Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Put it in the Oven for Baby & Me

As I was made this recipe tonight, I was thinking about my love of baking. My parents & grandmothers taught me how to bake. With my mom, it was Christmas cookies for neighbors. With my dad, it was pizza doughs & salvaging my mistakes. I learned what a pastry blender was from my Mammy. Because of my Grandma, I always unplug the mixer before grabbing the beaters - always!

 I know music is super important to teach children because it helps them learn math, but baking isn't any joke. Many life lessons can be found in the kitchen & here are a few I've learned.

Make sure you have all your ingredients BEFORE you begin.
You need to measure liquids and solids differently. 
Baking soda and baking powder are different.



Pack that brown sugar.
Underestimate your cooking time - you can always bake longer.
If it gets messy, as evidenced, no worries - it can be cleaned.


You cannot rush butter to cool to room temperature.
It is near impossible to add ingredients once the baking process has begun.
Crack an egg in a separate bowl, it's easier to remove any unexpected shells that way. 



Never think butter and margarine are interchangeable - NEVER.
Know the importance of a cooling rack.
Only knead dough what is necessary. 


Get at eye level to make sure your measurements are correct.
Substitutions will work, but they are rarely as good as the original.
Don't trust a spice lid to stay on - measure to the side of your main bowl.




Adapt - Use a fork instead of a whisk.
The letter b is very important, especially in conjunction with t,s & p.
After your hard work, you get to lick the bowl & beaters.



I always try to have Annabelle & Ed in the kitchen when we are baking. Derek's specialty is whole-wheat pizza dough and Annabelle enjoys measuring, stirring and pouring. I hope they can learn from us as I did from my family. What are your baking successes? What's your favorite thing to bake?
I'm always a sucker for doughnuts, especially with white icing & sprinkles.

1 comment:

  1. My crowning achievement baking-wise......my Italian Cream Cake which I make rarely because it's pretty darned tedious!!! But the work is well worth it because it is a KILLER cake. How can anything with cream cheese icing NOT be good?!?!?

    My most-often-baked item.....chocolate sheet cake. Though my icing ranges from smooth and creamy to almost fudge-like, that cake has never let me down for being good....by itself, with a glass of milk, with ice cream and chocolate or caramel syrup.....it's just good eats!!

    Cookie-wise, I have a recipe for sugar cookies that melt in your mouth! I used to bake them in Shreveport all the time to take to the office staff at my church. It was my special Easter present to them with pastel sugars sprinkled on top.

    Love to bake and I, too, learned from my Mama and her Mother (my Mam-ma) who both had me in the kitchen cooking with them from when I had to stand on a chair to reach the cabinet!!

    Baking, besides filling that sweet-desiring empty spot in the belly, has always been therapeutic for me!! I'm so grateful I learned from 2 of the best as far as I'm concerned!

    I hope your kiddos learn to love it and teach their children, just as you're doing! Love you all!!!

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