This new concept has taken off recently as grass roots organizations like local PTOs have started to contribute to it. All you have to do is hold a bake sale and donate your proceeds to the Great American Bake Sale. The non-profit organization then uses your donation to help fight the hunger that runs rampant in children all across the country. Their goal is to end childhood hunger by the year 2015.

Unlike a traditional bake sale, you’ll have the backing of the organization behind you. Once you register your bake sale online at the organization’s site, www.strength.org, you can order promotional flyers and materials to help publicize your sale. People are more likely to come out in support of the organization since they see where the money is going. Read through the Great American Bake Sale’s site to find more opportunities to get involved and help fight hunger.

You can certainly host your own holiday bake sale and donate to a local charity of your choice. This is another simple way to make a difference. Many organizations like the PTO and scout troops will coordinate an effort to raise funds through baked good sales. If you combine a bake sale with another event, the proceeds will likely skyrocket. Being part of a flea market or town wide tag sale can give you more visibility and more traffic—which equals more buyers.

Usually, each family brings baked goods they make at home to donate to the sale. But it can also be fun to host a baking party at someone’s house so you can all bake together as a group. Or you can see if you can use a church or other public place’s kitchen to bake in bulk. If it’s for charity, they will usually let you.

Bake sales are still a fantastic way for young people to help a good cause. They can bake, make the table displays, run the cash register, make change and watch their delicious gourmet desserts being enjoyed by eager customers. It’s a good lesson in life and in money management.

Charities usually run dry of contributions around the winter months. So, any extra you can provide through your gift of cash raised from your bake sale will be a welcomed sight. See if you can drop off the donation along with some of the children who baked the holiday cookies. It will do a world of good for them to see where the money went and how it will be used. They will be more likely to have a charitable spirit next time an event is being planned.

Baked goods are always in demand and are easy to create. Experiment with some unique recipes and you can sell your creations for a fair price. Of course, the old favorites of chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies will still be on everyone’s favorite lists.

Related Articles:

• Teaching Your Kids Basic Money Skills
• Donate Money to the Hope in Love and War
• 5 Different Ways to Decorate Cut Out Cookies

When giving cookies, presentation is everything.  Well, the taste of the cookies is everything, but the box is important, too.  A careful presentation can turn this homemade treat into an elegant gift. One very easy way to make a cookie box is to find plain white gift boxes in the size that you want.  Cut strips of patterned paper (scrapbook paper is great for this, but wrapping paper can do in a pinch) and glue a strip around the sides of the box.  Cut a circle from card stock and glue it on the strip at the front of the box.

Fill your box with delicious cookies and close the lid.  Tie a ribbon around the box and tie it at the top.  Next, cut circles from cardboard or cardstock and layer them. This will be the tag, and you can draw on the recipient’s first initial or name.  Glue the tag over the ribbon and the cardstock circle on the front of the box for a personalized seal.

You can make your own cookie boxes, as well.  Associated Content has a helpful instructional video on making an origami box from plain computer paper.  This makes a great box for a small amount of cookies or perhaps some homemade candies.  If you either want to make a bigger box or aren’t dexterous enough to do origami, you can print cookie box templates online.  There are great ones at DontEatthePaste.com.

You can either print one on a paper or cardstock of your choice or you can print it and then trace it onto the paper of your choice.  In either case, all you have to do is cut and fold along the lines.  In no time, you will have a beautiful homemade box for your cookies.

Before you put the cookies into the box, it is a good idea to line it with wax or parchment paper.  Tissue paper is also a great choice, especially if you want to add color to your presentation.  Arrange the cookies carefully, close the box, and secure with a ribbon or sticker.

