The average couple spends between $231 on their wedding favors; it is not a huge piece of the overall wedding budget but every cent helps when you’re saving for a honeymoon!  Fortune cookies can help you cut it down a bit.  You can, for instance, find traditional, undecorated fortune cookies for about $0.55 per cookie.  Further, you can get a discount if you are buying in bulk.  Look for services that include personalization with the cost of the cookie; in other words, you shouldn’t have to pay extra for a custom message.

Some ideas for custom fortune cookies include:

• Thank you for sharing our special day.  September 12, 2013.
• This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
• True love stories never have endings.
• There is no remedy for love but to love more.
• The love we give away is the only love we keep.

You can also find companies that offer flavored varieties, including cappuccino, banana, coconut, raspberry, lemon, chocolate, mint, graham cracker, and more.  These may fit with the theme of your wedding: for instance, pineapple and coconut fortune cookies may be perfect for that tropical beach wedding.  Some brides, however, do not give flavored cookies rave reviews: they say that it is better to go with traditional to appeal to a wider variety of people.

To further customize your fortune cookie favors, you can have traditional cookies that are colored. This is a wonderful idea because you can have them complement your wedding colors and the overall theme of the décor.  If you do choose to have colored cookies, make sure that you get the flavor you want. For instance, you may want red cookies – but you don’t want strawberry, apple, cinnamon, or cherry flavors.  So, you would want to make sure you are getting traditional cookies with coloring, not flavored.

If you want a more elegant touch, you can opt to have chocolate-dipped fortune cookies. These can cost twice as much as traditional, plain cookies, but it may be worth it to you to offer a gourmet favor.  To save money, you might consider having traditional cookies personalized for you, and then decorate them yourself.  This involves a little more work, but most couples go with DIY wedding favors anyway.

Note: if you do choose to purchase your cookies, make sure to ask when they are baked so you get fresh, crisp cookies!

To decorate, simply melt chocolate (milk or dark works best) and dip the rounded part of the cookie, leaving the two points plain. While the chocolate is still wet, you can sprinkle with decorating accessories, like colored sugar or, for a little glitz, sugar pearls.  You can also wait for the chocolate to dry and drizzle with a contrasting chocolate, such as white on milk chocolate or dark chocolate on milk chocolate.

You can then use a treat bag, cellophane, or even mini Chinese takeout boxes to present them to guests.  You can purchase the takeout boxes or find a free template online and make your own.  You can do one cookie per guest or give them a pair of contrasting cookies: for instance, one dipped in white chocolate and one dipped in dark or one with blue sprinkles and the other with gold (or whatever your wedding colors are).

Fortune cookies make excellent wedding favors; they are bite-size souvenirs of your big day that guests will remember long after they’ve polished them off!

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Unlike our traditional cookie favorites – chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, sugar – fortune cookies are thin, crisp, crunchy, and perfectly packaged for one.  If your favorite part of a trip to a Chinese restaurant is the fortune cookie at the end, you probably wish that these treats were just a little bigger!

Your wish has come true: giant fortune cookies offer all the fun and even more of the taste.  These delightful outsized cookies can be customized to suit your recipient and the occasion.

You can purchase a gourmet, customized fortune cookie – but why not get adventurous and try to make your own?  It can be a little tricky, but don’t let that stop you.

You can practice by using the recipe below to make small cookies and perfect your technique before moving onto the giant version.

Fortune Cookies

Recipe courtesy of Do It Yourself Gifts

Yield: 12 thin cookies or 1 giant cookie

You need:

• 1 egg white
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• ¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons water

To make:

