[OTA] Two out of three isn't too bad
This seemed easier when she was a spectator.
She'd watched Aunt Maggie doing the Christmas baking for years, though she'd never had much interest in learning how herself, and as often as not she'd had her nose in a book at Maggie's warm kitchen tables. In the early years, her father had come along, and nudged her to offer to help with the clean-up, but after Georgios had passed, it had just been her and her aunt, Zoe's determined reading interrupted only by conversation and offers of tea and samples (and, of course, pointed questions about helping. Zoe did a lot of dishes.)
But last year, she and Sophie had decided they were going to learn how to bake something, at least, and while they hadn't had as many cookie dates recently - it seemed like everything was just busier this year - Zoe had been spending enough time in Spade Castle's kitchens that her repertoire had gone beyond brownies and now included things like cake and muffins and actual pies. But not that many cookies, and not the fussy-seeming sugar-dusted cookies she associated with Christmas. Maybe she'd gotten ahead of herself. Gingerbread and sugar had gone pretty well. But the linzer cookies, which she'd been assured were easy...
Well, there was jam and sugar everywhere. Not exactly what she was planning on.
She'd watched Aunt Maggie doing the Christmas baking for years, though she'd never had much interest in learning how herself, and as often as not she'd had her nose in a book at Maggie's warm kitchen tables. In the early years, her father had come along, and nudged her to offer to help with the clean-up, but after Georgios had passed, it had just been her and her aunt, Zoe's determined reading interrupted only by conversation and offers of tea and samples (and, of course, pointed questions about helping. Zoe did a lot of dishes.)
But last year, she and Sophie had decided they were going to learn how to bake something, at least, and while they hadn't had as many cookie dates recently - it seemed like everything was just busier this year - Zoe had been spending enough time in Spade Castle's kitchens that her repertoire had gone beyond brownies and now included things like cake and muffins and actual pies. But not that many cookies, and not the fussy-seeming sugar-dusted cookies she associated with Christmas. Maybe she'd gotten ahead of herself. Gingerbread and sugar had gone pretty well. But the linzer cookies, which she'd been assured were easy...
Well, there was jam and sugar everywhere. Not exactly what she was planning on.