Ovens all across Pike County are heating up in readiness for the annual Giant Cookie Sale at St. Martin Catholic Church on Dec. 10.

The Giant Cookie Sale is a benefit for Pike County Habitat for Humanity, and it also fills cookie jars and freezers with some of the best homemade cookies ever baked. Fred Johnson, Habitat director, said cookies are one thing that you can never have enough of, especially during the holiday season. “The more the merrier,” he said. “So, we are inviting all cooks to bake a batch of cookies for the 11th Annual Giant Cookie Sale. “The Giant Cookie Sale is a cookie and goodies sale – a South Alabama Sweet Sale. We’ll have every kind of cookie that you can imagine and candies, too. All the traditional Christmastime sweets. And, we’ll have all kinds of homemade cakes that will be sold individually.”

Johnson said, at last year’s cookie sale, several people wanted one of the Italian Cream Cakes and stood flatfooted and bid on it. “We didn’t have an auction going but one of them would say that they would give so much for the cake and somebody else would say they would give more,” he said, laughing. “Finally, when the ‘bidding’ got up to $50, the Italian Cream Cake ‘sold.’”

Johnson said some people buy the cookies to immediately satisfy their sweet tooth and others put them in the freezer to have on hand for the Christmas season. “It’s a lot of fun to shop at the Giant Cookie Sale because you can pick out the cookies you want and sack them up. You can get one of every kind of cookie – mix and match – or you can get all of one kind.”

Those who enjoy baking and want to support a worthy cause while doing so are encouraged to get out the mixing bowl and a wooden spoon and bake a batch of their favorite cookies for the Giant Cookie Sale. “We appreciate all of those who donate baked items for the sale and all of those who come to buy,” Johnson said. Cookies and other items may be dropped off between noon and 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 9 at St. Martin’s or on Saturday morning.