Here are some other tips for making your gift look and taste perfect:

• Do not store soft and crisp cookies in the same container, because the crisp ones won’t stay crisp.
• Make sure they are stored in a tightly covered container with a sealable or snug lid.
• If your soft cookies have begun to dry out, cut an apple in half and place it skin side down on top of the cookies.  Remove the fruit after a day or so.
• If you need to store cookies longer, put them in freezer-safe containers or bags.  Before serving or giving, make sure they are completely thawed in their original freezer packaging.
• If you are storing dough, shape it into rolls until you are going to use it.
• If you are shipping cookies, brownies, bar cookies, and drop cookies, like chocolate chip, are the least likely to become damaged.  Sugar cookies very often crack or break.  Avoid shipping cookies that have moist or creamy fillings or frostings because they can get sticky and misshaped.
• Add the recipe you used on a decorative tag for a nice homey touch.

Give the gift of homemade cookies; it is sure to be appreciated.  This is one gift you can be sure will be used and loved.

Related Articles:

• The Best Ovens for Cookie Baking
• Christmas Reindeer Cookies
• Easy Christmas Cookies - 1 Dough Made 5 Ways!

It’s labor intensive, but fun to make a cookie stencil. Think of the stencils you used as a kid or stencils you see in art stores. You can, in fact, use any stencil that you find. You just need a clean stencil and a clean X-Acto knife to cut the cookie out.

Start with a sugar cookie dough. It’s best not to use a dough that is store bought. Those doughs are designed for slice and bake recipes. They tend to flatten out and burn in the oven if you try to do anything else with them.

Make your cookie dough batter from your favorite recipe. Then let it chill while you create your stencil.

You’re going to need sheets of acetate or vellum which you can find in office supply or discount stores. The acetate sheets are the ones that teachers use for overhead projectors. Vellum is just a clear sheet that artists use. It’s thicker than tissue paper so you can cut it, but you can see what’s underneath much like a tracing paper.

Find a design you like. It can be from a book or from online. Use a design that is not so intricate that you will be cutting until all hours of the night. You want to start with a simple stencil. Maybe a leaf or a bird.

Once you have found your design, print it out. Lay it down on your work surface. If it’s not the right size, you’ll want to reduce or enlarge it now on a copier. Place the acetate or vellum over the image. Trace it with marker. Remove the image and cut it out. Intricate parts of it will need to be cut with the tip of an X-Acto knife, so work on a rubber mat or a cutting board, never your table.

Once the design is cut out, you’ll be placing it on the cookie dough. Round up a ball of cookie dough and then press it flat. Or roll out a big piece so you have a whole sheet to stencil on. Place the stencil on top of the cookie area you want to cut out. Cut out the areas that make the design on stencil. Then cut around in a square or circular shape for the size of the cookie you want. Lift with a spatula carefully and transfer to a cookie sheet. Bake as per your recipe’s instructions.

If you want a less labor intensive way to use a cookie stencil, use food coloring powder and a stencil brush. You can tamp your brush into the powdery food coloring and stamp it onto the cookie directly. Cut the shape of the cookie out with a cookie cutter in a circle or other shape that fits your stencil’s design. Food coloring powders can be found at large craft stores or in cake supply stores.

It’s fun to make stenciled cookies. They’ll look like you spend a long time making them, but actually, once you cut the stamp they are very easy to do. Try cutting out flower shaped cookies and create a beautiful flower cookie arrangement. Have a stencil making party where you and friends get together and make a bunch of stencils. Then you can all trade stencils so everyone gets a chance to go home with a luscious batch of delicious and adorable cookies.

Another version you can do with a stencil is to make ornaments with it. Do the same thing you would with the cookie dough, but use home made salt dough or a baking clay. Of course, you can’t eat them, but they’ll look pretty on your tree or as package ties.

Many people choose to bake ten or more cookie recipes starting as early as October. They keep their cookies fresh for the giving in December by storing them in the freezer. Some avid bakers have even gone as far as buying a second freezer just for the purpose of storing their Christmas cookies!

Your regular freezer will do just fine. Plan to use up most of your freezable foods before your first cookie baking session. You’ll need the room. The last thing you want is frozen vegetables toppling over onto your cookies or having to cram your cookies in causing them to break. If you put the hard work in, you want them to remain intact.

