The Bake Sale Cookbook

Cookbook

The Bake Sale Cookbook
Quintessential American Desserts

By Sally Sampson

The Bake Sale Cookbook
A tradition that's never truly gone out of style, bake sales are making a huge comeback. Yet, in the real world of hectic schedules and shrink-wrapped snack cakes, parents dread that 7 P.M. plea: "Mom! Dad! I need cookies for school tomorrow!"

An acclaimed cookbook author and the mother of two school-age children, Sally Sampson never considered herself much of a baker—until driven by the demands of class trip fund-raisers, pot-luck suppers, and birthday celebrations. After extensive research and countless late nights with her KitchenAid, she at last had a winning collection: more than 100 easy-to-prepare, portable, eye-pleasing under less-than-perfect conditions, and incredibly delicious dessert recipes. In The Bake Sale Cookbook: Quintessential American Desserts , Sampson shares her discoveries with busy parents hungry to delight their kids—and impress the other grownups.

For every occasion in search of home-baked treats, The Bake Sale Cookbook serves up enticing possibilities. To prepare bakers for any cookie emergency, Sampson provides a checklist of ingredients to keep in the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, plus the required pans and tools of the trade. And to make a baking-crunch less stressful, she offers plenty of plan-ahead tips and creative variations. Time-pressed bakers will rely on cookie dough logs—flavorful renditions of the commercial slice-and-bake, chilling out until a crisis or craving calls. They'll also savor the versatile bar cookie—scrumptious and presentable even after being frozen, thawed, and cut—as well as cake and quick-bread batters adaptable to baking as muffins, mini loaves, or bundts.

Here's a sampling of the nostalgic and irresistible sweets within these pages:

Cookies, from cookie swap-worthy Cocoa Crinkles and Hazelnut Shortbread to treats ideal for after-school munching like Peanut Butter and Jelly Drops and Snickerdoodles.

Bars, from the sophisticated Lemon-Glazed Pecan and Coconut Squares and Three Layer Mint Brownies to fresh twists on the perennially pleasing Crisp Rice Treats.

Coffee Cakes and their breakfast-bread cousins, from the fragrant Cardamom Coffee Cake and Fresh Ginger Gingerbread to the decadent Apricot Brandy Sour Cream Pound Cake.

Pies, from the crowd-pleasing All-American Apple to the heavenly Sour-Cream Peach and Ginger Pear—plus no-fail crusts and turnover dough to compliment an array of fillings.

Dessert Cakes, showcasing Buttermilk-Glazed Apple Cake Studded with Coconut and Walnuts, New England Maple Cake with Maple Frosting, and Mocha Cupcakes.

Sampson also offers recipes for glazes, ganaches, and icings—chocolate, cream cheese, caramel, and more—to dress up cakes galore. For those thirsty for beverages beyond coffee, tea, or milk, she presents her take on lemonade—three ways—and fruit punch for a bunch.

Packed with ideas on how to adapt recipes for specific holidays and kid's birthday parties, as well as practical pointers on transporting, serving, and displaying precious home-baked cargo, The Bake Sale Cookbook is an essential collection of desserts made selling, sharing, and cherishing.

About the Author

Sally Sampson is the author of The $50 Dinner Party, a James Beard Award nominee, and Recipes from the Night Kitchen: A Practical Guide to Spectacular Soups, Stews, and Chilies. She has also collaborated on several other cookbooks, including The Olives Table and The Figs Table, and contributed cooking-related articles to Self, Bon Appetit, Mode, Food & Wine, and many other publications. A prolific baker for her two school-age children, Lauren and Benjamin, she lives in Watertown, Massachusetts.

**Sampson will donate 25% of her royalties to Kid2Kid, a nonprofit organization that arranges for frequently hospitalized children to give gifts and support to children presently in the hospital.**

Buy the Book!

The Bake Sale Cookbook:
Quintessential American Desserts
By Sally Sampson
Fireside Books/A Simon & Schuster, May 2000
Paperback, $15.00
ISBN: 0-684-86229-8
Information provided by the publisher.