My mom does not cook. I knew this as a child, and I never cared. If she doesn’t enjoy chopping vegetables and stirring stews, why should she spend hours behind the stove when she can easily just heat up something frozen that she knows her kids will devour? To her, cooking meals from scratch was a waste of time and energy. And although I developed a love for cooking as an adult, I can’t say I blame her.

Baking, on the other hand, was her specialty. It seemed like we almost always had some fresh, tasty treat on the counter in our home. Banana bread, brownies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, sheet cake, you name it! My mother is an excellent baker, and she definitely passed her love of baking on to me. That’s why I had such a great time visiting the Baking subreddit for this article. With over 3 million members, this community is a treasure trove of gorgeous creations and scrumptious recipes.  

While some people can’t think of anything more stressful than having to bake croissants from scratch or spend an entire day in the kitchen, others consider baking to be a form of stress relief. And when it comes to why bakers love whipping up sweet treats so much, Matthews Cotswold Flour shared a few ideas on their site.

First, they noted that baking can help you communicate your feelings for someone. If it’s your best friend’s birthday or your partner recently landed a new job, your first instinct might be to bake them something special to show how much you care about them. Cooking for another person can certainly be a labor of love, and baking something with someone else in mind might be one of the sweetest (figuratively and literally) things you can do for them. 

Baking can also be a great way to express your creativity. You can experiment with countless flavors, and if you decorate your creations, you can turn them into anything from an adorable pumpkin to a portrait of your beloved cat. Seasoned bakers may try out different forms of flour, different sweeteners, make healthier substitutions and more to unlock a new world of flavors and possibilities. Sure, they might not all turn out perfectly. But experimenting in the kitchen can be so much fun! 

Baking also allows us to explore all of our senses. There’s nothing better than the scent of brownies baking in the oven, and we all know that finally getting to taste them can be magical. But baking often requires working with your hands as well, which can be soothing for many people. Whether you’re kneading bread or frosting a cake, there’s something about getting out of your head and working with your hands that can be incredibly relaxing.

At the same time, baking can enhance your focus. Most of us spend about 7 hours per day staring at screens, and it can be incredibly difficult to focus for more than a few minutes. But spending time in the kitchen making sure that your dough is the right texture, your cookies are the perfect shapes and the piping on your cake is exactly how you imagined it can work wonders for your focus. Plus, baking requires a lot of thinking ahead and following specific instructions, or the entire batch might completely flop.    

If you’re interested in dipping your toes into the wonderful world of baking but you’re just not sure where to start, don’t worry, pandas. Jenn at Once Upon a Chef has shared some of her best tips for beginner bakers on her blog. First, she recommends weighing your ingredients with a scale rather than simply using measuring cups and spoons. This will ensure that you get the exact amount of each ingredient needed. She also recommends investing in a high-quality mixer if you’re going to be doing lots of baking.   

Next, Jenn says room temperature ingredients can be a game changer when it comes to baking. She suggests leaving them out overnight on the countertop if possible, but understandably, most of us forget to do this. On the subject of temperatures, you should also make sure that your oven temperature is accurate. You may need to get an oven thermometer to ensure that you’re baking at the right temperature, so nothing comes out over or underdone.    

As far as your pans go, Jenn says light-colored metal pans are better than dark ones. Apparently, light pans distribute heat more evenly, while darker pans will be more likely to create excessive browning or uneven baking, Jenn explains. And before sticking your pans in the oven, it’s best to line them with parchment paper or nonstick foil. This will allow you to effortlessly remove cakes, brownies and more from their pans without worrying about anything getting stuck. 

We hope you’re enjoying these stunning photos of mouthwatering creations, pandas! Keep upvoting the ones that you’d love to devour, and let us know in the comments below what the most amazing thing you’ve ever baked was. Then, if you’d like to check out even more gorgeous baked items, we recommend reading this Bored Panda article next!