The usually businesslike lobby of the building on Second Street that houses CBS Interactive (yes,
that CBS) looked like the lawn of a suburban elementary school this afternoon. Folding tables strewn with carefully labeled homemade baked goods were set up on the polished floors, not far from the modernish cube-shaped furniture. Behind the tables, a flat-screen TV showed, bizarrely, a rotating slide show of soothing images: kitties, flowers, etc. But the kitties and cube-couches were easily overpowered by the pervasive smell of bacon.
Every year a group of CBS Interactive employees hold a bake-off to raise funds for a nonprofit and to foster friendly competition between co-workers. This year's beneficiary was Habitat for Humanity. And for the first time ever, the bake sale had a theme. Everything up for grabs today was made with either bacon or faux-bacon.
Chocolate-bacon cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting. The pig had no comment.
These maple bacon bites oozed with creamy filling.
Tiny apple-bacon crumble cakes were selling like, uh, hot cakes.
Not all the wares were traditional baked goods. One person brought bacon-caramel apples, while another had whipped up bacon brittle.
This baker didn't shy away from the secret ingredient. On these cupcakes, sprigs of fried bacon adorned healthy dollops of frosting
.
There was a little something for everybody. Those who didn't have a sweet tooth could snap up these bacon cheesy poofs.
What's a bake sale without chocolate chip cookies? Bits of bacon were bursting out of these gooey versions of the childhood favorite.
Only minutes after the bacon goodness went on sale, a healthy (erm, not so healthy?) crowd had gathered to buy individual items or the popular "sample plate."
We overheard one person remark that they were having a "bacon lunch." They probably weren't the only one.
After attendees scarfed up enough bacon-infused nosh to raise a heart surgeon's eyebrows, the winners were announced. The bacon cheesy poofs claimed the number one spot, while a bacon ice-cream (not pictured) created by CNET reporter
Caroline McCarthy nabbed second. But really, when salty pig parts are inserted into baked goods, everyone wins. (Except vegetarians.)