1. Use small slips of paper to write customized fortunes for your recipient and the specific occasion you are celebrating.
2. Use a hand mixer to mix the egg white until it is foamy, but not stiff.
3. Add vanilla, water, and softened butter and mix.
4. Sift flour, salt and sugar, and blend into egg white mixture to make thin dough. *If dough is too thin, add water a teaspoon at a time.
5. Preheat oven to 400˚ and prepare cookie sheets with non-stick spray OR cover with parchment paper and then apply non-stick spray.
6. To make the small cookies: place teaspoons of batter at least 4 inches apart on cookie sheet. Smooth out with a spoon, trying to make your circle as perfect as possible. They should be thin enough to allow you to see the pan through them a bit. Make about 3 or 4 cookies at a time.
7. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the edges are brown but the middle is still pale. You have to fold the cookies while they’re very hot, so hurry and use cotton gloves or protect your hands with a dishtowel.
8. Place your prepared fortune in the middle and fold cookie over. Press the edges together, using the pale center of the cookie to “glue” them shut.
9. Either hang the cookie over a measuring cup or bowl or bend them over an empty egg carton to shape.
10. Allow the cookies to harden and store in air-tight container.

Now, to make the large fortune cookie, prepare the dough and make one large cookie instead of 12 small ones.  Repeat the same steps, adjusting baking time, insert your fortune, and then place cookie over large bowl to dry and harden.

Onto the fun part!

You can customize your cookie in any number of ways. Some ideas:

• Melt chocolate in double boiler and dip cookie.  While chocolate is wet, apply a layer of sprinkles, colored sugar, or other candy goodies.  You can customize your chocolate dipped fortune cookie with decorating embellishments to suit the occasion: red and green for Christmas; red, white, and blue for the Fourth of July; or your recipient’s school colors for a graduation.
• Use shredded coconut, cocoa powder, crushed cookies, and other goodies to customize your giant fortune cookie.
• Use shaped candy sprinkles to commemorate the occasion or season.
• Dip in dark chocolate and drizzle with melted white chocolate or vice versa. Or both!
• Add a dab of food coloring when you’re making your dough to produce a colored fortune cookie. This is an excellent, and very easy, way to customize your cookies.
• Write fortunes that are just right for the recipient, making them funny, sentimental, or sweet.

Giant fortune cookies don’t have to cost a fortune! Make your own and give the perfect treat for any occasion.

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Bring on the Fun

While a pile of fresh, moist chocolate chip or oatmeal cookies is sure to brighten anyone’s day, why not try something a bit different?  Sometimes, just a push out of the ordinary brings a smile to our faces – and the cookies taste just as good!  Here are some ideas for fun, day-brightening cookies.

Fun Cookie Suckers, recipe courtesy of AllRecipes

You will need:

• ¾ cup butter, softened
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Paste food coloring, assorted colors
• 24 lollipop sticks

To make:

1. Cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar until fluffy.
2. Add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add this to creamed mixture.
4. Stir until dough is soft.
5. Divide dough into fourths and tint each section with a different color.
6. Wrap in plastic and chill for 2 hours.
7. Preheat your oven to 350˚F.
8. Shape dough into ¾-inch balls and grease cookie sheet.
9. To make the cookie, place 1 of each color together to make a large rainbow ball. Roll into 12-inch log (it’ll look like a snake).

10.   Starting at one end, roll the dough to make a 2 ¾-inch round cookies.

11.  Place on cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart, and insert lollipop sticks into bottom of cookie.

12.  Bake for about 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. These are great for get well cookies!

Whoopie Pies, from Delish

Cookie Dough Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• ¾ cup milk
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extra
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg

Crème Filling Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons butter, slight softened
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1 (7 to 7 ½-ounce) jar marshmallow crème
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make:

• Grease 2 cookie sheets and preheat oven to 350˚F.
• Mix all dough ingredients until smooth.
• Drop by heaping tablespoons, 2 inches apart, on each cookie sheet.
• Bake 12 to 14 minutes until puffy. Transfer to cooling rack.
• For crème filling, beat butter until smooth with mixer on medium speed. On slow speed, gradually beat in confectioners’ sugar. Beat in crème and vanilla until smooth.
• Spread filling on flat side of 12 cookies. Top with remaining cookies.

Yum!

Candy Bar Cookie Pops, from Betty Crocker

This recipe combines all that is good in the sweets world. For a once-in-a-while treat, this cannot be beat.

