Election Day Bake Sale ideas

[30ishmom]

Hi all,

DD's school is having a bake sale on Election Day. Does anyone have any ideas for budget-friendly goodies to make (maybe with a patriotic theme)?

Also... does anyone have a recipe for chocolate covered pretzel sticks? I've seen these posted before and I remember they sounded so yummy, but can't seem to find the thread!!

Thanks so much!!!

 

[dismom24]

My DS's school had a bake sale last weekend. I made rice crispie treats with fondant stars in white and blue (his school colors) - they were a hit. I also made choc chip cookies with blue icing in the middle of two (double doozie style). Both items sold out fairly quick.

 

[marthachick]

Hi all,
Also... does anyone have a recipe for chocolate covered pretzel sticks? I've seen these posted before and I remember they sounded so yummy, but can't seem to find the thread!!

Thanks so much!!!

These are super easy & everyone thinks you're brilliant. Take some chocolate chips or almond bark & melt it in the microwave as directed. Dip the pretzels in the melted chocolate & lay out on wax paper or on wire racks til dry. For a patriotic theme, sprinkle with red, white & blue sprinkles as soon as you lay it on the paper. Or you can use white chocolate or almond bark. It's usually in the baking aisle. Have fun & enjoy!!!

 

[casjen]

Or a bakery outlet? For our bake sales we give parents an option of donating 5 dollars instead of baking something. We then use that money to stock up at the outlet and then re-wrap many things in single servings or smaller packages. Nothing is expired when we buy and sell it.

I know on certain days of the week big shipments come in and we get the best variety.

We have also found that whole quick breads sell extremely well first thing in the morning as people head to work. They'll buy a loaf for the office and feel good b/c they are supporting our school.

We also get alot of people who just want to make a donation to our school.

One parent sent in oreos that she had just placed in ziplocs with ribbon and surprisingly people bought them!

I hope I don't get flamed for suggesting we re-sell items we have purchased and not home baked. But we're not the only ones!

Also, I know Dunkin Donuts donates to any school that asks for bake sales. I think 3 dozen donuts per school. you could ask to see if they'd donate.

Oh, popcorn is also a huge seller. Parents buy a big bag and then rebag it into single servings. We sell it for 50 cents and we get cleaned out.

If you can get to BJ's or Costco you can get a giant box of muffin mix and make alot inexpensively as well.

 

[30ishmom]

Thanks for the great ideas, everyone! Yum! They all sound so good!

 

[FergieTCat]

How about making chocolate covered pretzel rods with red, white and blue sprinkles?

There was once a recipe here about buying mini-pretzels and Hershey's kisses. You place a kiss on each pretzel and then put them in the microwave to melt the chocolate. I always thought that was a great idea, but never tried it.

 

[ncbyrne]

Our school district has a bake sale every Election Day. I have noticed that the first things to go are homemade chocolate chip cookies (the bigger the better), individually wrapped brownies, and quick breads. Not patriotic, but they are definitly all-time favorites that sell well.
As an aside.....the things that don't sell are the cookies with burned edges, undercooked brownies, and anything else that just doesn't look appetizing.
If you made brownies for individual sale, make sure you use a tried and true recipe, or at least a box mix that you have made several times and are familiar with the proper baking time. Cut them squarely and wrap individually. Same goes for cookies - only make the kind you KNOW are good. Wrap 6 cookies together. Use clear plastic wrap and tie with red, white and blue ribbon.

 

[gk90]

Pillsbury makes a cake mix with red & blue stars, I made it into cupcakes for a Memorial Day bake sale and they went over well. You can also get red/white/blue sprinkles to put on frosting.

 

[Trish Bessette]

I'm a cupcake FREAK!!!

Kids at my DD's school just love when I have to make cupcakes.

How about icing them red, white & blue??

Or what I do is is print photos for whatever theme you need. I just did some for our soccer tournament and I printed a bunch of color soccer balls, laminated them, cut them out and stuck them on top of the iced cupcake standing up. They were the first item to sell out of. Kids get a kick out of it.

Maybe you could print out red/white/blue donkeys & elephants?? Or print out the names Obama & McCain???

 

[kelleigh1]

An even easier way to do these is to just by the Baker's melting chocolate the comes in the little cup that you microwave and then dip the pretzels in it.

