Have You Heard About The World's Largest Bake Sale {And Butter Toffee Flower Sandwich Cookie Recipe By Sandra Lee}

Tomorrow, on March 29, 2011, Sandra Lee is hosting the World’s Largest Bake Sale at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The event will benefit the Food Bank of New York, featuring sweet and savory baked goods from 30 of New York’s favorite chefs, restaurants, and food shops. Sandra is committed to ending childhood hunger, and collaborated with food industry icons Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse, and Rosanna Scotto will be attending this event, along with Food Network Star Duff Goldman, from “Ace of Cakes.” Bakers throughout the United States, are coming together and hosting similar bake sales to raise funds for local food banks. What a wonderful event!

To celebrate and encourage baking, Sandra Lee is sharing her recipe for Butter Toffee Flower Sandwich cookies.

Butter Toffee Flower Sandwiches

Prep 35 minutes
Chill 30 minutes
Bake 8 minutes per batch
Cool 5 minutes per batch
Oven 375°F
Makes 12 cookie sandwiches

1 pouch (17.5 ounces) chocolate chip cookie mix, Betty Crocker®
3⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon imitation butter flavoring, McCormick®

FILLING

1 cup whipped buttercream frosting, Betty Crocker®
1⁄4 cup powdered sugar, sifted, Domino®/C&H®
3⁄4 cup toffee bits, Heath®

1. Spoon cookie mix into a wire-mesh strainer set over a large bowl. Sift cookie mix through
strainer, leaving chocolate chips in strainer (reserve chocolate chips for another use). Add flour,
oil, eggs, and butter flavoring to cookie mix in bowl; stir until dough comes together. Shape into
a ball; wrap in plastic wrap. Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°F. Line cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper; set aside.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out chilled dough to 1⁄4-inch thickness. Using a 3-inch flower
cookie cutter, cut 12 shapes from dough. Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter, cut out each
flower center. Reroll scrap dough; cut out another 12 flower shapes, but do not cut out centers.
Transfer flowers to prepared cookie sheet(s), spacing cookies 2 inches apart.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or just until starting to brown. Cool on cookie sheet(s) for 5 minutes.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool completely.
5. For filling, in a medium bowl, stir together frosting and powdered sugar until well mixed. Gently
stir in 1⁄2 cup of the toffee bits.
6. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the filling onto each of the whole flower cookies. Top each with
a cutout flower cookie. Sprinkle a scant teaspoon of the remaining toffee bits in the center of
each cutout.

*Excerpted from the book, Sandra Lee Bake Sale Cookbook, by Sandra Lee
Copyright © 2011 SLSH Enterprises, Inc. www.sandralee.com

What can you do? Attend one of these bake sales and fill up your cookie jar. Organize your own bake sale and donate the proceeds to your local Food Bank, or bake a batch of your favorite goodies and deliver them to your local soup kitchen. Goodness, you could even donate an afternoon of your time and volunteer for one of these organzations. Big or small, it all helps!!!

Remember, you may not be able to do everything, but you can refuse to do nothing!

What do you do to help in your community?