Monday, January 25, 2010

What's Baking in the YA Fresh Kitchen!


I've enjoyed baking for almost as long as I could remember, but as my writing career has taken off, I've had less and less time for it, and now it seems that baking has become something "I used to do..."

But winter slammed into southern California last week with wild storms that brought record rainfall, lightning, thunder, snow, and even tornadoes. And as I waited to find out if my house in the burn area of the Station Fire was going to be evacuated, I found myself in the kitchen...anxiously baking chocolate chip cookie bars.

And pondering that while some people bake simply for the love of it, others pull out the pans when they're bored, and others--apparently like me--use it for a stress relief.

How about you? Is baking part of your regular routine? Or do you grab the flour and sugar containers for reasons other than the end result of a yummy dessert? And do you have something special that you like most to make? Something with chocolate in it, perhaps???

7 fresh comments:

Jessica said...

I love to bake during the Holidays. And not just bake a little I usually bake about 7 to 8 batched of cookies at a time. I will make divinity, fudge, truffles, tartlets, you name it I'm going to bake it. And don't get me started on the cakes.
Happy Baking!

TinaFerraro said...

Oh, wow, Jessica, your place is the The Place during the holidays, huh? And I have to admit to a real weakness for fudge! Yum!

Kelly (Lynn) Parra said...

I tend to bake more during the holidays, but once I have a sweet tooth urge it's cookies or brownies for the fam! :) :)

holly cupala said...

Part of the routine? Yes, indeedy, and more during the holidays. So where is this gorgeous chocolate chip cookie bar recipe?

Leigh Purtill said...

Yummy pic and post!

Apple pies are usually my holiday thing but this year a friend gave me muffin pans in the shape of santa heads, snowflakes and trees so I made a lot of muffins: banana nut, pumpkin, etc. Mmmmmuffins...

[word verification: snoos - oh yeah, that's exactly what I want to do...]

J. said...

I always bake when I'm stressed or sad. It's relaxing.

TinaFerraro said...

Thanks for all your thoughts! And to answer Holly's question, well, there's no exact recipe for this picture, but I used the old standby Nestle chocolate chip cookie bar recipe--and I stand by it!