Do you always wonder, what is it about baking that is so intensely comforting? Personally, I feel that the best part about baking isn't about the end product; it is the process of creating the end product.  My desire to bake is often less motivated by the result than the process itself. In short, I love all the aspects of baking, from start to finish. The slow process of measuring  the ingredients, rolling the dough, waiting for the dough to rise in the oven, and for aromas  of all sorts to fill up the kitchen, pulling the pans out of the oven and finding the baked goodies to be perfectly golden. And, of course, stuffing your face with warm, freshly baked cookies isn’t SO terrible as well.

There is absolutely nothing in this world that beats the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. It turns out that the smell of baked goods isn’t just pleasant. It can also be intensely emotional according to Dr. Alan Hirsch, a neurologist studying olfactory-evoked nostalgia. His studies show that smells produced by baking have a particularly powerful effect on memory. He explained that baked goods were the number one scent that made people nostalgic for their childhood.

Baking can often feel like putting together a magic potion. You combine a bunch of ingredients, get a mixture, pop it in the oven and you have a delicious cake. And it never stops feeling magical no matter how often you do it. Having constant access to feeling like a wizard? Yeah, no one gets tired of that feeling.

I feel that because cakes and baked goods are associated with special occasions such as   birthdays and Christmas, baked goods seem to be celebratory themselves. But, honestly, you don’t really NEED a reason to indulge in a delicious cake - invite a few friends over and eat together, as the cake is the celebration itself!