After you’ve baked and cooled your first batch of cookies, you’ll be ready to store them. In the space you’ve created in the freezer, find a flat surface. Lay a row of six cookies down on plastic wrap. Put a sheet of wax paper between them. Continue layering this way until you have a stack of cookies five or six high. It’s better to make skinny stacks than wider stacks. That way you can slip them into narrower spaces. When you’ve completed your final layer, wrap the entire bundle in another layer of plastic wrap. Then do an outer wrap of aluminum foil. Two would be even better. You’re aiming to keep freezer burn, which can spoil your cookies, out. You may even want to place the whole stack into a zippered freezer bag. Stores now sell aluminum foil and freezer bags especially designed to keep freezer burn away from foods. It’s worth investing in a stash.

If you follow these steps, your cookies will be safely stored for a few months. That means you can start baking in fall for the winter holidays. Aim to stagger your baking so you bake a batch every week or so. That way you won’t feel overwhelmed and you’ll still enjoy the baking process.

When it’s time to distribute the cookies, take them out of the freezer and leave them on the counter to thaw. Don’t unwrap them until they are no longer cool to the touch. Start arranging cookies on pretty trays. You can place a paper doily on the bottom of the cookies before you start to give a little extra special look. Try to alternate cookie types so that your tray looks well-rounded.

Cover the cookie arrangements with pretty red or green plastic wrap. Add a festive bow. And, of course, after all your hard work you’ll definitely want to put a tag on your trays letting them know who baked them. Another nice touch is to include the recipes you used on index cards. This not only allows the recipient to make the cookies themselves if they choose but it also alerts them to the ingredients you used in case they have any allergies.

Cookies are a great way to share the joy of the season. Bake ahead and store well, and you’ll be sure to have incredibly delectable cookies to share.

Learn how to make different types of  Christmas cookies!

On their show, they highlighted two of our very popular holiday bouquets. The first was the "Sweet Snowmen Bouquet of Cookies". These are delicious iced cookies decorated as cute, assorted snowmen with darling scarves on. In the middle it has a special cookie with "Happy Holidays" iced onto it. All of the cookie bouquets come in sets of either 5, 7, 9, or 12 cookies. Each set varies in price, however the set of 5 cookies starts at $29.95 but you can't put a prize on a truly unique holiday gift, now can you?

The next gift basket that they featured on the Today Show, was the "Season's Greetings Bouquet". Much like the snowmen bouquet, this one featured iced shortbread cookies with decorated presents and trees. This bouquet also comes in sets of 5, 7, 9 or 12 cookies with the set of 5 cookies starting at $29.95.

Both of these cookie bouquets can be easily ordered from our website by going to their individual links and going through the checkout steps. Even by ordering them today with ground shipping would get them there just in time for this holiday season!

Thank you to the Today Show, for featuring our cookie bouquets! We're delighted to have such an honor.

If you missed the show, you can see the short clip of our cookies and a few other holiday gifts here:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The cookie press is one thing that can’t and shouldn’t be automated unless you are working in a bakery. For the home baker, it’s your elbow grease that’s going to make the press work. You won’t need to put much muscle into it, but know that it’s one kitchen gadget that still works the old fashioned way.

Cookie presses work when they are loaded with a special type of dough. You will need to have inserted a cookie shape onto the head of the press, and then you can push down on the plunger or crank the handle. The press will turn out one perfect shape of the design you have chosen. Most cookie presses come with several discs like Christmas trees, poinsettias, snowmen, and other familiar shapes - perfect for those holiday cookie gifts!

Once you have pressed a cookie onto a sheet pan, move onto the next. Fill the cookie sheet with pressed cookies that you extract one by one from the press. Once you have them all laid out, you can sprinkle edible glitter, jimmies, or any decoration you like onto them.

Each recipe will give you the exact time necessary for the cookies to bake. But it’s usually about seven minutes. While the cookies are in the oven, change your disc if you like and press out another batch onto your next cool cookie sheet. Keep the process going. You’ll want a cookie press that allows you to change discs easily without emptying the entire press.

You can find antique cookie presses on auction sites like eBay and at vintage shops. If you see one, pick it up. They usually cost very little and are charming reminders of yesterday.

