I'm wondering if anyone is able to give me an idea of how much it costs to bake a batch of biscuits! Just some plain biscuits (nothing flash). I always hear that it is cheaper to make your own than it is to buy, but I've never seen any figures that back this up. I've started doing quite a bit of baking as hubby will munch through a packet of biscuits with coffee when he gets in from the morning milking, and over the course of a week that's a lot of packets!
elsielaurie1,
Jun 20, 4:44am
Home made biscuits are not only cheaper to make, they taste much better than store bought. Also you can make up big batches and freeze them. The price would depend on the ingredients you use but they are a long way cheaper than bought.
fourarms,
Jun 20, 4:46am
Yip I use the same excuse when I can't be bothered/don't have time to bake. When I do bake I try to make at least 2 or more batches.all depends on how long baby is asleep for :)
fourarms,
Jun 20, 4:50am
That's true - they do taste better. I made 4 lots this morning and 2 lots are almost gone already! Guess hubby and my teenage son like them! I am often lost for ideas as to what to bake, but have found some great ideas on here! I was just wondering of the cost of something plain like the lot from this morning - butter, brown sugar, flour and golden syrup.
ange164,
Jun 20, 5:18am
Aproximate pricing and a bit of guess work. $1 = 125g butter ($4 on special for a lb) .58 = one egg ($3.50 half doz ) .36 = 2 cups flour ($2.20 ish pams 1.5kg) .50 = guess work for cocoa, baking powder, maybe golden syrup. .30 guess work for handful of chocolate chips. $1 = half hour of oven time. Estimated cost for a batch of 30-40 basic biscuits = $3.74.
If you've got a fan bake oven and can do several cookie sheets at once even better. If you have your own eggs, or can buy in bulk - better still.The major difference is you can eat a couple of home made biccies and feel like you've actually eaten something. Bought ones can be munched on mindlessly and still feel hungry *if not sick* at the end of the packet. Go for things like anzac biccies that actually have some substance to them and you'll be well under way. Baking oaty slices and slabs of fruit cake is good too, or date scones perhaps with jam on.
Additionally, if he'll eat savoury stuff just as easily, if I have bacon and egg pie in the fridge, or self crusting quiche/frittata - dh will happily heat that up and eat it for late breakfast. He's a bit of a carnivore - anything with meat that's filling works well for him.
fourarms,
Jun 20, 7:30pm
Thanks for the pricing. It really is cheaper & like you say a packet of bickkies can be gone in no time without even knowing that you've had enough until you start to feel ill. I do need to get a bit more creative with my baking.savory scones is a good idea.
ange164,
Jun 20, 8:19pm
You didn't ask for ideas, but since you mention "getting creative." My usual recipes that I have in rotation Cakes: Chocolate cake, Carrot cake, Banana cake with coffee icing, Magical orange cake (but made with a lemon instead of an orange.) Fruit cake.
Biscuits: Short bread with chocolate chips, Anzac Afghan Peanut brownies Sometimes belgium cookies Ginger biscuits.
Slices: Albert slice Chocolate coconut brownie Weetbix slice and more rarely but sometimes - - Apple shortcake - Ginger crunch (very high in butter and sugar) - Louise cake. - Oaty date slice
Most recipes are in edmonds cook book.
timturtle,
Jun 20, 8:31pm
If you are worried about the price of power, you can make a lot of different uncooked slices
timturtle,
Jun 20, 8:32pm
If you are worried about the price of power, you can make a lot of different uncooked slices. But then again that is using bought biscuits ! Lol
elsielaurie1,
Jun 20, 8:33pm
Add some sultanas or the like. These kind of biscuits freeze well and don't take much thawing. Have you considered making fruit loaves as well! I know my men used to love a slice or two of loaf over a biscuit.Sounds like you're on the right track.And the secret is to make batches of food, not just a batch. More economical as well.
ange164,
Jun 20, 8:36pm
$3.74 would be a slight underestimation. I forgot the sugar! Sugar in 5kg on special can be about $2 per kg. so add about 50 cents too for a cup of sugar. $4.24 estimate.
fourarms,
Jun 20, 9:09pm
Thanks for all the ideas ange164. I think I'll make a copy of your list and work my way through it. I like making cakes, but they seem to disappear quicker than the biscuits! I think I might have to hide half of what I bake and ration what's in the pantry lol.
