There’s nothing like a bake sale to get us moving a bit in the kitchen, and our church puts on a great event each fall.  We don’t always participate in the cooking, but this year we did. No matter whether we cook or not, we’re always ready to buy on the Big Day!

It’s called Holiday Helpings at First United Methodist Church in Knoxville, TN, and many ladies (and men, too) of the church work hours, days, weeks, and months in advance to ensure its success.  It works this way:  You place an order for soups, casseroles, rolls and sticky buns that are made and frozen in advance.  Then, the day of the sale, you pick up your order and maybe some homemade baked goods that are laid out temptingly in the multi-purpose room of the church.  This year we decided to order several items AND contribute to the Bake Sale.

In this post and our next one, we’re sharing what we cooked, wrapped, and tagged for this year’s FUMC Holiday Helpings. For all our contributions, the tags (which we think help the goods sell faster) were printed on cardstock and glued to leftover scrapbooking paper.  Tags were tied on with ribbon or twine.

First, Bert made his fabulous Slightly Spicy Munchies using the recipe on the side of the Wheat Chex® box and adding a little Slap Ya Mama seasoning, dry roasted peanuts, and cheese crackers. Easy to make.  Always sell well.

We both took turns stirring and baking these Sugared Peanuts, a recipe passed down from Bert’s mom.  (See below.)  Of course, we would have had more of these for the sale, but you know how you just hafta sample what you’re sharing!!! (These make great stocking stuffers, too!)

We tried Hello Dolly Bars from a recipe found at www.myrecipes.com that we stumbled upon when searching the Southern Living website.  Click here for this easy-to-layer bar cookie that never fails!

Another recipe in the collection of 10 Best-Ever Bar Cookies and Brownies found at the Southern Living website (www.southernliving.com) was this one for Peach Melba Shortbread Bars. Click here for the easy recipe that looks as pretty as it tastes. A feminine blue and cream printed scrapbooking paper made the tags look almost delicate.

We tried a new recipe this year for Poppy Seed Cake (Click here), a moist cake that freezes well.  The recipe comes from my friend Joy McCabe who appears on WBIR cooking up great things for tailgates, brunches, and home entertaining. You’ll love her website: http://www.joymccabe.com

And those are some of our contributions to Holiday Helpings this year. We’d love to know what you make for bake sales because we’re always looking for new ideas!

Sugared Peanuts

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup water

2 cups raw shelled peanuts, skins on

Dissolve sugar in water in saucepan over medium heat.  Add peanuts and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring frequently.  Cook until peanuts are completely sugared (coated, no syrup).  But be careful:  Don’t let the mixture turn back to sugar.

Pour and spread onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, stirring at 10 minute intervals.

This post is #13 for National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) 2013.