Baking Therapy

I haven't baked in. ..months, which is really sad because I love to bake. It's just a testimony to how busy our life is and how life changes when you become a parent. I wouldn't change a thing, though (this won't surprise any of you, and I am so glad you all get me!). It's just one of the many things that I didn't really think about changing whenever we had kids, and it is one of the things that I took for granted in my prior life, much like doing a load of laundry in one day or unloading the dishwasher with both hands instead of just one while the other holds a squirmy 16 month old. I wouldn't go back, but who knew how easy it was to do household chores with two hands?! Baking is still fun for me, but I don't know that I would call it relaxing anymore. Juggling feeding Addie with checking cupcakes in the oven and dealing with clean up takes the "relaxing" right out of it, but I definitely enjoyed my cozy afternoon at home baking, playing with Addie, and listening to football in the background. Philip was sweet enough to watch her while I frosted them, and that just added to the coziness of it all. He and Addie napped on the couch (so cute!) while I was up to my elbows in edible creativitiy. I couldn't have begun to imagine a day like today this time last year, and that makes me that much more thankful.

I can't remember how old I was when I started baking. ..I think I've been baking Betty Crocker Supreme Brownies my entire life. I can't remember a time when I wasn't at least helping mix up the batter and putting the pan in the oven. I knew how to bake years before I learned how to cook anything else, and I loved it. I remember going to visit my family in Jackson, and my Mamaw Austin would buy brownie mix just so I could make brownies for everyone. I know (now) that they weren't anything special, just brownies from a box, but those brownies built up my confidence, and my family was kind enough to make a big deal about a little girl following directions from Betty Crocker.

It has taken me several weeks of visualizing my current project to finally make it happen, but I'm so glad I did! I've said in recent years that cooking, baking in particular, is therapeutic. I love the crutch of a solid recipe combined with the infinite possibilities to be creative and build on that base. I can't sew or paint or any number of other creative talents, but somehow I can melt a little frosting, add some food coloring and some green leaves and *voila!* you have yourself a pumpkin! If you mess it up, you either 1. scrape it off and start over or 2. (my favorite) eat that one as a sample and start over. What's not to love?! And, best of all, at the end of the day you have treats to share with your neighbors (in this case) or with coworkers (in years gone by) or friends and family (always).

So, with many thanks to Pinterest for the inspiration, here is my latest (ok ..my first in a long, long time) fall project:

Love this Season!

You start by making mini bundt cakes (like a cupcake tin but bundts instead). Marry them together with some frosting, add some colored frosting on top and a pretzel for a stem, and voila! You have little baby pumpkins! (iMom's, you will notice the Ortopad patches in the background. ..they are never far away!)

This version was the easiest and least messy to make. My OCD loved it!

This version is a littel cuter in my opinion, but the OCD in me did NOT like this one. There's no way to get the frosting on without getting it all over your hands in the end, and I can't stand that feeling on my hands. ..and if you constantly lick it off without thinking, you get sick of frosting really quickly. It is cute, though..

Finished presentation for the neighbors! The cupcake on the back of the plate is in a parchment paper lotus flower wrapper. Found them at Kroger and LOVE them! Neat way to dress up every day cupcakes or muffins.