For Donna Danz, baking is a sweet passion

Donna Danz is the image of generosity, standing in her kitchen with the warm scent of sugar wafting through the house, frosting an enormous batch of sugar cookies all to be given away.

“They’re my grandkids’ favorites,” she said, adding sprinkles to a snowflake. “I’ll wait for these to dry, then individually wrap them and pack them in bubble wrap to send to the kids.”

The grandkids are spread out, in Ohio and Georgia, but Danz said the sweets will make the trip just fine.

It’s not only the family that will get a taste of Danz’s giving spirit though. Cookies, candies and homemade treats from her kitchen often go to friends, her church, and to the nursing homes of Columbia Falls.

Now retired, Danz taught Family and Consumer Sciences at Flathead High School for years.

It’s the teacher in her that keeps her a structured baker, she thinks.

“I measure correctly, always, and wear and apron, because I made my students,” she said.

Her love of baking came long before her teaching career.

She was in 4-H as a child, and her mother did a lot of baking. She also credits her grandmother on her father’s side and her aunt for the baker she has turned out to be.

“My grandma always made stuff and gave it away, and I try to model myself after her,” Danz said.

So, she would go visit the elderly, she said, and bring them a treat. Eventually, her church saw the opportunity to give and now do the same once a month as outreach, Danz said.

Danz has been entering prize-winning goods in the annual Chocolate Extravaganza put on by the Flathead County Republican Women every December for at least 10 years, she said. This year was no different — her velvety chocolate butter pecan pie took first in appearance and second in taste in the pies and pastries category. Last year, that same pie took first for both taste and appearance.

At the extravaganza, attendees can purchase ducats, similar to poker chips, for 50 cents each, and then pay a number of ducats to sample a baked good. A piece of Danz’s pie, for example, went for 4 ducats,

The money raised is put towards scholarships awarded to graduating seniors, and during a general election year, some of the funds are also directed to the candidate supported by the Republican Women.

She acted as chair for the Chocolate Extravaganza for a while, but now just bakes. This year she also worked as a hostess at the event.

For Danz, it’s not about the competition, though she has won every year that she’s entered the event, she said.

“I just really like making it,” she said of her baked goods.

She’s never felt compelled to enter another competition, either, in part because her background as a teacher qualifies her as a professional and prevents her from entering amateur competitions.

Baking is just one of many passions. Danz is also a gardener and an avid hunter, something she enjoys doing with her husband, Dan. She sews and is particularly into quilting as well.

Although her cookie cutter collection means sugar cookies are always in season, in the summer months, Danz also makes and preserves homemade salsa using vegetables from her garden, cherry-rhubarb and huckleberry jams.

She bakes all year long, especially her husband’s favorite, cherry pie, which she adorns with the word “cheery” cut into extra dough with a vintage set of miniature alphabet cutters from her aunt. The cheery cherry pie is a hit with her grandkids as well.

Of course she eats some of what she makes, but the majority is gifted or given away.

“Do I like it? sure, but I like giving it,” she said.

Danz said she doesn’t know if she has a favorite thing to bake, but it might be pies. But at the end of the day, it boils down to one sweet sentiment: “I just love baking.”