fourarms,
Jun 20, 9:11pm
Fruit loaf is a great idea. My mum used to make the yummiest one I've ever had. Will have to fish out the recipe.
dolphin101,
Jun 20, 9:15pm
I do baking when I all ready have oven on cooking roast or chicken have just made 2dozen date and ginger muffins of here
ange164,
Jun 20, 9:26pm
I see. Try cutting it up once it's cut-able - and wrapping the individual pieces in glad wrap, then putting it "free flow" in the freezer.Take out half a doz pieces at night to have it defrosted for the next day. This gives you the power of portion control for their health.
fourarms,
Jun 20, 10:02pm
Good idea.
punkinthefirst,
Jun 20, 10:45pm
Morning milking! That's just before breakfast, so save yourself some hassle (and him some weight gain) by setting the table the night before and make sure that cereal, at least, is ready-to-go when you all come in from the dairy. That way, he won't be hungry enough to eat you out of house and home when he comes in. Been there, done that!
fourarms,
Jun 21, 2:24am
Yep - morning milking. We have cereal before going milking and then he does a few other jobs before coming home, so he's not normally home till around 10am. Thankfully there is plenty to do on the farm to help keep the weight off! :)
duckmoon,
Jun 21, 3:58am
i dont know, but i have costed Sophie Gray's "Dana's Chocolate Cake" and it cost $6.20 - but does have 1C of cocoa in it.
cookiebarrel,
Jun 21, 8:32am
I have a bulk cookie recipe that I use, make the basic mix and then add the desired extra ingredients to it to make different varities, cocoa and cornflakes, milo, diced apricots, sultanas, coconut, choc chips, peanut butter and cocoa etc and had to do a costing for it.Before adding the extra bits, with power it came out to $5.48 a mix and that made 60 cookies.Looked at Bakerboys biscuits at New World tonight as the same size cookie and they are $4.99 for 20, so think it is definatly cheaper to make your own and if fan-bake is used can cook a lot more cookies for less cost than if only putting one tray at a time in. I also roll mixture in logs and freeze them, take out a log and cut it into discs and bake, by making a few different lots of flavours I can put a mixture of them onto a tray and bake a variety of them at one time. Always helps to buy ingredients that you can when on special and stock pile them.
Opps. I need to adjust my cost down by .75 cents then.Looking even better.Thanks drsr.
aktow,
Jun 22, 7:46am
ange164 wrote: Aproximate pricing and a bit of guess work. $1 = 125g butter ($4 on special for a lb) .58 = one egg ($3.50 half doz ) .36 = 2 cups flour ($2.20 ish pams 1.5kg) .50 = guess work for cocoa, baking powder, maybe golden syrup. .30 guess work for handful of chocolate chips. $1 = half hour of oven time. Estimated cost for a batch of 30-40 basic biscuits = $3.74.
you cannot guess a price if you want a true costing. for example,, i have two recipe's for choc chip cookies and they they say to add250gms ofchoc chips,, if i use Cadbury choc chips thats $4.69 [ 230g] or Sun Valley Foods Cooking Chocolate Dark Chocolate Chips$2.36 [250g] so your costing should of been a lot higher.my job was to cost out all menu's and i found it wascheaper to make basic biscuits but not anybiscuits with nuts or chocolate in them.
dapna,
Jun 22, 1:18pm
If you are worrying about the cost of power this is not a new concern, my grandmother always had a baking day for that very reason so she heated the oven once and made the most of the heat. Whilst one thing is in the oven have the other one ready to go and work out the order of your cooking by the cooking times so if you are doing cakes do them last as they take longer and you can get them prepared whist the biscuits are in the oven. Then the job is out of the way for the week too :)
raewyn64,
Jun 23, 7:04pm
I have just made some of the "instant Desert" biscuits. Each batch made 4 dozen biscuits. The butterscotch flavoured that I add raisins to came to $5.96 for teh batch (not including power) and the chocolate flaovured ones I add chocolate buttons/choc chips to and they came to $7.48 for the 4 dozern. So butterscotch came to $1.49 per dozen (plus power) and chocolate $1.87 per dozen (plus power).
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