Bake Sale Secrets

By Holly Rowland

The lazy days of Summer are gone and life is on busy street once again. Time to make plans for all sorts of exciting new things as well as old favourites. And one of the ‘old things’ will be welcomed by Church, School and other. Fund Raising groups. YES! The BAKE SALE. Finally and at last, a cookbook to treasure now, and for generations to come!

THE BEST BAKE SALE EVER
by Barbara Grunes
A Chronicle Herald/Raincoast Book, $25.95

Fund raising plans may come and go, but the bake sale remains a perennial favourite. In recent years they have enjoyed a new surge of popularity as a way to raise money, sometimes unfortunately, ‘more pain than gain.’ “Why?” Because the presentation of wonderful home baked goods lacks that touch of glamour. Good looks count and this book is chock-full of packaging ideas for maximum sales. Bake sale foods remind us of the good old days and memories of the items our mothers, grandmothers and aunts baked :pies, angel food cakes, sugar cookies, brownies. Labeling a dessert “Grandma’s Secret Sponge Cake or “Aunt Jane’s Famous Cherry Pie” always attracts interest.

There are so many excellent ideas in this cookbook that you will wonder how on earth you ever managed without it. Don’t, whatever you do, loan the book to anyone else, it is unlikely that you will ever see it again! Great but simple ideas…large brownies wrapped individually, will yield a better profit than a plate of smaller cookies or brownies. Selling items by the piece usually yields better profits.

There are all sorts of packaging ideas which will make your table a veritable magnet to the passers-by. Their Bake Sale SAFETY Tips, all you need for Setting-Up a Sale, lots of ideas on how to get the kids involved. That would really make your Bake Sale OUR Bake Sale. There is even help with Pricing, always a difficult decision in my day, and Baking Tips, designed to help the less experienced cook. The recipes are all easy to make and do not require exotic ingredients. And who knows? Perhaps many people will be inspired by this book to fill that empty old Cookie Jar or send a gift of their baking to an old friend or new neighbor. Yum…….. Just hold this book in your hands, flipping the pages will literally make your mouth water: Linzer Squares, Whoopie Pies, English Toffee to Die For, Flourless Chocolate Cake, Date and Nut Bread Baked in a Tin, Heavenly Angel Biscuits, Pound Cake, Paper Bag Green Apple Pie. So many marvy recipes for everything from Cookies, through Bars & Brownies, Breads and Coffee Cakes, Cupcakes, Rolls and Muffins, Cakes, Pies and Sweet Things. I will give you the recipe for the Toffee, because it is a recipe I made many years ago, and it was fabulous. Enjoy….

101 THINGS TO DO WITH CHICKEN
by Donna Kelly and Stephanie Ashcroft
Gibbs Smith/Raincoast, $12.95

Here is another of those cute little cookbooks with the lie-flat ring binders. New cooks will love their simplicity and great results. Seasoned ones will “doctor them up” up to make them their own. Whatever way, they are a great addition to your repertoire.

Chicken is easy on the pocket book and the digestion, and never needs to be tasteless or bland. There are all sorts of great ideas, 101 of them, that will entice you to “try”. How about Blue Cheese Chicken Dip, Asian Lettuce Wraps, Zesty Chicken Burgers or the intriguing Cola Chicken? This one sounds awful, but it tastes delicious Try it.