Hey y’all! Nothing feels better than being able to share your passion! If you’ve been reading for a while, you know one of my favorite charity organizations is No Kid Hungry. Did you also know 1 in 5 US kids don’t get the food they need on a daily basis? One in five! That’s just not acceptable. Being hungry takes a terrible toll on a child’s health and development. I have an 16 month old granddaughter and I can’t imagine her or her friends having to go to school hungry or go to bed hungry. We have so much to give! So, I work hard and volunteer at local Taste of the Nation events and I bake for two different No Kid Hungry Bake Sales every year and I wish I could do more! Normally, I donate cookies or cupcakes. This year however, I had an opportunity to have my own table at the Redlands Bake Sale! It was both thrilling and terrifying all at at the same time. I wasn’t sure how much to bring or what might sell. No pressure being around tables of professional bakers either… HA! I don’t mind telling you, I was a bit freaked out! It was a learning experience, that’s for sure! It ended up being a lot of fun and I might be brave and do a table again next year!
So what did I make for the Bake Sale this year?
Cupcakes, of course! Perfect colors for right before Halloween, don’t you think? They’re chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, but I used my Wilton Color Right system to make the orange color. Now that I had the base for the cupcakes, I had to decorate them! The vanilla cupcakes got cream cheese frosting and cute little candy pumpkin toppers!
Half of the chocolate cupcakes were destined to become Graveyard Cupcakes! For these, I frosted them with chocolate ganache, then rolled them in pulverized chocolate wafer cookies so they looked like they were covered in dirt. After that, I stuck store-bought gummy worms into the frosting and added candy skulls and bones! I used my favorite skull and bones candy mold and Wilton Candy Melts in bright green. For the eyes, I used a little dab of blood red piping gel! Every little boy who stopped by my table wanted one of those skulls! These are definitely kid-favorite treats!
The other half of the chocolate cupcakes were frosted in the same chocolate ganache, then I topped them with spider webs I made using pure white candy melts and a template I found online. I’m not too happy with how these turned out. I think they look more like snowflakes, instead of spider webs. Since I’ve never made them before, I probably shouldn’t be too hard on myself! Plus, if they look like snowflakes, I’ve got some awesome cupcakes to make for Christmas this year! HA! I learned a lot about how to freestyle candy melt toppers, so next time, will be better! Maybe the addition of a candy spider or something else would have worked too. What do you think?
People like to have more options than cupcakes (even cute spider web/snowflake cupcakes!), so I made Halloween pretzel rods! These are fun to make and fit ANY occasion! That salty sweet combo is probably one of my favorites. To make them, take pretzel rods, dip half the pretzel into the melted candy of your choice, then roll them in sprinkles or use your favorite small holiday candy decorations!
Half of the pretzel rods I coated in green candy melts and the other half were in orange candy melts! This picture is just one of the ways they were decorated! You can see more of them in this close-up of part of my baking table. These I sold in pairs, because they’re like potato chips! You can’t eat just one!
No bake sale is complete without cookies! I had to continue the Halloween theme with rolled sugar cookies, frosted with orange Royal Icing and black piping gel for the faces. I am always fascinated with those videos I share on Facebook, where people decorate sugar cookies and turn them into these gorgeous pieces of art. I don’t do that for two reasons. One, I’m not that talented! Two, I want to EAT these cookies. The ones that are too pretty, no one wants to eat because, well, they’re too pretty!
Some Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats were also selfishly added to the growing list of goodies. They’re always a basic part of a Bake Sale and simple to put together. In fact, I sold out of them before anything else! Here is what the table looked like when everything was all set up! You can’t see the big cooler behind the table that was full treats to refill the table.
My Team No Kid Hungry Apron is something I’m very proud to own! I bought it at the last Taste of the Nation event in Los Angeles. It helped decorate the corner of my table, along with my spider cupcake holders and a fabulous orange boa! Everyone needs a little whimsy at their booth, right?
I was blessed to be given another apron to add to my collection that day too!
If you couldn’t make it to the Bake Sale this year, there’s still time to donate. For every dollar donated, ten meals go to hungry kids! Please don’t pass up this opportunity to help provide the breakfasts and lunches growing kids need every day! Thank you in advance for your support! Here’s the link: Redlands Bake Sale Team Donations Page
