Cooking for the Bazaar

Tomorrow we will have the annual Holiday Bazaar at our church. Sponsored by our “Wednesday Worker” craft group, we offer all sorts of handmade crafts and holiday decorations, a big spread of baked goods and preserved items, lots of jewelry, and a huge selection of “Trash & Treasure”. In addition, we serve a breakfast of muffins, cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, etc. One of the items I provide for the breakfast is this pear cake:

Pear Bundt Cake
1 can (15-1/4 ounces) pears in light syrup
1 package (18-1/4 ounces) white cake mix
2 egg whites
1 egg
2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar

Drain pears, reserving the syrup; chop pears. Place pears and syrup in a mixing bowl; add dry cake mix, egg whites and egg. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high for 4 minutes.
Coat a 10-in. fluted tube pan with nonstick cooking spray and dust with flour. Add batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Yield: 16 servings.

I always make a few things for the bake sale area including my Van Gogh cake and bags of these crackers:

Seasoned Oyster Crackers
16-20 oz. plain oyster crackers
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Original Buttermilk Recipe salad dressing mix
¼ tsp. lemon pepper
½ to 1 tsp. dill weed
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¾ to 1 cup vegetable or canola oil

Spread crackers into a jelly roll pan. Combine remaining ingredients and drizzle over crackers, stirring to coat well. Place in a warm oven (lowest setting) for 15-20 minutes, stirring once halfway through.

This year I also tried a new recipe. Of course mine don’t look like the picture in the magazine, but they still taste okay. Not the best, but good enough to sell. From a recipe submitted to Simple & Delicious magazine by Rebecca Clark of Warrior, AL., they're called Oatmeal Surprise Cookies.

1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 ¾ cups quick-cooking oats
1 ½ cups chocolate-covered raisins

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Combine the flour, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in oats and raisins.

Drop by tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto greased baking sheets. Flatten slightly. Bake at 350º for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to wire racks. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 3 dozen.

Here's hoping for a successful day!!