It all started when I went up to Ohio a couple years ago for a family reunion, and my Great Aunt Sue made the yummiest apple pie with the help of her little assistant (me). Us, southerners, love some apple pie. But you know what really impressed me, it was all made from scratch. The crust was so crispy, the apples were freshly peeled,(By me of course) and mixed together with vanilla, cinnamon, butter, and all things wonderful. I couldn’t wait to pop that sucker out of the oven and get to town. This sparked my desire to learn how to bake, and I'm not talking about going to the store and picking up a cake box mix; I'm telling you it's time to put those measuring cups and baking powder to good use. Now that I have made you crave a good ole' apple pie, let me tell you all the wonderful things you earn from learning how to bake.

1. It Makes A Great Gift

Now that I have learned how to bake and I quite enjoy it, it is the most perfect, heartfelt gift you can give a friend or family member. Nothing says love like their favorite, freshly baked dessert. If your short on money that week and there's a birthday coming up, get creative, look in your pantry, look on Pinterest, and voila, you have the sweetest gift ever (did you catch that, "sweetest") They will thank you indefinitely and you don’t have to worry about scraping up some change. Win, Win.

2. You Choose Your Ingredients

I know I got some caramel lovers, nut lovers, and chocolate lovers out there. Unfortunately, some of us hate those very things. You can pick and choose what ingredients you want to incorporate into your lovely dessert. If the recipe calls for some chopped walnuts, but your not a huge walnut fan, you can make the executive decision to leave them out. If that is too much caramel for your taste, scratch it. Or maybe a recipe lacks something that you think would fit, pop it in there. (I like to add dried cranberries to banana nut bread.)You are in control, so be in control!

3. It's Super Impressive

Nothing is more satisfying when you cut that cake, and someone says, "Who made this? It's delicious" Well, don’t mind if I do, "ME!" Yes, you made that. All that hard work with trial and error was very well worth it. You are a baking goddess for goodness sake. So, go ahead and do that hair flick, and be proud sister.

4. You Can Satisfy Your Cravings

The most annoying thing is when you are craving something sweet, so your fumbling around in the kitchen, looking high and low for a cookie or just something, but there is nothing. So you find yourself eating some chocolate chips out of the bag, hoping that will do. Well hello, if you have chocolate chips, that means you have chocolate chip cookies! Look up a good recipe(My fav: Nestle Tollhouse Recipe) and get busy. In thirty minutes, you are ready to indulge. Once again, you are in control my friend.

5. You Look Hot In An Apron

Self explanatory, but, it's true. You have the perfect excuse for strutting around in an apron, flaunting your fresh, chocolaty brownies that just came out of the oven because, you’re a baker! So step one: go buy a cute apron. Step two: bake something. Step three: expect some compliments. Yay for you!

6. It’s A Stress Reliever

I find my greatest peace, baking. When you are baking, you have to concentrate on the recipe. Leveling flour, measuring vanilla, greasing and flouring a pan. You don’t have time to think of all your worries, nor do you want to. You can only think of the great accomplishment this will bring. Focus on the present, creating an extravagant masterpiece.

So, I just gave you six stupendous reasons that baking is such a rewarding hobby, and the best confidence booster. It is up to you to challenge yourself to be better than you were yesterday, and to enlighten yourself in the indulgences of life. You want to be known for your yummy, baked creations. So, be in control and get to baking. Watch the cooking channel, get on Pinterest, look at some Youtube videos. Make whatever your little heart desires and enjoy.

Writing this has ignited me to make something, and I'm thinking something pumpkin. Happy Fall, and good luck my future bakers!