So you think you can bake? I bake…
when I am trying to figure things out, thinking that the precision needed for baking helps me focus (or not… I tend to skip steps when distracted leading to less than optimal results),
when I am in full procrastination mode,
or when I am just plain old in the mood (for sweets).
I baked yesterday morning (two kinds of coconut macaroons – Martha Stewart and Smitten Kitchen) but it was a fail for both – not because of the recipes which are divine but my attention to detail and old coconut had a lot to do with it.
Today I was up for a do-over but I forgot to buy condensed milk because (eew, condensed milk – I was just using up some leftover from making Dutch Baby from smitten kitchen but didn’t use because I didn’t have whole milk and was looking for a substitute but ended up using 1 percent and it was fine – better probably than if I used the condensed). But I digress.
I made brownies from smitten for the fourth time this month and maybe I am sampling more than I should, maybe. This batch is for a cookout at my sister’s for Father’s Day. I saved the broken-ish ones for my kids to have for an after school snack. Perfect every time.
Then I made perfect coconut macaroons (third times a charm) from Rosie’s Bakery Cookbook – Judy Rosenberg knows her way around a kitchen and this recipe was a delight from start to finish. 
Then, because the kitchen hadn’t been used enough, my daughter made two birthday cakes for friends – one red velvet with cream cheese frosting and a lovely vanilla cake from the Magnolia Bakery.
Dinner was take out from the burrito bar at Whole Foods.