I love everything about charity bakesales. I think my favorite part is when folks are first dropping off their treats and you get to see all the enthusiasm; everyone from professional bakers to little kids who frosted their first cupcake are all smiley and excited. I love during the sale when the families with little children come and a parent tells the kid they can just get one thing and they look like they are going to cry having to make the decision. I love it when the joggers slow down, try and look away, but can’t resist all the sweet treats in front of them.
Austin’s vegan community has been putting on bakesales for years now and every time they get a little bit bigger, the offerings become more elaborate, and the amount of money we get to donate to organizations that help animals or people in need gets a little bit heftier. I’m hoping this year will keep on trend because we have more sponsors than ever before AND a new vegan trailer is having their grand opening party on North Loop in Counter Culture’s old spot at the same time!!! On April 29th MonkeyWrenchBooks is going to be hosting our World Wide Vegan bakesale and donating all the money to Sunday Day Farms Animal Sanctuary. Even Brooke from Sunny Day will be at the sale so if you want to find out more information about their wonderful animal sanctuary she’ll be there for the asking. They are such a wonderful organization and I am so happy that we are donating money to animals that have been abused or neglected.
We still need your help! The more people that bake the better so please sign up if you haven’t had a chance yet. If you are a little intimidated by vegan baking let me assure you that many pioneers have already done a ton of work figuring out how to do it and it is easy to get great results! There are lots of fantastic recipes out there on the ppk, the worldwide vegan bakesale site, oh she glows, and tons of other blogs. Here are some guidelines for substitutions. The trickiest part for those new to vegan baking is usually honey (it’s made by bees so it isn’t vegan), non-dairy creamer (which contains dairy!) and weird ingredients with long scienc-y names. Usually at the bottom of an ingredients list it will say “contains Milk” but if you aren’t sure ask the friendly folks and Wheatsville, Whole Foods, or even Central Market and they should be able to help you out if you can’t google it. Most vegans don’t worry about “May contain trace elements” because that just means that the same machines were used to create the product.
If you still aren’t sure about your baking prowess please consider helping staff the table at the event and most importantly spreading the news about the bakesale by inviting all of your friends on facebook, posting about it on twitter (use #atxvegan if you want to be a badass), pinning recipes in pinterest, taking photos on instagram, adding bakesale volunteer to your Linked in resume, + 1 on google plus and whatever other cockamamie networks you can think of. 
And don’t forget to come out Sunday April 29th for some decadent treats. There is going to be gluten free and sugar free options so no excuses! In addition to cookies, cupcakes, and cinnamon buns there is also going to be Donut Holes from Red Rabbit Bakery! And Zico is donating boxes of coconut water!
And oh yeah, I am going to make ICE CREAM SANDWICHES because I love you all and I love Sunny Day Farms Animal Sanctuary. Sometimes it is hard to believe that I get to make ice cream and cookies to help poor animals that have been abused or neglected. Then they get to live in a world where they don’t have to worry and they are taken care of and loved. It’s bakesale magic!