Oh those brownies...

Everything looks wonderful!

Everything does look delish. WOuld you share the recipe for those evil looking brownies? I may have to make them for the 6th grade Valentines dance

Alexa

Yikes, I think I just gained 5 pounds!

St. Jude is such a wonderful organization - hope they raised a boatload of money.

Tamara

Oye! Now you went and did it!

Yummmmm.....!!!!! Wonderful treats for a wonderful cause. Let us know how everything sells!

Tracey

Alexa, the brownies were pretty easy, you just start with a pan full of your favorite brownies, bake them like always. She made a 9x13 pan.

Mix 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter and 2 cups of powdered sugar, it's like the filling for buckeyes. Spread that on the cooled brownies and stick it in the garage (or refrigerator, LOL) until it gets cold. Frost it with chocolate buttercream and let the frosting set before you cut them.

Voila! Peanut butter truffle brownies.

Tamara, it is a good cause and they haven't met their goal yet, so they're scrambling. Since Ashley IS my daughter, her first thought was a bake sale, of course!

Annie

There's no doubt in my mind that everything will sell! From scratch sells eveytime and just add in the Ashley factor...nope, nothing will be coming back home!

Nancy

Nancy, I hope you're right, especially those brownies and scones.

I just have no willpower if there's a scone anywhere in sight...

Annie

Thanks Annie!

I think I will make them and cut them into heart shapes for the dance. Maybe even use a ganache coating instead of the chocolate buttercream to make it super special for them.

Thanks again for the instructions!

Alexa

It's super easy, Alexa, and they are so sweet that somehow I know the boys will love them. The ganache would be my preference, probably in dark chocolate to cut the "sweet" a little, but we wanted something that would "set up" and not stick to the plastic wrap since she's selling them individually, so it was buttercream.

Plus it was a good experiment, I think we're making these for part of the dessert table for Amanda's wedding reception.

Annie

Everything looks so good, but the brownies are really calling my name.
Hope you have a great sale.

Annie everything looks good especially the Blueberry Struesel Muffins! I hope everything sells because it is for a REALLY good cause.

My husbands brother died of leukemia at the age of 16 at St. Judes Hospital. My husband says that place treated his brother and his family with such grace, dignity and love and the best medical care that was available at that time. They have come such a long way in leukemia research since his brothers death but it does take money. My husband has money taken out of his paycheck every two weeks and donates to them and has for many, many years.

I really hope the sale is successful.

Tell us more about the bake sale event. Is this something that's going on in communities nationally? I think a bake sale is a good idea for those of us that like to bake, but can't afford the calories and other side effects of eating baked goods.

All your goodies look delicious! I bet my boss would like those brownies.

Sally

I love a good, old-fashioned bake sale. I don't see them around here very much, and it's lovely that your contributions were a family affair. I'm so impressed by everyone's delicious looking efforts!

Sally, the St. Jude's fundraising is a national affair, but Ashley and some of her friends decided it was a charity they wanted to raise money for after spending a week in the pediatric department at the hospital where she's doing her internship.

They set a personal goal and were not meeting that goal, so they decided to find ways to raise money. Being my child, food came immediately to mind. So, they are having a bake sale. They've also gotten together a karaoke contest at a local bowling alley with part of the entry fees going to St. Jude's and they did some kind of snowboarding thing I never did understand, but the college kids had a great time. Since college kids don't have a lot of money, it didn't make much but they made a little and enjoyed it, I guess.

Maybe it's because we're such a small community, but right now in the Courthouse break room are Ashley's baked goods, a box of candy bars for the White Cloud High School Band Boosters, a big plastic box for empty pop bottles, proceeds to Relay for Life/Cancer society. We had a county employee bake sale for a District Court Employee whose husband was in Hospice and a spaghetti dinner for another employee whose child was injured and the family was staying at a motel to be near the hospital so that went for expenses. The power went out at a local food bank and all the meat in one of the freezers had to be thrown out. Many people here pledged 10 pounds of meat to replace that, and local hunters are donating meat at record levels.

Now I got an email from the Sheriff's Department that a local family has a 14 year old girl with a malignant brain tumor and the expenses are overwhelming. The county employees are raising money for the family by...you guessed it...having a bake sale.

We do tend to have fund raisers more for local families and local needs than for national charities, but once in a while, we get involved in those too.

In an area where unemployment is hanging around 15% and 25% of the kids under 16 are considered living in poverty by national standards, those of us fortunate to have jobs do whatever we can to help our neighbors, even if it is just a little.

Annie

That is really sad, Annie. I hope they can raise lots of money for the family.

My niece is a doctor at St. Jude's , so it is near to my heart. I know the wonderful work they do.

Annie it all looks wonderful. Think I may have to make scones for breakfast.

Hope it all sold.

Wow, Annie, what a wonderful daughter you have and a wonderful community you live and work in. In spite of the serious problems, you all pull together to help each other out, and do it in fun and creative ways.

Sally

Thank you, Sally, Ashley is a good kid and, as tends to be the norm in very small communities, everyone pulls together.

Everything sold except 8 of those chocolate/marshmallow muffins, so the girls got an unexpected treat. A lot of "customers" donated extra so they made more than they expected. The fundraising ends today, and they think they are near their goal.

Kathleen, St. Jude's is a good cause, so I'm happy Ashley got involved. As for the local girl, it doesn't look good, doctors have given her a 30% chance of surviving a year, the tumor is malignant and deep in the middle of her brain. They've already done surgery and implanted those little radioactive pellets, and she's had to have significant rehab. The doctors say she "has the fight of a lion", so we'll all do what we can to help. Plus, we've had a couple of "miracles", cases where the doctors say there is no possibility of survival and those kids not only survived but are thriving, so if she doesn't give up, we sure aren't going to.

Annie

Annie, I think that kids just don't listen to those 30% odds the way adults do and react better because of it. Doom and gloom kinda rolls off them. It's great what ya'll are doing for this girl and the cause. I'm also a tremendous believer in the power of prayer!

Annie, I'll keep her in my thoughts and prayers. I know first hand what a kid who fights like lion and who has doctors, family and the prayers of strangers can do.

You go girl.....