While junior Haley Groesser loves to make food, she is not to be confused with a cook.
Inheriting her love of crafting delicious delicacies from her family, Haley has had a passion for baking since age ten. However, her forte falls on the sweeter side of the taste spectrum. As a complement to Haley, Haley’s older sister acquired the talent for cooking savory foods.
“Baking is a lot more instinct while cooking is more precise measurements,” Haley said. “In my family, we make a joke that my sister is a cook, and I’m the baker because I cannot cook to save my life. I can make eggs; I’m good at that.”
While having enthusiasm for treat-making since elementary school, the excess free time (especially as a student who opted for online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic) helped her develop her expertise further.
With practiced bakers on both sides of her extended family, Haley is often gifted recipes by her relatives. In addition, she garners her ideas from unique formulas she finds online, ones that stand out among the sea of rudimentary formulas.
Regardless of where she finds inspiration, however, she makes sure to add her own touches to the treats she creates.
“I like to do a mixture of both [replicating and experiencing in baking],” Haley said. “Once I [make a recipe] one time, the next time I make the recipe, I will change something, and it will evolve a little bit more. I’ll tweak them a little bit to see what I can change to make [them] my own.”
Accordingly, Haley grew up watching baking shows like Nailed It! on Netflix, where bakers compete in high-intensity environments to make elaborate cakes. While she wouldn’t want to be a contestant on such a televised tournament, she shares the same love for baking spontaneity.
Often, when she experiments, her innovations end up taste-tested by her immediate family. After she establishes a clear success of a recipe, however, Haley enjoys sharing her baked goods with others.
“I think it’s really rewarding to [share baked goods with my neighbors],” Haley said. “It’s almost like giving them a gift, and I like seeing their reactions and seeing if they like [what I made them].”
In addition to baking for others, Haley has discovered the joy of baking with others.
Notably, during the holiday season, she joined her friend for a festive cookie-creating challenge. Participating in the popular trend of trying to make food while deaf, blind, and mute, the two whipped up a batch of what were supposed to be Christmas cookies.
While they ended up misshapen, their taste was still sweet, as was the experience. In terms of baking treats with all her senses intact, however, Haley fondly recalls baking for family birthdays.
“Not taste-wise, but memory-wise, in my mind, the best thing that I’ve ever made [was] a tiny little cake for my niece’s first birthday party,” Haley said. “It was the cutest thing ever, and it was kind of a ‘victory moment’ when she liked it.”
Those who receive Haley’s baked sweets undoubtedly appreciate her passion for baking, but the pastime is more than just a way for her to connect with people. Baking serves as Haley’s therapeutic refuge from the sometimes chaotic reality of high school. Particularly due to the various stressors of junior year, making treats is a much-needed reprieve.
Typically putting on subtle music or a TV show as background noise, Haley makes sure to curate a calming ambiance when she bakes.
“[Baking] is a good way for me to relax, especially if I’ve had a tough week,” Haley said. “It helps me to put life into perspective. I think baking is a really good way to destress. Every time I come home and have this urge to bake something, it really calms me down and makes me feel a lot better.”
As she improves her skills, Haley is hoping to try numerous new decorating techniques for her cupcakes and cakes. And, this autumn specifically, she is looking forward to exploring baking pumpkin items.
Regardless of what her next steps may be, Haley knows that imperfection is inevitable, at least when it comes to trying out unfamiliar recipes.
“Don’t focus on the mistakes you make,” Haley said. “Along my baking journey, there has not been a shortage of mistakes I’ve made. If you do make a mistake, don’t dwell on it because you learn from it. Make sure that you’re [learning to bake] at your own pace. Don’t feel pressure.”
