It could be called one of the sweetest and most savory times of year as the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church‘s annual holiday Greek Bake Sale gets underway.
And this year, it’s even better since the sale has been moved up in order for the tireless church member bakers and volunteers to get a break before the madhouse of the holidays begin.
It’s been a tradition to hold the bake sale the second Friday of November since 1955, but this year, it happens a week early — the first Friday of the month, Nov. 7.
“Preparing for the bake sale entails a lot of work, and many of the workers are exhausted after the sale … and Thanksgiving is looming around the corner,” bake sale chair Thea Ballas said. “I heard the requests from the workers to allow more time to prepare for family get-togethers, and we hope that this date change will not affect our customers from coming a week earlier.”
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The menu is much the same as last year:
— Baklava: Layers of phyllo with nuts, spices and syrup
— Kataifi: Shredded phyllo cookies with a nut mixture and soaked in syrup
— Finikia: Spice cookies with syrup and rolled in walnuts
— Amygdalota: Crescent cookies with ground almonds, sugar and flavorings
— Kourambiethes: Greek wedding cookies with butter, toasted almonds and dusted with powdered sugar
— Koulourakia: Twisted butter cookies, a delicious accompaniment to a cup of coffee
— Galatoboureko: Sweet custard billowed between phyllo, with syrup poured on top once baked. This comes frozen to bake at home. Also, there will be pieces available for sale the day of the bake sale.
— Paximathia: Twice-baked biscotti-like cookies with toasted almonds
— Spanakopita: Frozen, uncooked phyllo with spinach, feta cheese and egg mixture. Available in appetizer and pocket sizes.
— Tiropita: Frozen, uncooked, feta cheese and egg mixture wrapped in phyllo. Available in appetizer and pocket sizes.
— Almond cake: Made with almonds, butter and eggs
— Chicken phyllo appetizers: Phyllo with chicken, olive oil, lemon juice and herbs.
— Beef phyllo appetizers: Phyllo with beef and spices. Frozen by the dozen
— Kok: Pronounced “coke,” a vanilla or chocolate sponge cake, filled with a vanilla or chocolate pastry cream and covered with a chocolate ganache
— Lemon kok: A lemon sponge cake with cream filling with a hint of lemon flavoring
— Baklava cheesecake: Crust of baklava with a cream cheese filling, topped with baklava
— Chocolate baklava cheesecake: Crust of baklava with a cream cheese filling topped with chocolate baklava
— Sweet bread: Loaves of flour, milk, butter and sugar seasoned with orange zest and mahelpi
— Sweet bread rolls: A package of six rolls
It’s hard to say which items are the most popular, Ballas said.
“Our customers enjoy all of our savory items for sale, from the spanakopita and cheese tyropita, to our chicken and beef appetizers,” she said. “Baklava is always very popular, especially with the holidays around the corner, and many people purchase it for gifts. Of course, the majority want to eat it themselves. The butter cookies and our almond crescent cookies are very popular as well.”
One of the tastiest things is back again this year, too. A lunch of spanakopita and tiropita pockets, along with pastitsio will be served through 1 p.m.
As always, pre-ordering is strongly encouraged because items tend to sell out. Go to annunciationgreek.org and click the Bake Sale 2025 link. Orders may be picked up on the day of the sale — Nov. 7 — from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the church, 722 Glenwood Drive, across from Memorial Hospital.
All proceeds from the sale go to area charitable organizations supported by the Ladies of Philoptochos, a church ministry that promotes the charitable, benevolent and philanthropic purposes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.