Here is a recipe from allrecipes.com for a classic pressed Spritz cookie:

Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies

1/2 cup shortening

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese

1/3 cup white sugar

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, cream together shortening, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and lemon extract. Combine flour and salt; gradually mix into the creamed mixture in three additions, mixing well after each. Load dough into a cookie press, and press cookies onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly golden. Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks.

Need more cookie ideas? Try making these reindeer cookies!

You’re going to layer ingredients needed to make the brownies in a clear container. A Mason jar works well as does any glass container that’s tall and has a lid. Get fancy or just go basic. It’s up to you. You’re going to need the following:

Brownies in a Jar

1 cup Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

2/3 cup Brown sugar

1/3 cup Good Cocoa

1/2 cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips

1/2 cup Walnuts (optional)

2/3 cup Granulated Sugar

It’s best if you also have a wide mouth funnel on hand. Grab some card stock and ribbon too as well as a decorative pen.

The idea is to layer the ingredients so that they look pretty. You’re not going to mix them. So start with the flour and go down the list. Add one ingredient at a time to the jar and tamp it down. The sugar will be the last thing you add on top of the mix. It’s looking great at this point, but you’ll still need to include the recipe on a piece of card stock or on a label. Print on a computer or hand write these directions:

You’ve got everything here you need to make a luscious batch of brownies except 3 eggs and 2/3 cup of oil and one teaspoon of vanilla extract. Dump out the jar’s contents and add the additional ingredients. Mix until blended but don’t over mix. Pour your batter into a greased pan. 9” square works best. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Test with a toothpick. When it comes out of the center clean, your brownies are done. Allow to cool before cutting.

That’s it! Now it’s time to decorate the lid. You can place a circle of festive fabric on top of the lid of a mason jar and then screw on the lid. Tie a ribbon around the neck of the jar and punch a hole through the recipe card. Tie the recipe card firmly to the jar using the ribbon. You can create different patterned lids based on the season or the holiday.

These jars are great as holiday and birthday gifts, but they also make great raffle prizes or basket fillers. Think about all the PTO and church events that are coming up. You can contribute a few of these to raise money for a good cause. People love them because they are getting the convenience of home baking without the hassle of running out to gather all the ingredients.

They also make great little gifts for your kids’ teachers, your manicurist or hairdresser, the school bus driver, a friend at the office or a music teacher. You can even make these as wedding favors. Just choose pretty jars and make one for each couple (not each person). Singles, of course would get their own as well. These jars are easy to make and the kids can help.

Up for making more jar gifts? Try these:

• Homemade jar mixes for every holiday
• How to make a cookie jar gift

• Cookie decorating is supposed to be fun. Don’t aim for perfection. Just do your best and see what kind of results you get. Remember, the cookies that you see in stores are done by bakers who’ve had years of practice. You’re just starting out, so give yourself some time to learn.
• Anyone can decorate cookies with a little know how. Children love to help out. Make a festive occasion of it. Set out all your supplies and let the fun just happen.
• There are a few kinds of decorations you can place on cookies before they bake. These include sprinkles, jimmies, candied sugars, and silver and gold balls (called dragees) as well as nuts, dried fruit, and chips. You can also mix an egg yolk with food coloring to paint designs on your cookies.
• The rest of the items you’d use for decorating need to be applied to cookies after they have come out of the oven and cooled.
• If you don’t have a pastry bag, you can easily make one. Cut the corner off a large zip lock bag. Fill with icing and this will work as a vessel for putting on icing.
• Color your frosting with food coloring. You’ll need much more than you think. For example, to make red, you’ll need many dots of red food coloring or the frosting will be pink. If you are going for deep, rich, dark colors, you’re better off using icing coloring from a candy supply or craft store. The pigments in these specialty colors will make for darker colors.
• If you want to make your own icing, it’s easy to do. But store-bought icings will save you time. Get a few tubs of white icing and you can add whatever colors you like to it.
• For spreading icing, you’ll need an offset spatula. This is a spatula that’s got a step built into it so that it’s the right shape for smoothing out icing. Get one at a craft or kitchen store. It will make your cookies’ surfaces smooth out easier.
• Put your supplies into small bowls on a table. Get creative with your designs. You don’t have to color Santa hats red and white. Use any colors you like. Make festive designs or polka dots. The more creative, the better.
• After you’ve spread the icing and sprinkled on the goodies, allow cookies time to set. Leaving them overnight is the best idea. That way they have a chance to harden enough so that you can pack them.
• When you are ready to store them, place layers of wax paper between the cookies inside a plastic tub that has a tight-fitting lid. Layer the cookies until an inch or so below the top of the container. Cookies can be frozen and used later in the month or if you refrigerate them, they should last a week or so.
• If you really like decorating cookies, don’t limit yourself to just the Christmas holidays. Try your hand at Valentine’s Day, Easter, Summer, and birthday cookies as well.  Every day is a perfect day for decorated cookies!

