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Savory & Non-Chocolate Bake Sale Items


baroness

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I will be participating in an informal benefit bake sale on Sunday. It's a sure bet that chocolate (brownies, chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes and cakes) will be well covered by others.

My baking should be completed by Saturday night - though I might be able to bake a quick batch of scones Sunday morning.

Does anyone have particularly good recipes for:

1. Crisp meringue cookies in a variety of flavors (gluten-free and almost fat-free) -

perhaps lemon, mint, cherry, coconut

2. Savory scones - sharp cheddar with herbs or bacon

OR other non-chocolate ideas that fit my time constraints?

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I have a savoury scones recipe for sharp cheddar with raisins (which could easily be turned into sharp cheddar with herbs), and I'd also suggest quick breads like baking powder biscuits, focaccia, and herb cornmuffins.

---

Here are the scones:

2.75 C flour (you can sub up to 1 C of this in specialty flour)

2.75 TSP baking powder

1/2 C butter

1 TSP salt

3 eggs

1 C sour yogurt

0.5 C shredded cheddar cheese

0.5 C raisins (or just sub in your herbs here. Rosemary is nice with cheddar)

Mix the flour, salt, and soda (and herbs, if you're using 'em).

Beat the eggs into the yogurt.

Add to dry, mix until just blended.

Fold in cheese.

I like to form these in fluted silicone muffin molds, but what you do with the batter is up to you. These are best when the batter has been handled the absolute least amount possible.

ETA - whoops. 20 minutes at 350 or until a pick inserted comes out done.

Edited by Panaderia Canadiense (log)

Elizabeth Campbell, baking 10,000 feet up at 1° South latitude.

My eG Food Blog (2011)My eG Foodblog (2012)

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Thanks!

Those sound delicious; I wouldn't have thought about cheddar with raisins (or dried cranberries would be good, too).

I might also be wise to avoid NUTS; forgot to mention that above.

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Well if you can keep them warm or reheat them sausage rolls are always a big hit!

Just take puff pastry, wrap it around a sausage with thick sauce all over it (god that sounds bad <_<) and shove it in the oven until done.

Edited by Deus Mortus (log)

"My rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars and also the drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them."

-Winston Churchill

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Lemon bars, 'kicked up' by subbing lemon juice for some of the water, and adding fresh grated lemon peel to the custard. I like Meyer lemons for this! Carrot cake, blueberry loaf, cranberry quick bread, nut loaf (also a quick bread), jam tarts if you're feeling ambitious.

Key lime pie is good too, or you can make it a bar cookie like a lemon bar, too! HTH! :rolleyes:

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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Well if you can keep them warm or reheat them sausage rolls are always a big hit!

Just take puff pastry, wrap it around a sausage with thick sauce all over it (god that sounds bad <_<) and shove it in the oven until done.

I love these, but have never had them with a sauce. I like them at room temp. and because I put jam on my breakfast sausage, I do like them with a dab of jam or fruit preserves. (I know, I'm WEIRD!) :laugh:

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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Cinnamon Quick Bread, Strawberry Quick Bread, Streusel-Topped Blueberry or Mixed Berry Coffeecake, Cranberry Swirl Coffeecake, Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffeecake, Key Lime Cheesecake Bars, Orange Nut Muffins, Blueberry Muffins, Cherry/Lime/Coconut Muffins, Jam-Filled Muffins, Coffeecake Muffins, Donut Muffins...

Edited by merstar (log)
There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with CHOCOLATE.
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Keylime pie bars.

Follow standard keylime pie recipe. Pat the graham crust into rectangle pan.

Bake 1/2 layer keylime filling on crust. Cool. Cut into squares.

Me, I like to swap equal volume eggwhite for 1/3 the suggested yolks. I think the recipe on the keylime juice bottle was developed with small or medium eggs, and using all three from teh XL egss I have gets 'eggy' in a not-good way. Swapping in the egg white ensures the custard cooks firmly.

base recipe (without my mods)

3 yolks

1/2 cup keylime juice

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz).

mix, bake at 350F for 15 min. Let stand 10 min before chilling.

Nothing sells as well as chocolate, tho.

"You dont know everything in the world! You just know how to read!" -an ah-hah! moment for 6-yr old Miss O.

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You asked about meringues. I make them with chocolate chips folded in and also with crushed peppermint candies. Kids love them for the taste, and the calorie conscious and those with gluten issues love them also for being an item they can have. The basic meringue I use is:

Oven at 250

4 whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/8 tsp salt

1 c sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Add ins - 1/2 to one cup - use judgment

Check them at around an hour and a half and then leave overnight in the turned off oven. They may be perfectly dry after the initial bake.

