Has the note come home again with your kid, looking for contributions to a bake sale to raise funds? Stuck for ideas? We seem to get several requests a year from our school, Scouts or other associations, and I’m always on the lookout for new bake sale recipes.
From cookies to bars to traybakes, this list is guaranteed to give you plenty of ideas for your next bake sale cooking session.
So bookmark this one and keep it handy for the next bake sale request.
Bake Sale Ideas: Bars and Squares
#1. Blueberry Crumb Bars

These Blueberry Crumb Bars have been adapted from SmittenKitchen.com, and would also work equally as well with other fruits.
Using a food processor to make the dough makes this even easier to pull together. Makes approx. 36 small rectangles.
#2. Rice Krispie Chewie Bars

These rice krispie chewies with mini marshmallows are a great recipe for bake sales (and also birthday parties!). You can use food colouring to make them different fun colours too.
You get about 18-24 rice krispie treats depending on the portion size from this recipe.
#3. Avalanche Bars
Another variation on the standard Rice Krispie bars, we defy anyone to try these Avalanche Bars from CookiesandCups.com and not love them.
They are delicious!
#4. No Bake Kitchen Sink Cake Bars

Looking for a delicious refrigerator cake recipe? Try this No Bake Kitchen Sink Cake recipe, so simple and easy and quick to make.
Once you master the basic recipe, you can add any ingredients you like. This recipe makes a full baking/cookie tray of bars which when cut up will give you approximately 24 portions.
#5. Chocolate Blondies

This Chocolate Blondies recipe fills a 26cm x 26cm dish. You’ll get 16 large sized blondies out of the mixture, or more if you cut them smaller. The recipe works with most mini bars, easter egg chocolate, or you could pour in some mini smarties, marshmallows etc.
#6. Lemon Bars

One of my stand by recipes, these lemon bars are divine. I think it’s the combination of shortbread base and lemon curd topping. These twice-baked lemon bars are simply delicious and I’ve always found they sold out at bake sales.
#7. Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars

Try Erin’s Outrageously Delicious Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bar Recipe, you can whip these sweet treats up in a breeze.
These most chocolatey delicious cookie bars are always a winner at bake sales.
#8. Rocky Road

Rocky Road or chocolate refrigerator cake is very easy to mix up and will set in about 3 hours.
You can vary the additional ingredients, e.g. marshmallows, dried berries or other sweet treats if you are so inclined.
#9. Flapjacks

The addition of mixed dried fruits and various seeds along with the oats in this Flapjacks recipe from Wholesome Ireland, means that they are essentially a power bar.
Great for bake sales and of course you’ll have to test one out with a cuppa before you send them in!
Bake Sale Ideas: Cookies
#10. Chocolate Chip Cookies

There’s no more classic cookie than Chocolate Chip Cookies and this recipe makes the real sticky cookies like the ones you get in the States. Keep a roll of the dough in the fridge and just cook it as you need it. Look out for packets of high quality chocolate chips, ideal for this recipe.
Or for a dairy-free version try Marlene’s Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies.
#11. Oatmeal Cookies

Grandma Dot’s Oatmeal Freezer Cookies are sure to go down a treat. You can make in advance and freeze it in smallish logs, which make about 8 cookies. By freezing smaller portions, the dough thaws more quickly.
#12. Sugar Cookies

This easy to to follow recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction is great for soft cut-out sugar cookies with crisp edges and room for lots of icing and sprinkles.
Use your favourite cookie cutter shapes and have fun baking and decorating!
#13. Peanut Butter Cookies

These Peanut Butter Cookies from I am Baker don’t include flour so are gluten free.
Remember to label your cookies, with ingredients, to alert anyone with peanut allergies.
#14. Gummy Bear Thumbprint Cookies
Melt your favourite colour gummy bear in the middle of these cookies for a completely different (and colourful) cookie surprise.
This cookie recipe by Justapinch.com is nice and simple to follow.
#15. Jam Tart Heart Cookies

These jam tarts hearts are really easy to do and quick to put together. It’s amazing how you forget that good old jam is sooo tasty!
Ideal for fun cooking with children too.
#16. Emoji Cookies
These emoji cookies, from Nerdy Nummies, will go down a treat with kids and adults alike.
Bake Sale Ideas: Cakes
#17. Lemon Drizzle Cake

