From apple crisps to cookies, baking has something for everyone. Whether it holds tradition through family recipes or is simply a whim born from a sugar craving, many people share a love for it. Sophomore Kylie Doubler is one of these people; although she only recently began baking, her skills have grown tremendously in just a short amount of time.

“I really got into [baking] the summer of last year,” Kylie said. “My dad is more of a cook [than a baker], but he always said I had a talent for it. I picked it up from the beginning, but it came to me easily.”

Unlike the majority of people who bake, Kylie doesn’t eat most of the various desserts and delicacies she makes, but she instead enjoys baking for relatives and friends. To her, seeing the joy others get from her baking is more than enough.

“What I like about baking is the opportunity to make things for others,” Kylie said. “Most of the things I bake I don’t eat, because I am not a sweets type of person, so they end up going to my family members. Or, in most cases, I’ll make cookies for my neighbors because they love them, or I’ll make some for special occasions and bring them to that place.”

Although Kylie is adept at baking, she mainly sticks to the simple and well-known recipes that we all know and love, like chocolate chip cookies. 

“I just do the basic [recipes],” Kylie said. “I mostly bake cookies because they’re all pretty easy to make, once you [find a good recipe]. I’ve made the same [cookie] recipe so many times [that] I’m good at it, but I do make cakes sometimes. But usually, I forget to put [an ingredient] in on accident.”

Despite Kylie mostly baking recipes she finds on her own, she still feels more connected with the other bakers and cooks in her family because of the hobby she’s adopted. Despite her general lack of resources, she still finds creative ways to incorporate her own unique charm into each recipe. 

“Last summer, I was working at my Grandparents’ cherry farm, and I was given the task of baking for the pad workers,” Kylie said. “So, [my grandma] gave me a few recipes to choose from. Although I wasn’t doing it with her directly, I loved that I was able to bake in a different kitchen with a lot more room and an actual kitchen with an [electric] mixer because I don’t have one.”

Baking has provided Kylie with a multitude of new experiences and funny stories, along with the opportunity to bring joy to her friends and family through her desserts.

“Baking with my youngest cousin is always funny,” Kylie said. “He is only nine and knows where and how to use everything in our grandparents’ house [when we bake]. I make him my taste tester, and he keeps coming back for more.”