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I like the lemon-y suggestions. If people aren't keen on chocolate, often they like lemon. I've made these Lemon Sugar Cookies many times for parties & potlucks. They are always a hit. My neighbor's kid asks for them for her birthday.

Lemon Sugar Cookies (from Lori Longbotham's Luscious Lemon Desserts). An adapted recipe is on this blog:

http://www.oursilverplatter.com/site/blog.php?label=bGVtb24gc3VnYXIgY29va2llcw==

Another crowd-pleaser are Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home To Yours. People gobbled up a bowlful of these cookies when I brought them to a potluck party.

An adapted recipe is on this blog:

http://www.goodeatsblog.com/2008/12/sugar-topped-molasses-spice-cookies.html

For a savory scone, you could look at the recipe for Jalapeno-Jack Scones with Chive Butter from Joanne Weir's Weir Cooking in the City. I baked the original recipe awhile back & I thought the scones were good. My notes say to try the recipe with cheddar cheese & chopped jalapenos, but I haven't gotten around to that.

The scone recipe is on Googlebooks, here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=ReV1lS1J9NMC&pg=PA77&lpg=PA77&dq=joanne+weir+jalapeno+jack+scones+with+chive+butter&source=bl&ots=wzGGPrLfnM&sig=8GT1n6cPCW_1wU8hoz8UPeakq-k&hl=en&ei=7Wr5TfCWJurTiAKCpJSqDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

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What great ideas!

I checked the forecast for Sunday; high of 88F so I would fear for the lemon bars/keylime pie bars' & sausage rolls' food safety (rats!). Muffins and quick breads are being covered by other bakers this time.

I do make great banana-oatmeal cookies; hmmm. Traditional shortbread would be tromping on another baker's toes. Biscotti - maybe! Though we are likely to have mostly nut-averse buyers, and I like nuts in my biscotti.

Meringues are a definite; will do some with coconut.

Djyee - The lemon sugar cookies sound promising - but the linked recipe calls for 1/3 lemon zest. One-third of a lemon's worth? (I did request the book from the library, but that will take awhile.) ETA - I found the recipe on google books; it is 1/3 CUP of zest.

I do have, and love, Dorie's book -- it's high time to explore it more. I've been in a delicious rut with her Coconut Tea Cake. Following your Dorie link eventually led me to her Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies (with lemon) - another possibility. Her Molasses-Spice cookies sound a lot like my lone recipe from my Grandmother Irene, which are wonderful.

A local Filipino shop sells egg whites by the quart, so any ideas for using them besides meringues and coconut macaroons are welcome.

Thanks!

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What about good ol' southern cheddar cheese straws? They're easy, fast, and can be made with whole wheat; will appeal to the non-sweets lovers who still want to support your cause. Can be packaged in small baggies; great w/cocktails, and will keep for a week or two, so you can market them as a take-away item.

Here's a Paula Deen recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/zesty-cheese-straws-recipe/index.html

Countless variations exist--my favorite twist is to form the mixture into a log, chill, then slice into rounds and top each with a pecan half and a pinch of cayenne.

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What great ideas!

I checked the forecast for Sunday; high of 88F so I would fear for the lemon bars/keylime pie bars' & sausage rolls' food safety (rats!). Muffins and quick breads are being covered by other bakers this time.

I do make great banana-oatmeal cookies; hmmm. Traditional shortbread would be tromping on another baker's toes. Biscotti - maybe! Though we are likely to have mostly nut-averse buyers, and I like nuts in my biscotti.

Meringues are a definite; will do some with coconut.

Djyee - The lemon sugar cookies sound promising - but the linked recipe calls for 1/3 lemon zest. One-third of a lemon's worth? (I did request the book from the library, but that will take awhile.) ETA - I found the recipe on google books; it is 1/3 CUP of zest.

I do have, and love, Dorie's book -- it's high time to explore it more. I've been in a delicious rut with her Coconut Tea Cake. Following your Dorie link eventually led me to her Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies (with lemon) - another possibility. Her Molasses-Spice cookies sound a lot like my lone recipe from my Grandmother Irene, which are wonderful.

A local Filipino shop sells egg whites by the quart, so any ideas for using them besides meringues and coconut macaroons are welcome.

Thanks!

Given that the sausage rolls are cooked, and usually found in a warming case (heat lamp, etc.) I wouldn't worry about those. Krusteze makes a superb lemon bar mix :blush: that I've held at room temp in an under-air conditioned, crowded room for several hours with no problems. It calls for 3 eggs, but again, they're cooked in the baking process! Unless the venue is totally outdoors, there should be no problems at all!

