My helper

Hayden absolutely loves to help in the kitchen. I try to encourage that, except for things involving the oven. I'm clumsy enough. But whenever I bake, he always gets to help!

Honestly at this point, I think he can make the kahlua cake as well as I can!

And the best part...licking all the stirring parts!

Baking party

On Tuesday, I had a long day at work. It was just a frustrating day overall, with little I could control to make it less frustrating. So when I got home, I knew I was due for a few hours in the kitchen. I made dinner for us, and then got to baking. Banana bread is one of my very favorite things to bake, because it's so easy and I so rarely mess it up. And, knowing this one was going to work in its entirety, I got to make it with walnuts! Jay doesn't like nuts in his desserts and Hayden is texture-picky so I usually have to leave them out. But I was so excited to fold them in just before baking, and to me they make the difference between a snack and a delightful dessert.

I also made my first attempt at peach tarts. Stephanie Baker makes the very best peach tarts and was kind enough to share the recipe. By trade, I am not a baker. I love to cook, but I was not born to bake. This was my first shot at rolling out pastry dough, and it was an adventure. I discovered quickly that the polish pottery rolling pin I have is definitely meant for decoration and not for rolling dough. Or maybe it's meant for experienced dough-ers. Either way, I had to switch to the wooden one early on. All in all, I think they turned out well for my first try and I learned some things along the way to try out next time.

I always have bigger plans than my clock allows. So I had to toss out the idea of homemade chocolate chip cookies. But to me, that's a weekend project so that Hayden and Jay can enjoy them straight from the oven because that's when they're best!

Here's the recipe as requested by several!

Peach Tarts-Makes 24 tarts
Filling:

1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 ripe peaches, diced (I don't peel them)

Crust:
2/3 cup crisco (I use the butter flavored sticks)
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 cup boiling water
Pinch salt and sugar
2 cups flour
sprinkle of cinnamon (optional)

Mix filling and set aside.

Place crisco and milk in a bowl. Add boiling water. Crisco will not be melted all the way. Add other ingredients and mix well to form a dough. Roll out 1/3 of the dough on a floured surface. I then cut circles with a drinking glass out of the dough. Place dough in bottom of muffin pans. Fill each with peach filling and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes. Filling will be bubbly and brown just a little. Repeat steps until all the dough is used.

**Editor's note, I only used 3 peaches because they were good size and it was enough for 24 tarts! I would also leave out the vanilla for a more tart taste. Stephanie's were perfect, mine need some work!**