Welcome to Coupon Teacher for today’s Beautiful Christmas series post!
Today I am talking about ideas to do that holiday baking without breaking the bank.
Ideas to Save Money on Ingredients:
- Watch your local store sales for the next two weeks. (Most needed baking items will go on sale very soon.) If you don’t have time to run here and there, take your local ads to Walmart and price match.
- Search the database for coupons to match any sale items or even items that you just need for a recipe. Saving a little here and there helps!
- Use generic brand ingredients. If you don’t find the name brand on sale, you can substitute the generic brands. Just make sure it is a generic brand you trust.
- Use different recipes that require similar ingredients. Does one recipe only call for half a can of sweetened, condensed milk? Look for another recipe that uses the same ingredient, so there is no waste.
- Only buy the right amount of pricier items. Need a half a cup of pecans? Don’t buy a whole bag. Check the bulk bins in your store for shelled or unshelled nuts. They are usually cheaper.
Ideas to Get a Variety of Treats Without Breaking the Bank:
Very few families need 3-6 dozen of the same cookie or fudge! Below I have listed some ideas to help you have some yummy treats, but not enough to last you for the whole year.
1. Use your treats as gifts. I have given homemade treats to elders at church, neighbors, and co-workers. If you are good “baker”, these always seem to be appreciated. You can make 4 or 5 kinds of cookies and treats without feeling guilty about the cost or the amount you will have left!
2. Host a Cookie Swap Party. Usually for a cookie swap, you have 6-8 people who participate. Each one brings a dozen cookies for each other person coming to the party. That way, each person gets 6-8 dozen cookies. Each dozen will be a different delight! (And you only had to mix up one batch…)
3. Host a Cookie Baking Party. This is what I do each year (although I usually provide the ingredients). Each person that is invited brings one needed ingredient, and the host provides the rest. Everyone comes together and bakes cookies all day. At the end of the day, you can divide the cookies with each person taking their favorites.
Not much of a baker, but want to try something festive? I am going to leave you with a VERY simple recipe for Christmas cut-outs that is a ton of fun for kids and adults.
Christmas Cut-outs
2/3 cup butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 egg
1 TBS milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
Beat butter on high for about a minute. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined. Beat in egg, milk and vanilla until combined. Mix in the flour, slowly. If you need to stir in remaining flour by hand, do so. Divide dough in half and chill for at least one hour. On lightly floured surface roll out to 1/8 inch thick, cut into desired shapes. Place 1 inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes. Just until edges are firm and bottoms are lightly browned. ( The edges are beginning to brown.) Let cool and then frost.
Makes 2-3 dozen cookies. You can make your own simple icings with powered sugar, milk, and food coloring.
Frosting 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2-3 TBS of milk
3-4 drops of coloring
So, will you share your favorite cookie recipe or Christmas treat in the comments? (Oh, and make sure you check back for the rest of the Beautiful Christmas series!)
I disclose : There may be affiliate links in this post.
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Thank you for these ideas. My friends and I get together to make candy and I give them as gifts to teachers in my Reading Department. I have one teacher who is not teaching reading this year, but she still wants candy
It’s a lot of fun and not that expensive when you purchase the chocolate a little at a time using coupons for Michael’s and AC Moore.
Thanks Janice! Buying the chocolate like that is a great idea!
My 10 year old son and I take the weekend before Christmas break to make cookies and candies. He takes such pride in it and I think that his teachers can see that when he gives it to them. One of his after school care teachers asked in August if he was making more goodies for Christmas!
P.S. One of the easiest but most requested is the thin mints. It’s just Ritz crackers dipped in melted Andes mints.
Thank you for the simple cookie recipe and all the great ideas! Also thank you Cassandra for the thin mints recipe. Sounds yummy! I have a 1 1/2 year old and an almost 3 year old so we will be making simple cookies this year!
Oh how I wish I could come to your Cookie Baking Party, Shelly! So fun.
We dip the ends of Bugles snacks into melted white choclate and then dip them in colored cake sprinkles. Easy and a nice sweet salty pretty holiday snack that everyone loves. Good for kids to make.
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