Ingredients:

• 14 fun-size 100 Grand candy bars (or other bars with chewy caramel and crispy crunchies covered in milk chocolate).
• 28 craft sticks
• 1 box chocolate fudge cake mix
• ½ cup vegetable oil or melted butter
• 1 egg
• ½ cup powdered sugar or candy sprinkles

To make:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚ and line cookie sheets with foil.
2. Cut fun-size candy bars in half crosswise.
3. Insert craft stick into the side of each.
4. Mix cake mix, oil, and egg with spoon until dough forms.
5. For each cookie, form a rounded tablespoon into a ball. Flatten with your palm and put candy on top.
6. Form dough around candy, sealing it well.
7. Roll in powdered sugar.
8. Place cookies 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
9. Bake 11 to 13 minutes, or until set.  The cookie will appear moist, like cake, in the cracks. This is great.

10.  Let cool for about 30 minutes.

It is worth taking the extra time and effort to make fun or decorated cookies when your goal is to brighten someone’s day.  They’ll appreciate not only the delicious gift, but the thought that went into it.

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No Fuss Colored Sugar

A small jar of sugar, containing four colors, costs almost $7.  Higher-end brands can cost up to $10 for a single color.  Save some money and try this:

You’ll need:

• 1 cup white sugar
• Liquid food coloring

To make:

1. Put sugar into a clean jar with a tight fitting lid.
2. Drip food coloring into the sugar. Start with 2 drops.
3. Close the lid and shake for about a minute.
4. Add more coloring if you need to, and shake again.
5. Use immediately and enjoy!

Variations on this:

• Instead of using a jar, put the sugar into a bowl and drop the food coloring in.  Use a fork to mix it in – or use your fingers.  You can also use plastic bags.
• If you use food coloring powder, mix it with a little vodka (it needs to be an alcohol-based liquid, and the taste/alcohol content will disperse).
• If you are not going to use the sugar right away, or if you want it to be a bit drier, spread it out on a plate or cooking sheet and let it dry.  This takes about an hour or two.  It will clump up, but simply break it up and you will have great shakable sugar.
• Make as many colors as you’d like.
• If you are doing this in humid weather, it may stick and clump.  To prevent this, put a few grains of white rice into the container. If you want, put the rice into a coffee filter and tie it off with twine to keep the rice out of the sugar.
• Create fun designs by placing a stencil on your baked goods and sprinkling the sugar to “color” in the design.
• If you want to reduce synthetic ingredients, try India Tree natural dyes or reduce your own juices for color.  Cranberry or beet juice, for instance, makes a terrific red.
• For glittery metallic sugar, mix a little luster dust in. Yes, you’ll have to buy your luster dust, but a little goes a long way, and you can use it to spice up any color.
• When dry, you can store the sugar in jars with tight fitting lids.  You can reuse spice jars if you’d like.

You can use your homemade decorating sugar for cookies, cakes, cupcakes, ice cream, sundaes, and anything that could use a dash of color and sweetness.

Another great idea is to package some for the baker in your life.  Make a variety of colors that your recipient will love.  This is really the benefit of making your own; you can create subtle tones that are much richer than anything you can buy in a store.  Take a look on Amazon and buy some cute glass jars with tight fitting lids.  Arrange the jars and some other baking essentials in a basket or baking dish, and there you have it. This makes a wonderful, and very inexpensive, birthday gift for someone.

Once you use decorating sugar, it becomes a must-have in your kitchen.  Why spend a fortune on buying commercial products when you can easily, quickly, and inexpensively make your own at home?  The reason why many people bake is because they enjoy creating and making delicious treats for themselves, their friends, and their families. Take it just one simple step further and mix up a few batches of your favorite colored decorating sugar.

