 -0700 2004 1651731 0 MkeLaurie 2 1651762 I have the chocolate chip recipe from the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Beach if you want it. And, as you run low in the bowl (or for all of them), thin them a little and make thin rounds to fold into small cornucopias for ice cream or mousse or ?? to fill them. Mon Sep 27 17:03:45 -0700 2004 1651759 0 kc girl 3 3929870 I'll be doing a bake sale for my daughter's Day care and would love to get the recipe to these cookies. Any chance you'd be willing to part with it? Mon Aug 04 16:53:46 -0700 2008 1651762 215961 jativa 1 1651761 If you want to stand out from the crowd, don't make cookies/cupcakes/brownies/bars. They're good but everyone makes them. At our last sale we drowned in them and they ended up getting marked down at the end just to move them. What went quickly was all varieties of breads, white and wheat first, various fruit and nut breads second. Scones did quite well too, and we were charging $2 apiece. I brought two mushrooom quiches and they went quickly at $12 each. We sold everything whole so I don't know how pies would do by the slice, but all our pies sold. You could also think about selling vegetable tortas by the slice -- savory works too. And don't be afraid to charge money for this stuff, especially if you are trying to raise money. Folks will pay for good homemade items, especially for a good cause. Mon Sep 27 17:00:30 -0700 2004 1651731 0 Ellen 1 1651765 I read you said it was a bake sale for adults, but will it be a place they bring their kids along - if so, the chocolately stuff will sell well because the kids will be begging for it. I usually do a tray of homemade turtle (carmel/pecan) brownies, a tray of cheesecake brownies, and some peanut butter choco chip cookies. Add a little garnish or presentation touches. Nothing exactly gourmet, but somewhat eye catching and my stuff usually sells before the other similar fare. Mon Sep 27 17:11:17 -0700 2004 1651731 0 PenskeFan 1 1651768 How about making super large fortune cookies - like from 10" rounds - some halves dipped in chocolate after baking - white or dark. I got some at a place in Marina del Rey, California, for a birthday party a few years ago. Put something interesting like a haiku or a fable or even a cute ad - something on the paper inside. Offer to take orders until bake sale closing (you can print out just about anything on a computer) and return to the place of the bake sale to deliver in seven days. Cash up front, no refunds. Mon Sep 27 17:22:00 -0700 2004 1651731 0 kc girl 1 1651771 If it starts in the morning, I would go with chocolate chip, apple, or blueberry muffins, banana bread, or a coffee cake. And, personally, I would be more likely to buy a low-fat/healthy item at a bake sale...cooking light has some recipes for foods that taste good but aren't horrible for you. Biscotti would be another option as well. Mon Sep 27 17:28:45 -0700 2004 1651731 0 Meils 1 1651779 Focaccia Bread always sells fast at our bake sale. Sell by the slice and whole. Something about the smell of garlic just brings them running to our table. Make some with sun dried tomatoes , mushrooms, 4 cheese, roasted garlic. Something different then all the same sweets. Link: http://bread.allrecipes.com./az/FccciBrd.asp Mon Sep 27 18:15:47 -0700 2004 1651731 0 Kim 1 1651806 I saw these Scottish Butter Tablets today on A Spoonful of Sugar. I would buy a pound of them in a heart beat. Link: http://www.aspoonfulofsugar.net/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/52 Mon Sep 27 22:39:40 -0700 2004 1651731 0 Dipsy 1 1651816 Thank you all for your suggestions. I think I'm going to make several things, big and small and I'll report back and let you know how it all worked out. Thanks again. Tue Sep 28 09:07:38 -0700 2004 1651731 0 Gary Rolin 2 1651821 I'd work the sweet and savoury angle too. I know that for breakfast I really can't handle anything too sweet, but if you were the one table with a "savoury" I'd stop and get that along with some sweet things to take home... Tue Sep 28 10:09:08 -0700 2004 1651816 0 julesrules 1 1651929 I'm so glad Gary asked this question. I do a weekly bake sale at my workplace - to raise funds for a local charity. There are about 150 people on my floor - techie types, mostly men. I put out a plate of cookies at lunchtime with a donations canister. I ask .25 per cookie. I find that familiiar cookies, particularly oatmeal raisin, move best in my workplace. My delicious molasses cookies hardly moved at all. I pride myself on being a good baker, but I have to admit I cut corners on these bake sales. I'm donating the ingredients and I want to keep my costs down. Instead of all good butter, I use 1/2 cheap supermarket butter, 1/2 crisco. I skimp on vanilla because it's so expensive. I may stoop to buying supermarket brand flour, sugars and eggs. I've been making the cookies smaller and smaller and people still pay the quarter. I found that brownies were too expensive for the return I got. I have an advantage in that I'm the only one selling dessert in the office. (Except for when people sell their kids' band candy.) Question: Is there a cheaper natural substitute for