This is my first post on these forums, so I apologize if I am doing it wrong

I love baking. Absolutely adore it. In fact, I like baking food even more than I like eating it (which is a lot!) One of the greatest joys of my life is making food for someone and watching them enjoy it. My Christmas presents are generally baked goods, and I have been told that I make the most delicious chocolate chip cookies in town. Here's a list of some of my favorite things to bake:

• Peanut butter Hershey's kiss cookies
  
• Fudge
  
• Cream cheese brownies
  
• Cheesecake
  
• Pie, especially pumpkin
  
• Carrot cake w/cream cheese frosting
  
• Banana bread
  
• Mini cupcakes (they're just so cute!)
  
• Chocolate chip muffins
  

My advice for cooking and baking is as follows:
FOLLOW THE RECIPE EXACTLY.
I'm not kidding. Your food will probably still turn out okay or even quite good if you skimp on some ingredients, accidentally add too much, or don't do the measurements exactly, but when I've done exact measurements with no ingredient substitution, the texture, appearance, and flavor of my food have been much better. If you have an understanding of how the ingredients interact with each other (it's really a science), you can adjust the recipe accordingly, but your adjustments should be intentional and done with a purpose.

Feel free to share your confectionary creations and baking advice here!! What all do you enjoy making?

I'm absolutely horrible at baking.

I rarely bake but it does seem fun! The stuff you make sounds really cool, haha. How long have you been baking?

I mean, I've baked pancakes using pancake batter from the supermarket (which takes like ten minutes lol). Does that count…?

It's a start!! Baking from storebought mixes is a pretty good place to begin.

I've been baking and cooking as a serious hobby since I took a foods class in high school. I've known how to bake for much longer though; my mother had me help out in the kitchen when I was young.

ooh, this looks like an awesome thread <3 i love to bake as well, but sadly i don't do it often :x

EllephantDrop wrote:

ooh, this looks like an awesome thread <3 i love to bake as well, but sadly i don't do it often :x

What sort of stuff do you bake when you get the chance?