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There are a few different methods for rolling out sugar cookie dough.  If you are willing to put in some extra time (or at least, wait a little longer for your cookies), this is an effective and oft-used technique:

1. After you have made your dough, separate it into about four balls.  Place a sheet of waxed paper on a cookie sheet, and then put one of the balls on it.  Cover with another sheet of waxed paper and roll the dough to a thickness of about ½ inch.  Do this for each ball, and stack them up, using waxed paper between each layer.
2. Put your rolled-out dough in the refrigerator and chill for two to three hours.  If you can leave them overnight, that’s even better.
3. When they have chilled, take one sheet out at a time to let the others continue to chill.  Let the dough warm – but not up to room temperature. It needs to be a little cool.
4. Peel off the top layer of waxed paper.  Sprinkle a little flour onto the dough, put the waxed paper back in place, and then flip it over.  Peel off the other sheet.
5. Now it’s time to cut.  Lightly flour your cookie cutter and carefully cut your shapes.  You can cut right on the waxed paper. If it slips, wipe your counter with a damp cloth to get it to stay in place.  To get the most out of your dough, start cutting on the edges and move towards the middle.
6. Put dough scraps into a plastic baggie and then reroll them when you have enough to make a sheet.

When the dough is chilled, it keeps it from sticking to the rolling pin – so you can use far less flour – but it also prevents the cookies from shrinking.  If you are making very large cookies and you want them to retain their shape, roll out the dough directly on your cookie sheet and cut from there.  Remove the excess dough and leave the cookie cutout in place.

You should always let your sugar cookie dough chill for at least a half hour before cutting it.  If you do not have time for more, though, are you doomed to deal with sticky, messy dough?  Don’t despair. Here’s another trick to add to your repertoire:

We normally sprinkle flour on rolling pins, counter surfaces, or dough to reduce its tendency to stick.  As mentioned, this isn’t great for sugar cookies because they will taste more like flour cookies.  Instead, simply roll your dough with confectioners’ sugar.  It has a similar consistency to flour, and it will reduce stickiness so you can roll out your shapes. Likewise, dip your cookie cutters in a dish of confectioners’ sugar before cutting.

This is effective, but there is such a thing as too much sugar in a sugar cookie.  If you re-roll the dough more than once, the cookies can get crispy and brown very fast.  You may have to be very careful with your oven timing to prevent them from burning.

Sugar cookies are among the most versatile of treats because they can be made in any shape and decorated with any number of fun supplies.  Taking the time to chill your dough will help you get the delicious, and incredibly beautiful, decorated sugar cookies you want.

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Old Favorites

• The Gingerbread Man.  Other cookie cutters can’t catch this favorite.  While he tends to show up more around Christmas time, this is a popular shape for all year-round.  It is thought that the gingerbread man was the first cookie cutter shape.  In the 17^th Century, Queen Elizabeth I had her bakers create gingerbread biscuits that were replicas of several of her esteemed guests.  Today, we dress them up with icing, piping, and candies.
• Hearts. Another timeless shape is the heart.  Perfect for Valentine’s Day, wedding favors, showers, and more, these can be decorated with couples’ names and important dates.  They are also great for cutting sandwiches, bread, cheese, and other foods to show some love for your family and friends.
• Letters and numbers. These are wonderful because they can be made to suit any occasion.  You can make your kids’ initials, write out “Happy Birthday” in cookies, or bake the alphabet.
• Dog bones. You can whip up a batch of dog biscuits that your pooch will devour or you can make decorated cookies for your favorite dog lover.
• Christmas trees, bells, angels, and snowmen. ‘Tis the season to make cookies!  Christmas cookies give you the perfect opportunity to test your decorating skills with luster dust, sprinkles, sanding sugar, icing, and candies.
• Stars. This is another Christmas favorite, but they can be used year-round.
• Dinosaurs (and animals). What kid can resist dinosaurs?  These incredible beasts make very fun cookies for party favors, school events, and snacks.  Animals that we are more familiar with – dogs, horses, lions, elephants, fish, etc. – are also a popular choice among parents and children.
• 3D options. We have 3D movies and 3D video games; why not 3D treats?  While these fun cookie cutters are not as widely used as their 2D counterparts (yet), their popularity is growing.  You can find different themes, including summer, winter, Christmas, nativity, and animals.  It is a terrific way to create a display for your next party, and it makes a fun project for kids.
• Round. Yes, even with the astonishing variety of cookie cutter shapes available, many people prefer round cutters.  They are ideal for creating perfectly polished round cookies, of course, but bakers depend on them for making professional-looking linzer cookies.  A crisp, clean cut is essential for these delicate beauties. You can also use round cutters for biscuits, donuts, and other baked goods.