Want more tips on cookie decorating? Check out this article about making royal icing for cookie decorating.

Here’s how it works. You set up stations for the items you’ll need in your recipes. One station will be for dry ingredients like flour, baking powder, and spices. Have a sifter and a big bowl ready here. Have a set of mixing bowls and spoons set aside at this station that will be for dry ingredients only. Have all your dry ingredients gathered at that station so you can easily measure them out.

Next, set up a wet ingredient station. This will be the station your stand mixer will be at. You’ll cream butter and sugar here as well as add in milk, oil, eggs, and any other wet ingredients. You’ll want a set of ingredients devoted to wet measuring at this station.

The next station will feature nuts, chips, and any other add-in or ingredients that are special to one recipe like pumpkin or currants. Lay everything out at this station along with measuring cups and a knife for chopping.

When all is set up, you’re ready to begin baking. Start with the first recipe. Do each of the recipe steps in the order the recipe lists them. Usually you will sift the dry ingredients first at station one and then move on to the butter creaming at the second station. If steps are different than the station order you have, skip the station and carry the steps out as listed in the recipe.

As you progress through each of the steps, you’ll complete the recipe. Chill the dough if the recipe calls for it and move onto the next recipe. If the recipe calls for baking the cookies right away, get the first batch onto cookie sheets and bake.

Now, head back to the front of the assembly line and start your next recipe. Because you’ll have left your mixing bowls and spatulas and measuring cups from the last recipe, you won’t have to wash everything and start over. Work your way through the next recipe all the way down the assembly line and chill the dough until the first batch of holiday cookies are completely baked.

One thing to think about when working with an assembly line is that you’ll have to keep track of which ingredients you’ve already put in. One person should be in charge of each batch to avoid doubling up on ingredients by accident. Also, if you have an ingredient that is especially pungent (ginger or nutmeg), you’ll probably want to wash the bowl in between batches so your next batch does not become infused with the taste.

You can easily make several batches of cookies all at one time by creating a working assembly line. Enlist the help of others so that you can each concentrate on one type of cookie from start to finish. When all the cookies are finished baking, store them in tightly lidded plastic containers in the freezer. They’ll last until you’re ready to dole them out for the holidays.  Holiday Cookie gifts are one-size-fits-all and will never be returned!

Learn more cookie baking tips!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups raw peanuts
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• pinch of salt
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tsp. baking soda

In a glass bowl, stir together the salt, corn syrup and sugar.  Place the bowl in the microwave and heat on 100% Power for 9 minutes. Remove from microwave and stir in the butter and vanilla.

Then microwave on 100% power for an additional 3 minutes.

Remove from microwave and stir in the baking soda stirring really well...note the mixture should be foamy.  Stir in the peanuts. Then pour the mixture onto a well-greased cookie sheet (or on a cookie sheet lined with Sil-pat).

Cool the mixture completely and then break into edible-sized pieces.

If you're looking to just make a traditional Christmas cookie batch, look no farther. Try this recipe for Easy Christmas cookies - 1 Dough Made 5 Ways!