Bak Lik Yo Mea I!
It’s easy to understand why baking is so much fun. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as measuring and mixing ingredients, puing dough or baer into a hot oven, watching—and smelling!—the transformation during baking, and finally removing delicious sweets from the oven. But the best part is sharing the treats you made with your friends and family.
Whether you follow a recipe step-by-step or add your own unique pizzazz, when you bake with happiness, the results will always be terrific. Perhaps you’re the type of baker who sneaks a secret ingredient into the baer, like an extra dash of vanilla extract or a swirl of peanut buer. Or maybe you try to follow a recipe exactly as it is wrien, so the results are always familiar and yummy. Or do you add your personal touch with bright purple frosting and a scaering of rainbow sprinkles? Whatever your style—whether you’re daring, playful, colorful, or classic—baking is a great opportunity to let your personality shine and to create mouthwatering goodies with your own special flair.
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Bakin wit car
Baking is the perfect activity to do with friends and family. Since there are a lot of hot surfaces and sharp objects in the kitchen, always have an adult assist you while baking.
When you see this symbol in the book, it means that you need an adult to help you with all or part of the recipe. Ask for help before continuing.
Yummy recipes ahea!
In these pages, you’ll learn the yummiest baking recipes, from cupcakes to madeleines (lile shell-shaped French cakes), cookies to brownies, and a whole lot more. Try Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes (page 74) for your next birthday party. Chocolate Madeleines (page 58) are perfect for a tea party, and will impress all of your friendsplus they are super easy to make! Pack a slice or two of Banana–Chocolate Chip Bread (page 96) for your next outdoor adventure, or bake a Golden Layer Cake with Chocolate Frosting (page 116) for your friends or family, just because. Turn the pages to discover the most scrumptious recipes, for any occasion, that will delight any sweet tooth.
to bakin tips
BE OVEN SMART
Be extra careful when working around a hot oven and hot baking dishes. Always use oven mis and have an adult help you with taking pans in and out of the oven.
GET HELP WITH APPLIANCES
Electric mixers make mixing baers quick and easy. Always have an adult assist you when using appliances.
STAY ORGANIZED
Staying organized and paying aention are important baking skills. Before you preheat the oven, it’s important to read the full recipe and ingredient list. Then it’s time to clear a clean surface and lay out all your baking tools and ingredients. Once the food is in the oven, don’t forget to set a timer!
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Aprons are handy to help keep your clothes tidy when you are baking.
Cookie cuers come in all shapes. All-time favorites are buerflies, stars, flowers, and hearts, but use any shape you like.
Cookie sheets, especially thick, heavy ones, help cookies bake evenly and won’t warp in the oven.
Small metal icing spatulas are good for spreading frosting on cupcakes and cakes. A piping bag fied with a pastry tip is another way to add frosting or to write fun messages on top of cookies, cakes, and cupcakes.
An electric mixer makes quick work of baers and frostings, beating egg whites and cream, and more. Always ask an adult for help when using appliances. Use a mixing bowl and wooden spoon or whisk in a pinch.
Madeleine pans are charming French molds used to create dainty, shell-shaped cakes in a variety of flavors.
Measuring cups and spoons help you measure your ingredients accurately and easily. Choose graduated sets for dry ingredients and a liquid pitcher for wet ingredients.
Oven mis or pads protect your hands from hot pans, oven racks, cookie sheets, and baking dishes. Always ask an adult to help when working near a hot oven or stove.
Parchment paper is paper that’s been treated to give it a nonstick surface. It’s used to line cookie sheets and baking pans so that baked goods won’t stick. If you don't have parchment paper, you can buer the pans and dust them with flour.
A rubber spatula is helpful for mixing baers and scraping them into pans, like when you transfer the last bits of baer from a bowl to a muffin pan.
Standard muffin pans, with 12 cups, are used for the cupcake recipes in this book; for some recipes, you’ll need two muffin pans.
tools o’ nee
The recipes in this book use a few basic baking tools. There’s no need to go out and buy everything all at once—you can collect tools slowly over time, as you try more and more baking recipes.
Imagination and a good dose of creativity are the two most important baker’s tools of all.
Have fun!
Cookies
Kie by chocolatInstead of using jam, place a chocolate tear-shaped dropintoeach cookie indent before baking.