"Commit random acts of senseless kindness"

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Djyee - The lemon sugar cookies sound promising - but the linked recipe calls for 1/3 lemon zest. One-third of a lemon's worth? (I did request the book from the library, but that will take awhile.) ETA - I found the recipe on google books; it is 1/3 CUP of zest.

I'm glad you were able to track down the correction on Googlebooks. Usually I check an adapted recipe against the original before posting, but this time the typo eluded me. The recipe requires about 6 lemons. The lemon oil is as important for flavor as the lemon zest. I like Boyajian lemon oil, which I buy either at Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table.

A local Filipino shop sells egg whites by the quart, so any ideas for using them besides meringues and coconut macaroons are welcome.

For all those egg whites, you could try Lemon Angel Food Cake with Lemon Glaze, also from Lori Longbotham's Luscious Lemon Desserts. I haven't tried this one myself. Sounds good, though. An adapted recipe is on this blog (also on Googlebooks). The original recipe says to let the glaze mixture stand for 10 mins before using it. Then, after pouring on the glaze, let the cake sit for at least 10 mins so that the glaze is set before cutting.

http://www.bakingobsession.com/2007/11/29/lemon-angel-food-cake/

Edited by djyee100 (log)
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OOOoooh, cheese straws!

Yet another fabulous idea - and by making them instead of scones, I can finish packaging on Saturday.

I'm off for a bit to make meringues while the sun shines.

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Here's a quick post-sale report: there was lots of everything in the chocolate line that I had predicted, plus dark chocolate covered pretzels, caramel brownies, and brownie-like cookies topped with caramel and almonds. Quick breads and muffins, oatmeal cookies, lemon and 'Jewish' apple cakes were there as well. One of the organizers brought a variety of decorative melamine trays and rolls of cellophane to make pre-wrapped assortments.

My Lemon Coolers (recipe here) and Cheese Straws (used a recipe with 1 pound of cheese to 4 ounces butter - yum!) were sold out in a trice. The Black Pepper Biscuits and my experimental "Who's on First" Meringues did well, too. The more classic meringues (cocoa-almond and vanilla-mint) were the least popular of my items. I look forward to hearing the final amount raised for Alabama tornado relief.

Thanks to everyone here for their ideas! :biggrin:

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Here's a quick post-sale report: there was lots of everything in the chocolate line that I had predicted, plus dark chocolate covered pretzels, caramel brownies, and brownie-like cookies topped with caramel and almonds. Quick breads and muffins, oatmeal cookies, lemon and 'Jewish' apple cakes were there as well. One of the organizers brought a variety of decorative melamine trays and rolls of cellophane to make pre-wrapped assortments.

My Lemon Coolers (recipe here) and Cheese Straws (used a recipe with 1 pound of cheese to 4 ounces butter - yum!) were sold out in a trice. The Black Pepper Biscuits and my experimental "Who's on First" Meringues did well, too. The more classic meringues (cocoa-almond and vanilla-mint) were the least popular of my items. I look forward to hearing the final amount raised for Alabama tornado relief.

Thanks to everyone here for their ideas! :biggrin:

Sounds good! What are "who's on first" meringues? I'm intrigued.

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Yay for cheese straws. They're ubiquitous around the holidays in the deep South, with every baker giving 'em a personal twist. Next time, try a dryish blue cheese (like Maytag) crumbled into the dough, along with a big hit of finely grated pecorino, chopped walnuts, and a bunch of black pepper.

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Sounds good! What are "who's on first" meringues? I'm intrigued.

"Who's on First" meringues are a tribute to the legendary comedy team of Abbott and Costello, and their most famous routine. I incorporated ballpark flavors - pretzels, peanuts, caramel (no, no hot dogs or mustard :wink: ). The cookies have received rave reviews, so when the weather dries out a bit I will be tinkering with the recipe.

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Sounds good! What are "who's on first" meringues? I'm intrigued.

"Who's on First" meringues are a tribute to the legendary comedy team of Abbott and Costello, and their most famous routine. I incorporated ballpark flavors - pretzels, peanuts, caramel (no, no hot dogs or mustard :wink: ). The cookies have received rave reviews, so when the weather dries out a bit I will be tinkering with the recipe.

Salty, sweet, crunchy? Yum!

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For a savoury scone...just use a basic cheese scone recipe, roll into rectangle and cover with a good homemade tomato sauce ( eg for pasta), add fetta cheese, chopped spinach,ham or bacon pieces, kalamata olive halves etc. Roll up and bake. They are delicious and sell really well.

I have made Cinnamon Buns ( like Cinnabons) and they have gone down well also. Gotta love the breadmaker!

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