We’ve looked at some of the most popular cookie cutter shapes; now let’s turn to the most common and popular materials for those shapes.

• Tin. The first “modern” cookie cutters were created by tinsmiths, and tin remains a popular choice today.  It is a very flexible material, which could be a downside because you can bend the cutters out of shape, but it also allows you to fix and adjust your shapes.  Wash your tin cutters gently by hand and dry immediately so they don’t rust.
• Stainless steel. While just as rust-prone, stainless steel cutters are sturdier and can cut fine details.  Again, wash and dry immediately. If you get rust, sand off with sandpaper.
• Copper. These are the most expensive cutters but many consider them worth the price because they are so durable and can cut fine detail.  A drawback is that it can be difficult to remove dough from the details.
• Plastic. These are inexpensive and durable; there’s no chance of rust, and they’re very low-maintenance.  A drawback is that they have dull edges so you can’t get that crisp detail.

Cookie cutters allow us to turn ordinary cookies into extraordinary little works of art.  Enjoy!

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A good cookie needs good dough.  For snowflake cookies, the best choices are sugar or gingerbread dough.  You can use your own favorite recipes or get started with this one from Chef Paula Deen.

You'll need:

• 1 cup butter, softened  (note: some people prefer to use 4 ounces of butter and 4 ounces of shortening to create more crisp shapes and lines, especially for cookies with cut-outs).
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 3 ¼ cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

To make:

1. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
2. Beat in eggs and vanilla and almond extracts.
3. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  To this, gradually add the sugar mixture until smooth.
4. Wrap the dough in heavy-duty plastic wrap. Refrigerate for one hour.
5. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350º and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
6. After the dough as chilled, roll the dough out on a floured surface. Aim for a thickness of ¼ inch.
7. Cut with your snowflake cookie cutters and place on cookie sheet.
8. Chill them for another 15 minutes so they do not spread and become misshapen.
9. Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are golden.
10. Let cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack or plate to cool.

Now that you've taken care of business, you get to have fun.  The decorating is always the best part, and you can use your imagination to create customized cookies.  You can drizzle or ice your sugar or gingerbread cookies with royal icing and enjoy or you can try your hand at decorating.

Before you get started, here are some handy items to have:

• White, pale blue, and/or silver sprinkles.
• White, pale blue, and/or silver sanding sugar or metallic luster dust.
• White, pale blue, and/or silver edible pearls and other fun decorations.
• Piping bag and small tip.
• Squeeze bottle (like a condiment bottle, available at craft stores).

To decorate, you'll need royal icing.  You can find countless recipes online, so find one you like and whip up a batch.  You want the consistency to be stiff.  Place a large scoop of the icing in a decorating bag with a small tip and set aside.  This icing will be used to outline your cookie.

To the remaining icing, add water by the spoonful until the icing is the consistency of maple syrup.  This thinner icing will be used to flood, or fill, in the center of the cookies.

An easy one to start with is a standard 6-armed star.  Using your piping bag, carefully draw intersecting lines through each arm.  Now, create a snowflake look by adding V-shapes through the arms.  Add a sugar pearl or dot at the end of each and in the middle.  WhatsCookingAmerica.net has a great variety of snowflake decorated cookies for you to check out and draw inspiration from.  There is no wrong way to do it, and because no two snowflakes are the same, you can experiment with a lot of different techniques and toppings.

Both sugar and gingerbread cookies are great with cocoa, tea, or coffee; perfect for a cozy evening at home.  This is the best way to enjoy winter!