This Lemon Drizzle Cake has a secret ingredient, potato! You won’t believe it until you try this Sweet Potato Lemon Drizzle Cake. The potatoes make it wonderfully moist and light. May sound unusual but it’s well worth a try!
This recipe makes 1 x 2lb loaf tin of lemon cake. It does require a decent amount of time in the oven to allow the potatoes to cook properly in the cake mix.
#18. Vanilla Cake

This vanilla cake recipe is perfect made as a tray-bake, as it can transport easily and then be sliced into bars. It’s not a fancy recipe – it’s basically a madeira cake which is baked in a deep roasting dish (20 x 26cm).
The reason for such a deep dish is so that you can pile it high with icing, sprinkles or whatever decorations – then cover the top with cling film when transporting it without damaging what is inside.
#19. Banana Cake Bread

Add chocolate chips to jazz up this Banana Cake Bread. Bake this in a rectangular tin and you can cut it easily into smaller portions for a bake sale.
This cake keeps well for days (if you can keep it!) as it’s also great as a lunchbox treat and is always a hit with afternoon tea.
#20. Beetroot Chocolate Cake

Try this beetroot chocolate cake recipe from Wholesome Ireland, it is dense and moist. You can bake it either in a cake tin or loaf tin.
There is no creaming as you’re not trying to introduce air into the mixture and if you don’t have a stand mixer or electric mixer you can still make this cake with ease.
#21. Country Apple Cake

This recipe for Country Apple Cake may bring back a few memories amongst Irish mums who would have used Deirdre Madden’s cookbook at school for Leaving Cert home economics. It is gently spiced with cloves and cinnamon or mixed spice.
Don’t Miss…
Pack a punch with plenty of goodness and deliciousness with these easy and healthy lunchbox bars – they’re perfect for hungry kids!
#22. Ginger Cake with Lemon Icing

One of my neighbours gave me her mum’s recipe for Ginger Cake and we’ve never stopped making it since, it’s very light and keeps well so you can make it the day before the bake sale. My youngest daughter suggested trying lemon icing with it and that made it extra delicious!
#23. Banoffee Cake

This Banoffee Cake recipe from Donal Skehan certainly gives Banoffee Pie a run for its money with its moist banana sponge layered with a sweet caramel frosting.
#24. Strawberry Shortcakes

These strawberry shortcakes are simple to make, just make your shortbread rounds, then sandwich with fresh cream and sliced strawberries.
Yum! And they look so pretty for a bake sale.
#25. Lemon Yoghurt Cake

This Lemon Yoghurt Cake uses yoghurt to moisten the cake. There’s an icing sugar-lemon glaze to make it extra lemon-y.
#26. Layered Chocolate Cake
Am Ina Garten classic, she declared that this double layered chocolate cake “the most fabulous chocolate cake that I’ve ever made,” when Food & Wine first ran her recipe in 2007.
The buttermilk keeps the cake moist and light, and the bit of coffee in the cake and frosting keeps the sweetness in check.
#27. Iced Almond Cake

The icing on this Iced Almond Cake is very simple, made with icing sugar and water, and you can decorate as you please. It only takes 35 minutes to bake so you can whip one up quickly for any bake sale!
#28. Raspberry Shortcakes

These Raspberry Shortcakes use vanilla cream and fresh raspberries stacked with shortcake rounds. Use a crimped cutter to make your shortcake rounds look extra pretty.
Dusted with icing sugar they look truly stunning – fit for any bake sale!
Bake Sale Ideas: Muffins & Cupcakes
#29. Blueberry Muffins

This Blueberry Muffins recipe uses vanilla yoghurt to help make the muffins extra moist.
Don’t overmix and don’t worry if your mixture is still a bit lumpy when you add them to your muffin cases, it will make for better muffins.
#30. Carrot Muffins

These healthy carrot muffins are packed full of carrots and sultanas and use honey instead of sugar.
The texture of these carrot muffins is more of a dense pudding than that of a springy doughy muffin that you would typically buy in the shops.
#31. Lemon Buns with Lemon Icing

These Lemon Buns with Lemon Butter Icing are an ideal, quick bake for a bake sale and kids love little buns so make them in a smaller muffin tin for extra cute small buns.
The lemon icing is particularly delicious and you could colour it with different pastel food colours not just yellow.
#32. Banana, Cherry & White Chocolate Cupcakes

These Banana, Cherry & White Chocolate cupcakes are perfect for bake sales. They’re not smothered with frosting, so they’re less messy to eat than a traditional cupcake. Plus they don’t have too much sugar in them, relying on the bananas for sweetness instead.
Bake Sale Ideas: Other Sweet Treats
#33. Rice Krispie Treats

