Annie Siemasko knows she's talented.
It's not an ego thing for the 7-year-old from Newburyport. She just knows that she's a gifted baker.
"I'm not trying to brag, but I am really good," said Annie, clad in her pink chef's hat and matching apron as she baked last week in her kitchen at home.
Her love of cooking started about a year ago, when she was helping her mom with dinner. It grew as she went to her grandmother's house in Byfield, and continued her duties as an amateur pastry chef.
"I don't know why (I like to cook)," said Annie. "I just started to really like it and now I am starting to love it."
It was Annie's grandmother, Sandy Siemasko, who nominated Annie for Cook of the Month.
"I think it's wonderful — she cooks all the time with her mom," said Sandy Siemasko.
So far, Annie has spun her love of baking into delectable treats — everything from apple pies to chocolate chip cookies (her favorites). Her 11-year-old sister, Carley, often helps, along with her mom, Marnie. Annie's father, Tom, gets to do a lot of the eating.
"I think she's a good cook," Carley said.
Annie's family realized cooking was a serious hobby for the young girl when she started watching the Food Network along with the Disney Channel. While most 7-year-olds can extol the virtues of Hannah Montana (which she does), Annie is equally enthusiastic about a recipe she saw made by Food Network favorites Rachael Ray or Giada DiLaurentiis.
She hasn't tried any creations by Ray or DiLaurentiis yet, but she's planning to.
While her baking comes with benefits — usually of a sweet nature, it can also be a burden. Recently, Annie's school, Immaculate Conception in Newburyport, had a talent show, and the young cook didn't feel she could participate — carting her oven and rolling pin on stage would have been impractical.
Though Annie cooks under supervision, she's pretty self-sufficient in the kitchen. A counter, a chair, a rolling pin and some flour is all she needs, and she's good to go.
For her latest recipe, a cinnamon roll cookie, she rarely measures and uses her sight to spread the cinnamon and sugar as needed (and she needs a lot).
Her skills in the kitchen don't just stop at her mom's or her grandmother's. Stella's of Middle Street, in downtown Newburyport, now features a cinnamon sugar pancake snowman special — developed from a suggestion from Annie. If you want to try it, ask for the Annie Special.
Annie would like to open up her own bakery someday, where she could invent new pastries. In the short term, though, she'd like to make doughnuts.
Cinnamon Roll Cookies
1 pie crust (homemade or store-bought)
Cinnamon, to taste
Sugar, to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Flour your work surface and a rolling pin. Spread the crust out on the surface and roll into a rectangle. You may need to cut the dough in half. Roll to about a quarter-inch thickness
Cover with cinnamon, then with sugar. Roll the dough into a cigar shape, and cut into inch-long pieces. Place on a ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 25 minutes and cool on a wire rack.
Nestle Toll House Chocolate-Chip Cookies
21/4cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt into a small bowl.
In another bowl, beat butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips.
Drop by rounded tablespoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for nine to 11 minutes, until golden brown.
Zucchini Bread with Chocolate Chips
2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
11/2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine eggs, oil, sugar and zucchini in a mixing bowl. Beat until well mixed. Stir in dry ingredients. Beat until mixture is smooth. Add vanilla and chocolate chips.
Pour into greased 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake for 40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Do you know a great cook?
If you would like to nominate someone for a Cook of the Month feature, contact Rosemary Ford at 978-946-2188 or e-mail rford@eagletribune.com.
