As an anniversary gift, my 13 year old son made a batch of Nestle toll house cookies for my wife and I. We each got a half a batch.
But he made them PERFECT and it's his first batch baking by himself! He mixed the batter and everything from scratch. I'm very proud of him.

He's actually a third generation cookie baker. My mom was good at baking (at least the half-dozen recipes I remember her trying), and she taught her kids. Now I'm teaching my kids.

Note: these cookies will not be crunchy on the 2nd day. They are perfectly cooked through, but will stay completely "chewy" or soft rather than crunchy. I think these turned out better than the batch I helped them make a couple months ago.

We use real butter, and that probably helps. He needs to start selling these...hahaha.

That second picture? That's the *bottom* of the cookie, not the top!

We'll have to call him The Diet Killer or something similar. Or Tenpounds, for what he's going to add to my waistline! hahaha

I should add -- he also knows how to make waffles, 2 different cobbler recipes, and (breadmaker) cinnamon raisin bread. All from scratch ingredients. The bread requires that you get the dough just the right consistency, and he's got that totally down. He can make things from mixes like box cakes as well.

I'm really pro-baking because baked goods are SO marked up, more than any other food. It's all just flour, water, sugar, and a bit of eggs and butter. Super cheap ingredients, but you end up with food worth 5, 10, or 15X more. It's the closest thing most of us get to having a money printing press in the home.

With cooking meals, you produce value as well, but the factor is much lower, like 2X or 3X the cost of the ingredients.

I'm hoping my gaggle of girls learn all this stuff eventually too. The oldest 2 are learning, but I don't think either of them has gone into the kitchen and whipped up one of these things by themselves just yet. I guess I'll have to start "nudging" them in a year or two.

It's good to see boys begin to master anything. It's what boys should do. Just pick something, and get good at it!

From what I've read, mastery of _____ (insert just about anything here) is the most attractive thing to women -- especially if that ______ is something she respects. You could be the star quarterback, but if a girl doesn't care about sports, she won't be that impressed. You could be an ex-seminarian who knows the Faith inside out, but if a girl doesn't value the Catholic Faith, that won't impress her either.

Actually, it's confidence that women are attracted to, but true confidence (rather than bluffing) only comes from mastery of various subjects.