The Happy Baker
Q: Tell us more about your new book "The Happy Baker: A Girl's Guide to Emotional Baking"
It’s a sassy chick lit cookbook with part recipes and part dating stories. My book involves my passion for baking with easy passed down family recipes. There is a photo for every dessert as well. You may not know what outcome your latest dating escapade will have so you should know how your recipe will turn out! It’s a fun, relatable book that lets you know you are not alone in this whole crazy dating world.
Q: Why do you thinking baking is cathartic, particularly for women post breakup?
Well I’m an emotional baker. I’ve always baked when I am stressed and for me I’m usually stressed about men! A lot of people get in the kitchen and find baking a stress reliever whether it is from work, traffic a bad date etc… I think baking is cathartic for either gender.
Q: What do you think will be the next craze once we get over our obsession with cupcakes?
I love passed down recipes. Recipes I grew up on, recipes my grandma used to make. Although I love cupcakes my obsession did not increase with the latest craze. Hopefully the next craze will involve something old school like rice pudding or banana pudding.
Q: Three helpful tips to become a happy home baker?
Have fun in the kitchen and don’t worry if something doesn’t turn out quite as planned. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; there is always that one family member who will eat the rejects.
Play music and pour a glass of vino (does that count as one tip or two?)
Get to know your oven. Every oven is different and cooking times will vary. Last thing you want is burnt cookies!
Q: Easiest but most impressive dessert to serve (a) a crowd (b) a date (c) yourself when you have little prep time?
Everyone loves mini cheesecakes. They are simple to make and you can dress them up with various toppings like cherries with edible gold flakes, caramel sauce with broken Heath bar or pineapple and toasted coconut. The baking time is short and they are portable if you need to take them to a party, and they also freeze really well so you can pull them out if company shows up.
Q: Why biscotti on Valentine's Day and not something a little more decadent?
For me the connection with this particular biscotti is … I was making it when I opened my yearly Valentine’s Day card from my mom and of course it had lottery tickets in it! I won $1400 dollars, I almost burnt my biscotti and we spent the money on a trip to the Caribbean! Best Valentine’s Day ever.
Q: Any plans to create your own product line?
I have many many ideas swirling around in my head. I can’t wait to get crafty. It’s all in good time and I look forward to the day I get to share some creative baking products with everyone.
Q: Many people use food to suppress their emotions. How do you address this in your book?
When you are an emotional baker the sharing part is just as important as the baking part. I get joy from seeing the smile on someone’s face when I bring them a home baked good. Bake, Share and be Happy!
Happy Baking!
