Any new ideas in bake sale items? I saw one, will try and post picture. Looking for ideas, nothing

Hey Meryl - got a question about rolling these cookies in cinnamon sugar>>>

The recipe sounds yummy!

Got a question - whenever I make snickerdoodles, and you have to roll dough balls in cinnamon sugar, it seems like the cinnamon get used up faster than the sugar.

I'm not sure if it's because the cinnamon in finer than the sugar, but I know by the end of my batches, I notice the cinnamon is much lighter than the first few batches.

I usually put the cinnamon sugar in a shallow bowl, plop a few balls of dough from a cookie scoop into the sugar mixture, and swirl the plate around.

Do you do yours differently, and have you had the same problem?

Just curious smileys/smile.gif

 
Baking Powder...

(at least it does if I copied it correctly from the original recipe:).

I would be hesitant to add baking soda because it would promote browning/crispness - and I like my cookies on the chewey side. (I just bought a book on professional baking and I'm trying to understand the chemical processes that occur. That being said I still forget when I'm to use powder vs. soda:)

Deb

 
Hi Sandi, I roll them just the way you do, but never noticed the cinnamon getting used up before the

sugar. By the way, the amounts I listed for the cinnamon sugar (1/4 cup sugar with 4 tsp cinnamon) make a lot, and you can probably use half that amount and have enough for the cookies.
Also, these cookies are more cinnamony than snickerdoodles, because they have cinnamon in the batter itself, not just in the topping. They're really good!
Hope all's well with you!

 
Rec: Espresso Tofee with Chocolate & Nibs

These are showy and easy to make. I pass out to friends in a little bag, tied with a fun ribbon. Many call to say they ate it all in one sitting!

Espresso Toffee with Chocolate & Nibs,
adapted from Bon Appetit (Coffee Walnut Toffee)

2 cups walnuts
1 ¼ cups (2 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed golden brown sugar
2 tsp instant espresso powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup water
1 Tbs dark unsulfured molasses
9 ounces fine-quality Semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped (I use a local brand: Dilletante)
1/4 cup toasted cocoa nibs (I use Del-ray), easily omitted
Kosher salt for sprinkling*

*I recommend using the salt...it compliments the sweet from the tofee & chocolate, & bitterness from the nibs.


Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread walnuts on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven until fragrant, about 5-10 minutes, making sure they don’t burn. Allow to cool for ten minutes; then coarsely chop. Remove 1 ½ cups to a bowl. Finely chop remaining ½ cup; then place in a separate bowl.

Prepare your mise en place: in a medium bowl, combine sugars, espresso powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine water and molasses. Place chopped chocolates in their own separate bowls.

Line a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan with a Silpat. Melt butter in a heavy 2 ½-quart saucepan over low heat. Add sugars, espresso powder, cinnamon, salt, water, and molasses; stir until sugar dissolves. Attach a clip-on candy thermometer to side of pan. Increase heat to medium; cook until thermometer registers 290 degrees (and no less!), stirring slowly but constantly and scraping bottom of pan with a wooden spatula, about 20 minutes.

Remove pan from heat, and quickly stir in 1 ½ cups coarsely chopped nuts. Immediately pour mixture onto prepared pan; do not scrape saucepan. Spread tofee with an off-set spatula to even 1/4" thickness. Sprinkle chocolate by generous handfulls over hot toffee. Let stand one minute. With your off-set spatula or a spoon, spread chocolate evenly over the top. Sprinkle with ½ cup finely chopped nuts & toasted nibs. Finish with a fine sprinkle of kosher salt over the still warm chocolate. Refrigerate until toffee is firm, about one hour. Break toffee into pieces.

Makes about two pounds. Can be made two weeks ahead and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Serve cold or at room temperature.

 
Thanks everyone for the good ideas. I have a lot to choose from. Usually

there are a lot of cookies left over, so I am thinking "something big"... pies usually do go good. Or maybe a large cookie-type dessert.

And, as I said above, the goodies are under-priced, so as little work as possible is good too.

Last year I brought saran wrap! Period.

 
Great cheezz. I really like this idea. I also bought a Wilton cookie stamp

so I may try these with your recipe. Cute!

 
How about a different kind of bake sale?

seeing the post about insulting prices, I thought I'd share what I've been doing as a fundraiser at my office for the last few years.

our director had suggested a bake sale, but in a workplace, those are labour intensive, a pain in the butt and disruptive...at least in my opinion...and don't raise much money. Figure, 200 people in the office - if each one buys a cookie at $0.50 each, that's not a lot of $$$.

I suggested a silent auction, but not for "a" cookie, but for a BOX of cookies. Or a pie. A cake. Etc.

This was our third year, and while contributions were down a bit, we still raised almost $500 with only 23 items. One of my cookie assortments sold for $50 (there were a few dozen small cranberry-nut triangles and maybe a couple dozen other small cookies), the other two went for just over $30 (tin of cranberry nut triangles) and $20 (savory shortbread assortment) respectively. Most items sold for around $20 or so.

Best of all, it requires minimal manpower, isn't as disruptive, and because of the highly competitive nature of a silent auction, NO ONE ever goes away complaining that they just paid $30 for a tin of sausage rolls. They go away laughing at having beaten out Susan for the sausage rolls. And then still laugh about it the NEXT year as they prepare for more competition.

it's about the only cooking I do these days...*grin*

 
Thanks Jules, but it'd be like trying to fight City Hall... it just

wouldn't work in this particular situation. But a fun idea! Thanks.

 
you're right

as you describe the set-up, it wouldn't work for your sale...it IS fun, though.

man, those prices suck though...I swear, I'd be buying generic Nilla wafers and sifting icing sugar on them as my contribution if someone said that was the selling price...and even at that I'd lose money...

I'd rather just write a cheque than have my contribution so grossly undervalued.

 
Jules, I agree completely. For that reason I have often made cash donations instead of

baking for events.

I like the Silent Auction idea. At our church we would often have several "bake on demand" cakes or pies. You would pay for the item and then call the baker and make arrangements to have the item prepared for a specific date.

 
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