A Costco membership isn't just good for saving money on groceries with a long shelf-life.
It's also fantastic for scoring some great deals in the bakery. Even if you can't eat
25 croissants before they go stale, there are still plenty of ways you make the most
of your membership in the bakery.
According to the website The Knot, the average wedding cake in the United States costs $500.
Of course, prices vary widely by location and style, but if you want enough cake to
feed a crowd, you're almost definitely going to have to plunk down a couple hundred bucks.
But there are other, cheaper options. One possibility is spending $50 total on two Costco
sheet cakes and flowers from Trader Joe's to build your own giant tiered masterpiece,
as did one couple who shared the result on Instagram.
They did this by cutting the cakes into smaller squares and configuring them into tiers. Then
the whole thing was topped off with homemade buttercream frosting and the flowers. The
result was an absolutely exquisite and unbelievably affordable masterpiece. Even if you don't
happen to have a master chef among your wedding guests to pull off something like this, you
can always practice your decorating skills in advance by watching YouTube videos.
Costco's bakery doesn't just sell baked goods in bulk. It sells HUGE, oversized baked goods
in bulk. Take for instance its pumpkin pie, which weighs in at almost four pounds and
can easily feed 12 adults. And that's not the only massive item available, as the muffins
are also gigantic and delicious. But when they come in a pack of 12, it's understandably
hard to eat them all before they start to go stale.
"You know, a muffin can be very filling." "I know!"
But there is a solution! Stick any you can't finish right away into the freezer, which
works wonders. Just place your muffins in a freezer-safe bag and then pull them out
whenever you're ready to chow down. You can defrost the muffins on your counter or in
your refrigerator, or if you want a faster defrosting and a slightly warm muffin, you
can put them in the microwave at 50-percent power. And if you're feeding these muffins
to your kids, keep in mind that one of these huge pastries can easily serve two small humans.
Just slice it in half and you're ready to go! And by saving the rest in your freezer,
you won't have to stress about food waste.
Giant muffins aren't the only freezer-friendly Costco bakery item. The butter croissants
are another great option to stow away in cold temperatures. But unlike with muffins, microwaving
croissants is generally not a good idea. Microwaved croissants can end up chewy and tough, which
isn't exactly the delicious flavor you enjoy when you eat them straight out of the package.
Instead, consider throwing your croissants into the oven for defrosting. Turn it up to
350 degrees, and by the time it's preheated to that point, you'll have a crispy and delicious
pastry. The beauty of this hack is that you no longer have to wait for a big family gathering
or work event to have an excuse to purchase a 12-pack. So go ahead and buy those flaky,
buttery croissants in bulk whenever you want to. As long as you have a freezer, you can
enjoy them on your own timeline!
There are simple cake recipes out there, but let's be honest: while homemade cakes might
come with an extra dash of love mixed in, they're a bit of a hassle to make. That's
true even for basic cakes that you can whip up from a box and top with standard icing.
It's a whole different beast to try tco bake a specialty cake, like tiramisu, from the
comfort of your home.
Tiramisu is made from soaking Italian ladyfinger cookies in espresso or liqueur, before layering
them with mascarpone [mas-kar-POH-nee] or custard and adding a layer of cocoa powder.
You then have to allow the whole thing to chill for hours before serving.
"I just think that I don't ever need to cook tiramisu. When am I gonna need to cook tiramisu?"
Is all that worth it just for the reward of being able to call it homemade? The correct
answer is "no." That's why it's so amazing that Costco has a giant, 2.38-pound tiramisu
cake available to purchase in its bakery. Not only do you not have to take the hours
of time necessary to prepare one yourself, you'll also probably end up saving money.
The individual ingredients for tiramisu can be expensive. But with the Costco version
costing roughly $16 for a giant cake, it's one heck of a good deal.
Bread is a pantry staple, but it may not be something you typically pick up at Costco.
Sandwich loaves are usually sold in packs of two there, and even the bakery items, like
French bread, are typically sold by the double-loaf or in bulk. So unless you eat a lot of bread,
or unless you pack a lot of sandwiches for your kids' school lunches, you might be inclined
to grab a single loaf from your local grocery store instead. However, if you do that, you'd
be missing out on some potential savings.
In 2018, the food website Kitchn did a deep-dive price comparison of different loaves of bread
sold at Costco, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods, and Costco's typically proved to be the best
buy. The catch, of course, is that if you can't eat the entire purchase before it gets
stale or goes bad. If that's your concern, don't hesitate to freeze those extra loaves,
as the freezer is consistently a reliable option to extend the freshness period.
"I love bread. I love bread."
When you think of Costco bakery items, you probably have in mind the fresh baked goods
that are laid out on big tables and racks. But Costco also sells many of its baked goods
as frozen foods in the freezer aisles, and they're often a better deal.