Easy to make and easy to eat, Rice Krispie Treats are ideal to make for bake sales as you can whip them up quickly and put them into muffin or cupcake cases. Always a winner with kids and adults!
This recipe makes approx 18-24 rice krispie treats depending on the size of the treat.
#34. Marshmallow Cake Pops

This is really the simplest of recipes, and they do look great, so if you’re stuck for time, these would be perfect.
Take some marshmallows, stick them onto skewer sticks. Dip in melted chocolate or white chocolate and then dip into sprinkles to cover them. That’s it!
#35. Caramel Popcorn
This would be a nice idea for a bake sale, make up a batch of caramel popcorn and make parchment paper cones for finger-friendly snacking.
Here’s a caramel popcorn recipe from Justataste.com.
#36. Oreo Cake Pops
Make Oreo Cake Pops by inserting lollipop sticks into Oreo cookies then dip them into melted white chocolate and into sprinkles to decorate.
How to Package Food for Bake Sale
You’ve gone to all the trouble to make lovely home baked treats, so why not consider packaging them nicely for display? Kin Community has neat ideas in this video.
Halloween Bake Sale Ideas
#37. Halloween Popcorn Balls

These sweet popcorn balls are best served on the day they are made but you can eat them up to 3 days after popping the corn. You can also use wafer ice cream cones to serve them, which would look nice on a tray for a bake sale.
#38. Ghostly Bites

These Ghostly Bites are suitably “Halloweeny” and can be made gluten free or with conventional ingredients.
This recipe makes 10 ping-pong sized ghosts.
#39. Halloween Tea Barm Brack

Barm Brack is a very traditional Irish fruit tea bread make at Halloween and used to contain various objects baked into the tea bread, most traditionally a ring and if you found the ring, you would be wed within the year. This Barm Brack recipe uses tea to flavour the cake and add extra moistness.
#40. Jack Skellington Cake Pops

These Jack Skellington Cake Pops are perfect for any Halloween bake sale, you’ll find recipe details here.
#41. Halloween Pumpkin Scones

A great way to use up pumpkin flesh that you have scooped out for making your Halloween Lanterns. We often think of savoury dishes for pumpkin, but it’s sweetness lends itself perfectly to sweet treats too.
These delicious pumpkin scones travel well for easy bake sale transport too.
Christmas Bake Sale Ideas
#42. Eloise’s Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Winner of a past MyKidsTime Best Christmas Cookie competition, Eloise’s Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are easy to make and are sure to be a real hit with kids and parents alike.
#43. Christmas Star Biscuits

These easy to make Christmas Star Biscuits were submitted by mum Deirdre C for our Christmas Cookie Recipe Competition. They are also ideal to make as presents for teachers, friends and relations.
#44. Mincemeat and Almond Shortbread

Shortbread is always a classic for Christmas, why not try this Mincemeat and Almond Shortbread Recipe to get a real flavour of Christmas. Ideal with a cup of hot chocolate, tea or coffee on a cold winter’s eve.
#45. Rudolph Buns

Using a traditional cupcake recipe these super-cute Rudolph Buns are sure to be a hit at your bake sale.
If you are pressed for time and don’t have time to make chocolate icing simply melt your favourite chocolate bar and dip the buns into the melted chocolate before decorating.
#46. Cranberry & White Chocolate Chip Cookies

This festive Cranberry and White Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe was submitted for our Christmas Treats Recipe Competition. I have made them myself and can assure you that they are not just for Christmas but are delicious year round!
#47. Gingerbread Men

Simple to make and easy bake. Why not decorate these biscuits in fun ways to make them more interesting for your bake sale. These Gingerbread Men (and Women) also make the house smell great!
Or to really push the boat out for your bake sale, why not make a whole Gingerbread Village?
#48. Rosie’s Melting Snowmen Cookies

Another finalist in our Best Christmas Cookie Competition, Rosie’s Melting Snowman Cookies only contain a few ingredients and if you’re stuck for time (or inclination!), you could cheat by using shop bought biscuits and decorating them!
#49. Christmas Tree Edible Decorations

Follow this great recipe for Chocolate Christmas Tree Edible Decorations that are sure to be a winner with everyone attending your bake sale. They are really simple to make and look very professional.
#50. Chocolate Bark
These yummy looking Chocolate Bark ideas from LoveBites would also be a lovely bake sale idea.
