Keep your pantry “bake-ready” to crown celebrations this month with home-baked specialties. If its worth celebrating, its worth your personal baker’s touch. My top five suggestions for this month are

#1: Bake a “bite-sized” bouquet of treats to fill gift baskets made from a large cone-shaped coffee filter or large cup lined with a pretty napkin. Candidates include sunshiney Lemon Poppy Seed mini-muffins or a gluten-free option; bite-sized snickerdoodle cookies, your favorite cube-sized bars or sugar-coated soft pretzel bites.

#2: Savor something new! Wrap your favorite flavors in a homemade tortilla—made in a bag or bowl! Try fresh tortillas as Breakfast Burritos or Pocket Fruit Wraps, all found in Spanish or English atwww.kidsacookin.org

#3: Always treat someone special with chocolate…especially in her cinnamon rolls. Included on-site is a ”Cinnamon Roll How-to” video tutorial. If chocolate’s NOT the right thing, another half dozen cinnamon roll options for flavors and types are offered.

#4: Bake your bouquets for graduation celebrations. It’s not as hard as you think! View “step-by-step” pictorials for Flower Rolls and rosettes on Dough Sculpting 101 DVD. Bake centerpieces using the downloadable Bread Shaping for Fun guide.

#5: Set the table to bring back, or make, memories for spring. Plan tea, coffee, breakfast, brunch or a full meal and bring family and friends together. Ideas to get started are at the new resource. Do a little home work to include at least one recipe from an earlier generation, like a Homestead Biscuit or Cornbread, or a local traditional bread or dessert, if possible. You’ll find a wonderful archive of tried and true baking treasures from Nancy Baggett, one of HBA’s fine Writer’s Guild bakers.