For example, you can buy 24 cookies in the fresh section of the bakery for $7.99, but
if you instead opt for a box of frozen cookies, you can score 180 for $34.99. That comes out
to about 33 cents each for the fresh cookies versus 19 cents each for the frozen version.
"Oh, thank you!"
Granted, most people don't need to buy 180 cookies at one time, but if you have the freezer
space or a big event coming up, the frozen version is a much better deal. And these savings
also apply to other frozen baked goods, like bread and bagels.
Considering that Costco is a warehouse store, and its bakery churns out countless loaves
of bread and other baked goods each day, you might think it's a good idea to show up and
buy hundreds of bagels and croissants the morning of your next big event. But just because
you can do that doesn't mean you should. And after all, it turns out that part of the beauty
of Costco's bakery department is that it's easy to place an advance order. You just have
to walk up to the counter and let the staff know what you need, how much you need, and
when you need it.
There are two important reasons for placing an advance order when you know that you need
a large number of baked goods. First, it's the only way to guarantee that Costco will
have exactly what you need. And second, it ensures that other customers can buy what
they need as well. When a single person waltzes in and buys out every single cookie the store
has on hand, that ruins the experience for everyone else. So protect your own needs and
the needs of others by giving the bakery department a head's up. It's a courtesy to everyone,
and it ultimately makes your life easier, too.
This particular little-known secret may not work at every Costco bakery, but it's worth
finding a location where it does work. If you're looking for another way to buy baked
goods in bulk, consider asking your local Costco bakers if you can buy a box of uncooked
cookies, or croissants, or other pastries that you can freeze and bake at home.
The way it works is: when you ask for unbaked cookies, you receive a box of 120, already
separated and ready to take out and bake. Many bakery items have signs hanging below
them stating that you can ask for the unbaked product at the counter. That's pretty good
deal, and it's a great way to always have cookies ready to eat if you have kids. And
if you're in Canada, there's more good news, as you can place an order for unbaked cookies
online through the Costco Business Centers website. You just have to enter your zip code
to see if delivery is available in your area.
You probably already know that you can walk right into a Costco and grab one of their
sheet cakes straight from the refrigerated section without having to order ahead. That's
great for last-minute parties when you don't need anything special. But what if you're
planning a themed birthday and you want an affordable and personalized cake? All you
need to do is place your order in advance. Like most grocery store bakeries, Costco has
lots of designs to choose from, and they can add the specializations to the top of the cake.
One idea you might not have thought of involves doing the bulk of the cake decorating yourself
while also ordering a Costco cake "pre-scored" with frosted piping. As explained by the blog
Little Dove, the bakers pipe perfectly even squares across the cake in white frosting,
which allows you to then individually decorate each square at home. When party time hits,
you can then use the pre-scored lines to slice the cake evenly. To pull off this hack, when
placing your order, check the box for "scored flowers" and then cross out the word "flowers."
Then place "N/A" next to the option for colors and write, "Just scored, no flowers." The
result is a perfectly scored white frosted cake. And the best part is that it's a whole
lot cheaper than buying a personalized cake from other bakeries.
If you're not already following Costco on social media sites, you should go hit "follow"
on all your favorite sites immediately. Like most brands, Costco uses its social media
to share special deals and new product offerings, and they also offer some pretty cool bakery
hacks. Take for instance a Pinterest pin that shows how to turn their giant pumpkin pie
into the perfect Halloween party dessert. All you have to do is place a jack-o-lantern
stencil on top of the pie and sprinkle some cocoa powder onto the pie in the stencil's
empty spaces.
The same idea can work for practically any pie or cake and any stencil. Another Pinterest
pin shows how to turn a chocolate cake into a festive winter wonderland treat, using nothing
but snowflake stencils and powdered sugar. And another pin demonstrates how to make a
simple wedding cake using just a sheet cake and fresh flowers. If you're looking for cute,
easy, and inexpensive ideas for at-home personalization, Costco's social media is an invaluable resource.
The Costco website isn't just a place to search for great deals. It's also a valuable resource
for great recipes! Not all of the recipes incorporate items from the bakery department,
but there are plenty of them that do. Take, for instance, the Kirkland Signature Summertime
Recipes page, which details how to turn a sheet cake into individual cake stars and
also how to make dessert kabobs using churros.
The website also features a number of breakfast and lunch recipes that incorporate croissants,
bagels, and various buns as starters. For example, there's the Father's Day Breakfast
Sandwich recipe that uses a bagel topped with sausage, egg, and cheese, as well as sriracha
sauce to draw stitching to look like a baseball. Costco's website offers lots of easy and creative
recipes, so add it to your favorites and start searching for ideas before your next shopping trip!
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