The Bake Sale Cookbook: Quintessential American Desserts [Paperback]

Sally Sampson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2000

" More than 100 irresistible recipes that will make you the star of the bake sale and the family dinner table"

An accomplished cook and cookbook author, Sally Sampson is also the mother of two school-age children and the veteran of countless bake sales. She knows what makes the perfect bake sale recipe: It's got to be portable, easy to prepare, attractive under less than perfect conditions, and it's got to taste fabulous. In "The BakeSale Cookbook: Quintessential American Desserts," every recipe -- cookies, bars, cakes, baby cakes and cupcakes, pies, quick breads, muffins, coffee cakes, even Lemonade Three Ways -- meets these demanding criteria.

Did your child tell you at 8 P.M. she needed a contribution for the third grade fund-raiser the next morning? Try one of the variations on classic Crisp Rice Treats or Seven-Layer Bars. Baking for a more sophisticated community event? Gretchen Taylor's Three-Layer Mint Brownies, Buttermilk-Glazed Apple Cake Studded with Coconut and Walnuts, or Ginger Pear Pie will sell out in no time. Are you contributing dessert for a potluck dinner this weekend? Bring a Banana Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache or Black Chocolate Cake with Caramel Icing and there won't be any leftovers.

With ideas on how to adapt recipes for specific holidays and kids' birthday parties and essential information about transporting, serving, and displaying your precious baked cargo, "The BakeSale Cookbook" is a taste-tempting and essential collection of all-American desserts.

The author 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 thehospital.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Brownies, seven-layer bars, Rice Krispy treats, fudge, lemon bars, chocolate-chip cookies--these are just a few of the unforgettably sticky standbys that every bake sale offers and that turn Sally Sampson's The Bake Sale Cookbook into such an irresistible read. There are seven recipes for brownies alone, as well as recipes for such classics as gingersnaps, snickerdoodles, and banana bread. While moms baking on a deadline will want to stick to the chapters on cookies and bars, more adventurous bakers will appreciate the chapters on cakes and pies, which round up several core recipes (for pound cake, coffee cake, and apple pie) that are easy, quick, and delicious. You'll find yourself reaching for this no-frills baking book more often than is good for your waistline! --Sumi Hahn Almquist

From Publishers Weekly

In this refreshingly low-key collection, Sampson (The $50 Dinner Party; Recipes from the Night Kitchen) matches more than 100 "quintessentially American" goodies to that most familiar of fund-raisers. Tempting cookies and bars vie with coffeecakes, quick breads, muffins, pies, turnovers and cakes of all kinds. Sampson found her inspiration in many places. Jam Thumbprint Cookies were adapted from Joy of Cooking. The recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies "varies ever so slightly from the recipe" on the Quaker Oats box. There are also selections from friends and many have been reworked from recipe "treasure boxes" passed on by a friend's mother, herself a professional fund-raiser baker. Selections range from the ultra kid-friendly Peanut Butter and Jelly Drops and Rice Krispies treats to such adult pleasers as Hazelnut Shortbread and Greek Cognac Cookies. The standouts, however are the coffecakes. Some are scented with cardamom; others are enriched with prunes and sour cream or walnuts and rum. The recipe format can be annoying, as instructions are given in lengthy paragraphs rather than manageable steps, and for some reason, Sampson uses kosher salt in all her recipes. Also, the selections here are no more geared to bake sales than those found in any standard pastry book; certainly they aren't any easier or faster to make. Many demand lengthy preparation and clean up. On the other hand, the results are likely to be crowd pleasers, which is the crucial ingredient for any successful bake table, not to mention any brunch or dinner party. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Fireside (May 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684862298
• ISBN-13: 978-0684862293
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,312,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sally Sampson is the author of twelve cookbooks, including the Recipe of the Week series, Party Dips!, Souped Up!, Party Nuts!, and the James Beard Award-nominated The $50 Dinner Party. She has coauthored six additional books, including (with chef Todd English): The Olives Table, The Figs Table, and The Olives Dessert Table.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Bake Book!, November 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bake Sale Cookbook: Quintessential American Desserts (Paperback)

I had bought Sally Sampson's "The $50 Dinner Party", and was so impressed at how easy and accessible the recipes were. I had given 7 dinner parties by the time her "bake sale" cook book came out, and although I'd never baked so much as one cookie, I decided to try it. I was most successful with her brownies. They were very easy to make, and delicious. I've tried several other recipes and they were also delicious. I intend to try ever one in the book, at the risk of putting on a pound or two. I intend to launch into a big baking attack for Christmas, and I know I'll be a big success. I saw Sally Sampson on Bryant Gumbel's show and could not get over how efficient and adorable she was.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy as Pie, May 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bake Sale Cookbook: Quintessential American Desserts (Paperback)

I am a single father with two teenage children. When they come to visit me it is great to have something unexpected and sinful. Prior to THE Bakesale Cookbook, I found the task of baking to be daunting. The recipes in Sampson's book are very do-able, even for a amateur like myself. And most importantly, my kids think I am a whiz! I give it five stars.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just like mama used to make, April 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Bake Sale Cookbook: Quintessential American Desserts (Paperback)

Bakesale is not only filled with wonderful, accessible, easy to make recipes, it is fun to read. Sampson has taken recipes from friends, relatives and friends of friends and turned them into just the kind of desserts I like to make. So far I have made Aunt Suzy's Chocolate chip gooey bars, engagement brownies, strawberry rhubarb pie and sour cream poppy seed cake. They were as promised, excellent. She also does not use any hard to get ingredients: every thing i made was made primarily from ingredients i already had and those things i was missing were easy to find. Like her previous book The Fifty Dollar Dinner Party, I have thoroughly enjoyed this book and will buy more to give as gifts.