Growing up all through high school, my sister was the master baker of the family.
She would/does whip up cookies all the time for fun, and I remember Mrs. Clause once gave her a puzzle of a Christmas cookie kitchen scene and a handwritten note "for Mama's little elf" (which was, incidentally, in Mama's handwriting, and led to a sad realization for me indeed...)
I was the kitchen spazz, and always managed to screw up a key component of the intricate baking process, forgetting an ingredient, forgetting how many scoops of flour I had already added, etc. (I'm never making angelfood again).
Miraculously, all this changed after I spent a year of my life in college taking organic chemistry.
I don't remember much from that time because I have blocked it from my memory BUT I evidently did benefit from desperately panicky checking, double checking, measuring, remeasuring, and painstakingly combining chemicals in lab to do those crazy reactions that I don't remember the names of. Because if you mixed the reagents in the wrong order or amounts, well let's just say that was not a good thing.
Baking is now a piece of cake (haha seriously no pun intended), I guess because I have learned the vital habit of awareness.
And I don't cry if I mess things up, because no one is going to die.
I feel that scones are the most fool-proof thing to bake. And they are delicious and sound fancy. Ellie sent me this recipe and it is amazing. You should try it, regardless of your own baking prowess :)
Apple Ginger Scones
recipe via Ella
-1 3/4 c. flour
-2 1/2 t. baking powder
-1 t. salt
-1/3 c. shortening (I used applesauce)
-1 apple, peeled and chopped
-3 T brown sugar
-1/2 t. ginger (or 1 t. grated fresh ginger)
-1/3 c. milk
-1 egg
-more milk and sugar
Heat oven to 425*. Grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper. Mix ingredients until dough forms (knead if necessary). Pat dough into 8 inch circle on pan. Brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar, cut into 8 wedges with a big knive, and bake 14 minutes (took more like 20 in my oven). Eat with tea.