Since I was ten years old, I’ve been in the kitchen baking. I think every baker remembers the first thing they ever baked. For me, it was Nestle Tollhouse Chocolate chip cookies. There’s something so inherently wonderful about that recipe isn’t there? We all grew up with it, we’ve all sampled it at friends houses, or even ate the prefab dough right out of the packaging at sleepovers.
I can’t even count all the times those cookies failed. That simple cookie recipe in my ten year old hands seemed impossible. I remember the time I forgot to put brown sugar and vanilla in, the time I put too much butter in and they spread to fit the entire pan, the time I forgot to add the baking soda and the result were little chocolate chip clumps. I could go on and on. I burned my arm, right on the wrist, taking a pan out of the oven. I refused to use a handheld mixer, so you could always find clumps of butter in my dough. Regardless, each time, no matter what happened, my family sat and ate them. I distinctly remember me crying after the baking soda, wondering why I couldn’t get it right, and my mother saying “Well, what’s wrong with these?” and continuing on to eat 4 or 5 right in front of me.
Now I am grown, have made more chocolate chip cookies than I can count, and have a beautiful baby girl of my own. But still, I find baking both magical and daunting. There’s a whole world of bakes out there aching to be tried, tested, and retooled. Here I’ll share some recipes that I’ve written, recipes I love, and my experiences as I try new techniques as I attempt to churn out bakery level cakes, pies, and patisserie.
So let’s journey together amid mounds of frosting and cream, and see what sweet treats we can churn out! I would love for you to try along with me, and to hear all of your tips and tribulations as we go.
Let’s do this!
The Pastry Parent 