Thursday, April 18, 2024
BAKED Bread & Pastry Co. employee Grace Barksdale makes her lemon-filled blue and yellow treats on Sundays when the bakery is closed to the public.
The Ukrainian-themed macarons are sold in boxes of six for $13.50.
Proceeds from the gluten-free macarons will go to a bakery in Kyiv.
BAKED Bread & Pastry Co. is offering locals a way to help Ukraine while enjoying a tasty treat.
The confectionery is selling blue and yellow macarons and donating all proceeds to Bakehouse, a sourdough bakery in the heart of Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv.
Bakehouse has reportedly given away more than 15,000 loaves of bread to help feed the community in wartime. Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Blue and yellow are the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
Macarons are the French adaptation of the Italian macaroon. The two are similar, but macarons are typically made with finely ground blanched almonds instead of sweetened flaked coconut.
BAKED owner Kris Trawick said the macarons made in honor of Ukraine are lemon-filled, gluten-free, and made with almond flour. They are sold in boxes of six for $13.50.
The blue and yellow sweets are the creation of BAKED employee Grace Barksdale, who is in the process of starting her own sideline business. Barksdale is whipping up the meringue-filled confections on Sundays when BAKED is closed to the public.
The macarons in honor of Ukraine have been selling out, Trawick said. Although supplies are limited, she hopes to have enough of a supply to sell them daily.
Trawick’s business isn’t the only bakery raising money for Bakehouse. Poland native Jonathan Przybyl with Proof Bread in Mesa, Arizona, is doing so as well. He has set up a GoFundMe account for the Ukrainian bakery owned by his friend Anna Makievska.
According to Przybyl’s post on the GoFundMe page, Makievska escaped with her mother and two young children to Spain, but her husband and men who work at Bakehouse remained behind to fight.
They have been able to keep the bakery going and to help feed those in the community regardless of people’s ability to pay, but the company’s operations were affected by the bombing of a warehouse.
“The bakery currently has a 30-day supply of flour, and they believe they will have access to more, so our goal is to keep the people of Kyiv fed,” Przybyl recently told Fox 10 in Mesa.
Although there are many organizations helping Ukraine, Trawick said that the effort on behalf of Bakehouse is “near and dear” to her heart because it is a bakery where employees are using their knowledge and talent to feed “the masses” free of charge.
Trawick said that she is sending proceeds to Przybyl, whom she knows to be a reputable baker.
“I feel fully confident that the money will go straight to that one particular bakery (in Kyiv),” she stated.
BAKED Bread & Pastry Co. is located at 401 Cleveland Road in Granbury, behind Grump’s Burgers.
It is open Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
