Seasonal Baking Stock Up

When the weather starts to change I get the itch to start baking again! I absolutely love baking, and find that it's so much easier to decide on recipes and get rolling when basic ingredients are in stock. I get a list together and watch ,y grocery store ads; when items from my list go on sale I stock up. The debate of name brand ingredients vs. store brand is up to the cook; but my rule of thumb is to buy basics like flour, granulated sugar, butter, powdered sugar and brown sugar in the store brand form and save that money to splurge on good quality chocolate, cocoa, peanut butter and vanilla. I find the better quality of key ingredients makes up for the store brand flour - but do what you feel. It's also good to check coupons this time of year, I have found many just in the last couple weeks that are good ones for baking! Here are some of the items I like to keep on hand for my favorites:

flour
granulated sugar
brown sugar
"powdered" or confectioner's sugar
baking soda
baking powder
unsalted butter (can be stocked in the freezer)
vanilla
unsweetened cocoa
coconut
*nuts - walnuts, pecans & almonds (store these in the freezer to make last longer)
light corn syrup
semi-sweet chocolate chips
baking chocolate squares
peanut butter
shortening

*Nuts can get really expensive, try to incorporate them into your grocery budget when on sale, or even check your local farmer's market.

Of course there will be additional items you want to include for your personal pantry, but you will be happy to have everything on hand when you start to get the urge for chocolate cupcakes!