What I like to bake the most really depends on my mood.  If I’m feeling creative, I’ll make a cake, but if I’m craving comfort, I’ll bake a pie.  I’m not much of a bread baker, although I enjoy it on occasion ... and I don’t seem to have much time for cookies unless it’s the holidays.  I love my Christmas cookie baking tradition

Karen - 17 November 2007 08:52 PM

As for cookies, putting the batter together is definitely easy but the endless batches for the oven drive me a little crazy. quote]

I certainly understand that comment because I feel the exact same way, but I found the perfect solution… my 14 year old son doesn’t want to have anything to do with making the cookie dough, but he wants to do everything else, so I get to do the fun mixing and measuring (containing the mess), and then he does the rest .

Karen, I smiled at your post.  You say that making bread with a bread machine is cheating,  yet you think nothing of using frozen crusts. Is that not cheating as well? 

If I had to make bread by hand, I would not be able to make bread. I have carpal tunnel syndrome, and hand kneading is something I am totally unable to do. 

As for making pie crusts, I find that to be, well, easy as pie, LOL.  If you practice a little, it could become second nature, just like making your cakes and hand kneading bread is to you.  The best invention for me is Pie Crust Rings.  Sweet Celebrations used to sell them, I have not checked the catalog recently.  I roll my crusts between sheets of plastic wrap - no added flour, no sticking to the counter. These ‘rings’ make a perfect size crust too, not a bit wasted because you rolled the crust out of round. 

I enjoy baking everything, I can’t say I have a favorite thing that I like to bake.  I cannot do cake decorating, though, because of the carpal tunnel, it’s just too much for my hands to tolerate.

MrsM

When I started my new job of being a stay at home mum I decided I needed a hobby that I could work around the children that also didn’t cost a bomb (due to sudden and painful halving of income!)  Bread baking has been wonderful.  Cookies are fun to share with the children and has the instant gratification factor that my boys love.  Cakes are lovely but I need to share them with others (or go back to work so I can afford new larger clothes!).  I like pies but pastry is a challenge when the temp is 85-90F year round.  I now have granite benches and have been considering a rolling pin which you can fill with ice water.  I also love making my own ice cream.
It is lovely to share with my boys a love of cooking Liam who is 4 gets quite cross when directed to stay out of the kitchen (when making caramel for example).