Living on Less – Stocking up for Holiday Baking and Beyond

It’s October and time to prepare for Holiday baking.  Yes, that’s right; it is time to buy those ingredients for Holiday baking and also for the upcoming year.

I remember a break time at work about 27 years ago that made a big impression on me.  This dear lady was always bringing in goodies during the year and especially at Christmas time.   Back then we were living in Waterloo, in the middle of the farm crisis and Recession and John Deere, a major employer in town, had laid off a significant amount of its employees.  Yet, this woman would bring in goodies that had caramels, nuts and all kinds of chocolate.  Finally, one day at break time someone said that they couldn’t afford all the expensive ingredients she used in baking.  She shared her secret.  She started to buy all of her holiday baking ingredients beginning in October when all the sales started.  A little bit every week purchased on sale was the way that she stockpiled her baking ingredients for Christmas.

I have been doing the same thing for years but have taken it to the next level.  In the fall, I purchase all my chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, almond bark, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, cinnamon chips, mini Hershey Kisses, brickle bits, granulated sugar, brown sugar and confectioner’s sugar, evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, marshmallow crème, oatmeal, and well, you get the idea, for holiday baking and for the entire upcoming year.  I take the large canisters (33 to 35 oz.) that coffee comes in and I wash and dry them thoroughly and I use them to store all of my chocolate chips.  I usually have about 5 coffee containers of semi sweet chocolate chips at a time along with an assortment of containers of butterscotch chips, milk chocolate chips and white chocolate chips and more.  There are four shelves in my basement just for these types of baking ingredients.

Flour does have an expiration date which is usually about 9 months after purchase.  I take the bags of flour and put them in my freezer for 24 hours.  I read a long time ago that if you do this your flour will remain bug free.  Then I remove the bags from the freezer and store all of my 5 lb. flour bags in a Rubbermaid bin.  I can get about 24 bags of flour in 1 bin.  I sprinkle a few bay leaves around and on top of the bags to also help keep the bugs away.  Since I have done this, I have never had bugs in my flour.  I always mark on the tops of the flour bags the expiration date.  I store my granulated sugar, brown sugar and confectioner’s sugar in Rubbermaid bins also.

Okay, you don’t need to go to the level that I go to in stockpiling baking supplies but if you only do a small amount of baking, why not buy everything when it is on sale for later use?  During the fall you will start to see a lot of coupons for baking items, which when matched with a store sale, adds up to big savings.  I never go out and pay full price for any of these ingredients and I never have to, since I stock up when they are on sale.

Let me give you an example of what I do.  Last week I purchased three 16 oz bags of caramels for $1.88 a bag on sale.  I will use these for my Christmas pretzel treats.  I take pretzel rods and dip them in melted caramel, then chocolate or almond bark, roll in crushed M & M’s or brickle bits, and then I drizzle a little more chocolate on top.  All of those ingredients will be purchased a bag at a time, on sale and most using a coupon, over the next several weeks.   Best of all, I don’t have to worry about a store being out of a key item when I buy ahead.  That is the second reason I buy ahead on sale.  I never have to worry about the store being out of pretzel rods when I want to make these special Christmas treats.

Because I track prices and have done so for years, I notice when there is a big jump on the price of an item.  Lately butter and granulated sugar, which are staples in baking, have risen in price.

I love to use butter in baking and in cooking.  I had been paying $1.69 a lb. for butter on sale as of last month and freezing it.  Now butter is around $2.99 a lb.  At that price I decided to stock up on margarine this week to use in baking until the price of butter comes down.  Fareway has Blue Bonnet margarine on sale this week for only 50 cents a lb. so I bought several lbs.  Remember, Hy-Vee will match this ad also.  I haven’t used margarine in my cookie recipes for years, but will be using it in baking until the price of butter comes down.

Sugar prices are going up also.  It is kind of a bother when this happens as I was used to knowing that when a 4 lb. bag of granulated sugar went on sale for $1.49 that it was time to stock up.  Now it looks like anything under $1.99 for a 4 lb. bag will be a good deal.  With prices going up on some items, you have to be a savvy, smart shopper and buy in bulk on the items that you will use.

Even though prices on some baking ingredients are going up, I will continue to bake for the following reasons:  Home baked goodies taste so much better than store bought; second, you know the quality of the ingredients that go into that recipe; third, home baked goodies make great gifts; and last, home baked goodies are easy on the budget when you buy the ingredients on sale.

To get my point across, here are the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies.  My husband says that this is the only cookie that God intended for man to eat.  I bought all of these ingredients on sale.

1.  2 ¼ cups flour – Purchased @ .99 cents for a 5 lb. bag or .167 cents for 2 ¼ cups;

2.  1 tsp. baking soda – Purchased @.49 cents for a 16 oz. box or .005 cents per teaspoon;

3.  ½ tsp. salt – Purchased @.55 cents for a 16 oz. box or .0035 cents for 1/2 teaspoon;

4.  1 cup butter or margarine – Purchased @ $1.69 for 1 lb. butter (.845 for 1 cup) or Purchased @ .50 cents for 1 lb. margarine (.25 for 1 cup)

5.  ¾ cup granulated sugar – Purchased @ $1.49 for a 4 lb. bag or .139 for ¾ cups

6.  ¾ cup brown sugar – Purchased @ $1.00 for a 2 lb. bag or .164 for ¾ cups

7.  1 tsp. vanilla extract – I make my own extract using Vodka and vanilla beans – .05 for 1 teaspoon

8.  2 eggs – Purchased @ .88 cents a dozen or .146 for 2 eggs

9.  1 cup chocolate chips – Purchased @ $1.49 for a 12 oz. bag or – .745 for 1 cup

Yes, I have measured and costed it out.  The most expensive ingredient is the butter, so the margarine may be a good alternative.  The next expensive ingredient is the chocolate chips.  The recipe calls for a full bag of chocolate chips but I always use half the bag or one cup.  I am able to bake 3 dozen good sized chocolate chip cookies for only $2.27 if using butter and $1.67 if using margarine.  Even if prices go up, this recipe shouldn’t exceed $2.50 to make.

I feel some of the cheapest cookies you can bake are regular sugar cookies and a snicker doodle cookie.  Anyone would be happy to receive a gift of these cookies.

Baking cookies is easy and if you like a frugal easy gift, go with cookies.  If you don’t like to bake, consider making your own cookie mixes to give away.  There are several mix recipes or recipes for gifts in a jar out on the internet.  Making your own cookie mixes to give away is a great option if you don’t like to bake.  Go ahead and buy those ingredients on sale and make your own mixes.  You can pour the mixes into mason jars or save those spaghetti sauce jars and use those instead.  Simply wash those jars and lids thoroughly and then cover the lid with some pretty paper or fabric.

I love to make homemade goodies for my family and others.  When you purchase these ingredients in bulk and on sale you will always have the ingredients on hand.  You can easily bake cookies or other homemade treats to give away as a gift and it won’t break your budget doing so.  A homemade gift is a frugal gift and in my opinion, the best gift to receive.