vanilla in cookies? Does almond extract work? Looking for any suggestion for making classic cookies cheaper but still very tasty. (I do have standards.) I learned the hard way that you should CHARGE for cookies, not suggest a donation. An offical charity canister with a wide coin slot brings in more money than a cup that allows people to make change. I get lots of folded dollar bills in the canister. I think some nice people donate without taking a cookie. Link: http://flyingfur.typepad.com/flyingfur/ Tue Sep 28 19:15:45 -0700 2004 1651731 0 Val Ann C 2 1651968 supermarket flour and sugar? what do you normally use? are you grinding your own wheat berries? Have you ever tried putting the cookies out in the morning? That's when I would pay whatever you wanted for a cookie...at lunchtime...well, I've had lunch. What about blonde brownies? Super easy, cheap ingredients (brown sugar and eggs, mostly) and I think delicious. A lady at my former workplace sold slices of lemon or chocolate iced pound cake for $1. She couldn't leave it unattended though, because of the slicing issue. Bravo to you for expending this effort for charity. Wed Sep 29 08:48:56 -0700 2004 1651929 0 danna 3 1651969 "supermarket flour and sugar? what do you normally use? are you grinding your own wheat berries?" I normally use King Arthur flour and Domino brown and white sugars. I find the extra cost is worth it for a better handling, taste, texture. But maybe not worth it for a bake sale... That's a good suggestion to put cookies out for sale at breakfast. Wed Sep 29 09:02:25 -0700 2004 1651968 0 Val Ann C 4 1652003 odd. they sell those in the grocery store here. so nice to not be behind the culinary eight ball for once! Wed Sep 29 12:01:19 -0700 2004 1651969 0 danna 5 1652011 I think she meant using a cheaper supermarket/generic/store brand versus using a name brand like King Arthur, etc, both of which can be found in a store. Wed Sep 29 12:18:46 -0700 2004 1652003 0 PenskeFan 2 1651973 The folks at Cook's Illustrated insist that, in baked goods, imitation vanilla is as good or better than the real thing, and there was a thread here maybe a year ago about how great and cheap a drugstore brand immitation vanilla was for baking. I haven't tried it, so I have no personal opinion on it. Wed Sep 29 09:32:18 -0700 2004 1651929 0 Caitlin McGrath 3 1651989 The drugstore brand they ranked highest was CVS, and it was 99 cents for an 8oz (?) bottle. I tried it, and honestly, for baked goods (I've tried cookies and cakes) it works great. I haven't had the nerve to try it in a custard or anything delicate like that, though. Personally, I think there is a difference in brands of imitation vanilla, just like there is a difference in pure vanilla. Just sniffing straight from the CVS imitation vanilla bottle, it smells pretty pleasant. Some other brands (Tone's imitation vanilla maybe? it's been a very long time) smell bad to me. Same with different brands of pure vanilla. Some smell harsh and alcoholic, some smell so good they make you want to drink straight from the bottle (I haven't tried, I'm sure that would taste bad). Give the CVS imitation vanilla a try. At 99 cents you're not risking much. In all the standard cookie/bar recipes with lots going on (chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, brownies) I haven't detected any difference between that and the Penzey's Double Strength and the Nielsen-Massey I also have in the cupboard. Wed Sep 29 10:53:29 -0700 2004 1651973 0 Jujubee 4 1652087 ....the artificial stuff works just fine in a custard, too - besides, how often to you make a plain custard that isn't a creme brulee or an Anglaise, as a sauce with something else with a stronger flavor? I have decided to go to extremes: I use Spice House vanilla beans in my vanilla ice cream, a hard-core heavy-cream Philly type that doesn't get heated much, and either CVS or McCormick vanillin in baking and such. In cookies such as PB or choc chip? NO difference. NONE. Wed Sep 29 18:35:40 -0700 2004 1651989 0 peg 5 1652121 Shockingly, CI did a taste test a few years ago where artificial vanillin flavor BEAT real vanilla extract. Not sure it would match up to a high quality vanilla bean like Spice House, but the vanilla-ness of vanillin is actually more intense than regular vanilla! Like the non-cassia (is that the term?) cinnamon that we're all used to. It's not the true cinnamon -- that was used for years in Europe medicinally so became too expensive. Now when people taste true cinnamon they think it tastes too bland! I don't personally use vanillin, but I understand it's a natural product, so why not? Thu Sep 30 01:28:19 -0700 2004 1652087 0 Mrs. Smith 2 1652048 tee hee. I work mostly with techy men, and a "Bake Sale" means people bringing in the crappiest of Costco-type crap and selling the cookies, tarts, etc individually! Wed Sep 29 15:07:59 -0700 2004 1651929 0 julesrules 2 1652052 For the sake of culinary integrity why don't you use the better ingredients (especially real butter!) but keep some of the money to pay for them? You would still be donating your labor, and you may sell more if they're really good! Wed Sep 29 15:33:37 -0700 2004 1651929 0 cleo