by Michelle Jones, GrocerySavingTips.com
Tip # 1 - Bakery Cookies vs. Homemade Cookies
Bakery Cookies. 12 cookies for $3.99, or more? You've got to be kidding! Visit our Cookie Club for great recipes and make your own, www.CookieClubRecipes.com. You can also freeze most cookie doughs and bake a dozen up any time you want, for a fraction of the cost. And not only are home baked cookies healthier and cheaper for you and your family, they taste better too!
Tip # 2 - Birthday Cakes
If you need large cakes more than once a year go ahead and invest in a quality sheet cake pan so you can save money by baking them at home. That's what we did a few years ago and it's been a lot of fun being able to make homemade birthday cakes large enough to feed the entire neighborhood. For under $5.00!
Tip # 3 - Cake Baking
Just as with birthday cakes, the same goes for all non-decorated and decorated cakes. You will save a fortune making your own at home. You can find hundreds of free cake recipes online and at our cake site, www.CakeClubRecipes.com.
Tip # 4 - Cupcakes for School Parties
Did you know you can buy cupcakes and mini-cupcakes, as well as lovely decorated cakes and other desserts at warehouse discount stores like Sam's Club and Costco's? Our local school board has instituted a new rule for bringing birthday cupcakes (and any type of snacks to be shared) to school, they have to be store-bought. I know, it's a good rule in these times, but isn't it a shame? Our youngest just started Kindergarten and when it came time to celebrate her birthday (the first week of school!), a good friend told me I could get them in quantity at Sam's Club. Boy was she right! I got 4 boxes of mini-cupcakes (which normally sell at the grocery stores for $2.99 each), for $6.87. That's a savings of over $5.00!
Tip # 5 - Cupcake Sprinkles
I don't really care for bakery cupcakes, I don't know why, they just don't usually taste as good as homemade. Unfortunately, my kids love them. I think it's because of the sprinkles. So if you've got kids in the house this would be a great tip, keep a good supply of sprinkles at home and maybe (hopefully) they'll stop asking for bakery cupcakes!
Everyone loves presenting a delicious pie for dessert but with the added time and trouble of making a homemade crust, you may feel it's just easier to pick one up from the bakery. (And they're surely hard to resist when they go on sale!) But even when pies are on sale, it's still usually cheaper to make your own. And besides, bakeries almost always overcook their pie crust!
* * * BONUS RECIPE * * *
Here's my favorite recipe for homemade Pie Crust:
Ingredients
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. vegetable shortening (minus a little bit)
1 tsp. salt
4 T. cold water
Directions
In a large bowl, mix 1st three ingredients together with fingers gently. Add water and blend with fingers again until dough begins to form. Divide dough in half and roll each out onto floured surface to make 2 pie crusts. Enjoy!
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Tip # 7 - Muffins
Not only are bakery muffins VERY expensive, do you know how many fat grams are in those huge things? Trust me, you don't want to know! Make your own muffins at home and your wallet will thank you, as well as your waistline!
Tip # 8 - Doughnuts and Pastries
Doughnuts and pastries. We have found that grocery store donuts are often quite tasty and a lot cheaper than the more popular brands located throughout the store. You might want to try them sometime.
Tip # 9 - Best Bakery Tip
This will probably be my best bakery tip, of all. Don't go anywhere NEAR the bakery department unless you have to. Or, if you must, walk through it very quickly! ;o)
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Reader Tips...
"It's cheaper to make your own baked goods, so for convenience, bake large amounts at once, then freeze the extras in individual portions. You can freeze almost anything, including pancakes, waffles, muffins, cakes, cookies, etc. It's best to freeze the cooked food, not the batter, so it will keep longer. - Melisa Leduc
"Make your own doughnuts at home. Take store bought biscuits and use a small round object such as a soda cap to make the hole for the doughnut. Deep fry the doughnut and doughnut hole and sprinkle with sugar or make a glaze out of confectioners' sugar." April Conroe, of Texas
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Copyright 2003-2013 © by Michelle Jones, Founder of GrocerySavingTips.com. All rights reserved.