You can choose any different toppings you like and put them out on different paper plates then dip the pretzel in the chocolate and immediately dip in whatever topping.

Set on wax paper or parchment to harden.

I make these all the time. They are a big hit.

You could also melt some caramels in a double boiler and dip the pretzels in the caramel before the chocolate. My husband loves those.

 

[kldmom2000]

My to-die-for brownie recipe is this....

1 box of Ghiradelli brownie mix
Caramel Hershey kisses
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
Mini-muffin pans

Make brownie mix as directed. Spray the mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Fill each cup up about 2/3. They bake rather quickly in the tins, so be prepared to take them out in 10-14 min.....

When they are hot out of the oven, push a caramel hershey kiss (unwrapped of course ) point down into each brownie.

When cooled, take them out and put them on a serving tray. Melt the 1/2 bag of chocolate chips in the microwave and drizzle the melted chocolate all over the brownies

I'm on the PTO and always work the bake sale at the school-people want CHOCOLATE.... we didn't have enough chocolate goods last year and there was some disappointment

Also-with the pretzel sticks.... I buy those caramel apple wrapper things from the grocery store-there's 5 in a pack. Cut each one into 4 strips and wrap it around the top of the pretzel stick before you dip it into the hot melted chocolate..... the melted chocolate melts the caramel wrap and it's all good

As someone mentioned above, you can sprinkle red/white/blue sprinkles on either of these and turn them patriotic!

 

[Parkhopper]

There was once a recipe here about buying mini-pretzels and Hershey's kisses. You place a kiss on each pretzel and then put them in the microwave to melt the chocolate. I always thought that was a great idea, but never tried it.

I do this, but I make a small adjustment so that they are even easier (and cheaper!!) I use Wilton chocolate circles which are a lot less expensive than Hershey's Kisses...and they come in COLORS!! I purchase the pretzles that look like either rings or wagon wheels, place one chocolate circle on top and bake at 250 for about 2-3 minutes (just until the chocolate is soft. Then I place an M&M in the middle. You could easily do this with a patriotic theme either by purchasing red white and blue Wilton circles or by changing the color of the M&M on a white Wilton Circle!

Suzi

 

[kelleigh1]

My to-die-for brownie recipe is this....

1 box of Ghiradelli brownie mix
Caramel Hershey kisses
1/2 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
Mini-muffin pans

Make brownie mix as directed. Spray the mini muffin pan with cooking spray. Fill each cup up about 2/3. They bake rather quickly in the tins, so be prepared to take them out in 10-14 min.....

When they are hot out of the oven, push a caramel hershey kiss (unwrapped of course ) point down into each brownie.

When cooled, take them out and put them on a serving tray. Melt the 1/2 bag of chocolate chips in the microwave and drizzle the melted chocolate all over the brownies

I'm on the PTO and always work the bake sale at the school-people want CHOCOLATE.... we didn't have enough chocolate goods last year and there was some disappointment

Also-with the pretzel sticks.... I buy those caramel apple wrapper things from the grocery store-there's 5 in a pack. Cut each one into 4 strips and wrap it around the top of the pretzel stick before you dip it into the hot melted chocolate..... the melted chocolate melts the caramel wrap and it's all good

As someone mentioned above, you can sprinkle red/white/blue sprinkles on either of these and turn them patriotic!

Oooh, I'm snagging this recipe. I have my Pampered Chef mini muffin pan and I'm always looking for different things to make in it. This will be perfect for me to take to work or to bowling to share with everyone.

 

[maggiew]

I'm a cupcake FREAK!!!



Maybe you could print out red/white/blue donkeys & elephants?? Or print out the names Obama & McCain???

You may want to avoid this. It would probably be considered electioneering and the boundaries within a school building are a NO-Electioneering zone.

Maggie

 

[maggiew]

I do this, but I make a small adjustment so that they are even easier (and cheaper!!) I use Wilton chocolate circles which are a lot less expensive than Hershey's Kisses...and they come in COLORS!! I purchase the pretzles that look like either rings or wagon wheels, place one chocolate circle on top and bake at 250 for about 2-3 minutes (just until the chocolate is soft. Then I place an M&M in the middle. You could easily do this with a patriotic theme either by purchasing red white and blue Wilton circles or by changing the color of the M&M on a white Wilton Circle!

Suzi

I'm going to do this!!

Maggie