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What is luster dust?  It sounds magical, doesn't it?  It is a nontoxic, completely edible powder that adds no taste to the cookies.  This is great if you want to add sparkle, shine, and color to your baked goods without adding extra sugar.  Luster dust, which is sometimes called “pearl dust,” is available in a wide variety of colors and is quite versatile. It can be used wet or dry to create different effects, and it has a gorgeous, sophisticated metallic sheen.

Cake decorators often use luster dust to add shine and refinement to wedding cakes, and now you can add elegance and professional polish to your home-baked goods as well.  Now, how do you get started?

You can use luster dust dry or wet, depending on what type of effect you want to create.  If you are using it dry, simply use an unused paintbrush to brush the dust onto your cookies.  This adds beautiful shine and shimmer and can dress up cookies for weddings or baby shower favors, and other events.

If you are using it dry, you do not need to prep.  Just shake some luster dust into a dish and get started.

You can also use luster dust to “paint” your cookies.  This allows you to create a deeper color and to have a little more freedom in the types of designs you want to create.

First, tap a little of the luster dust into a dish and add a few drops of vodka.  Yes, vodka.  Luster dust does not bond with water, so you'll need an alcohol-based solution.

Now you have your paint and you can let your inner artist out and try swirls, names, pictures, borders, flowers, and more. You are only limited by your imagination. Luster dust is a great addition to any pantry.  If you have never used it before, set aside some time and some sugar cookies and give it a try!

See how it's done in this video:

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Adults are allowed to facilitate but not sell the cookies. There must be a scout present at all times to do the selling. So plan on having several scouts to volunteer at different times of the day so girls won’t get tired.

Ask a local food store, strip mall owner, restaurant or other local store if your troop can set up a card table outside their business. The owner will usually be happy to agree unless zoning laws forbid selling outside their store. If that’s the case, the store owner will often allow you to set up inside the store. You can also plan to set up at local craft fairs or outdoor flea markets.

Bring a small card table. A square one is best. Don’t overdo it with a long table that takes up too much space. You are a guest, after all and most places will not charge you to be there. So be respectful of the space they have given you.

Bring enough inventory to last you several hours. You don’t want to have willing buyers and not enough cookies. Bring more than you think you need. Since all the money is going to your troop, there should be no problem getting enough boxes of gourmet cookies to sell.

Any girl who plans to man the cookie table should be given credit for the cookies sales she initiates. So you’ll want to help the girls keep a list of how much they have each sold. Girls receive prizes and badges for selling the cookies, so you want to ensure proper credit is given.

Bring enough change so that you don’t have to go rummaging around in your purse at the last minute. You’ll need lots of ones and quarters. Go to the bank the day before the sale or make change in the morning at the store where you’ll be setting up. Keep the change in a box with a lock. And put a slip of paper inside with how much money you started with in change so you can deduct it from the sales at the end.

Have each girl wear her uniform to do the selling. Since it will be February or March, you’ll want to ensure they are warm enough, too. You might have a canteen of hot cocoa ready for them and ask all moms to dress their girls with coats, gloves, and hats.

The cookies practically sell themselves once you are set up. People love Girl Scout cookies and the cuter the girls and the more willing they are to ask passing shoppers if they’d like to buy a box of cookies, the more you’ll all sell. Just be sure that an adult stays at the table to supervise and never let a Girl Scout approach strangers at their cars or follow them to their cars to deliver the cookies to them. Safety is of the utmost importance.

Keep track of how many cookies your troop sells each day. You may want to do both days of a weekend at one location, or do one location on a Saturday and move to another location for a Sunday sale.

Ask moms and scouts to sign up ahead of time for when they can man the table. One person usually heads up the process and calls or emails moms the night before to remind them of the times they signed up for.

Selling Girl Scout cookies can help build a young lady’s self-esteem and show her how the marketing process works. It’s great real world learning and she’ll use the skills and confidence she gains all her life.

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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.

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