Confession: I’m a baker because cookies make me friends. I’m a baker because cakes help me out of a jam from time to time. I’m a baker because brownies attract quality men.
Let’s talk about boys and baking. Boys like cookies and pies and coffee cake with lots of crumb topping. I know. I’ve done the research.
Here’s how to impress a boy with baking.
Note: If your particular boy doesn’t like baked goods… I’m afraid I don’t understand. He’s weird. I’d question his motives.
If you happen to be interested in girls… well… that’s a whole other blog post… one that possibly includes more chocolate and how to hide a giant engagement ring in her favorite cupcake.
Boys. Baking.
You know how boys… the good ones, at least… bring flowers to a first date? I think girls should bring brownies. Easy chocolate brownies with walnuts. Wrap them in wax paper and put them in a simple box. The next day when they’re trying to play it cool and not call you back? They’ll have a brownie and pick up the phone. Guarantee.
Good boys have good friends. Don’t forget them. How about a ‘nice to meet you, friend of the boy I like’ offering? Yes. Lemon Cloud Cookies. Do this.
What happens if you wake up with a boy in your bed?
Mom, I’ve never woken up with a boy in my bed. Never. Not even once. But if I had… well. Nevermind.
If you wake up with a boy in your bed you have several options. Pay close attention.
If you like the boy next to you, hop out of bed, make some coffee, whip up some pancake batter and leave it to rest on the counter. Hop back in bed, wake up cute boy then return to the kitchen to fry pancakes. The smell of coffee and cooking dough will eventually lure him out of bed. He’ll sit at the table. You’ll sit at the table. He’ll wonder how he got so dang lucky. You’ll wonder how you got so dang lucky. If he offers to help you do the dishes… marry him, immediately.
Now… if you do not like the boy in your bed… make. nothing. And never repeat those circumstances again. The whole pretending to be asleep until he finally leaves thing… awkward.
Good boys have good moms. Good moms have hawk eyes. They notice everything. This Apple Crisp will buy you a bit of leniency. Maybe you dropped the s-bomb at the dinner table. Oops. Maybe she got a peek of one of your tattoos and thinks you’re some sort of wild hippie.
This Apple Crisp should mend all that. It’s the crumble topping. It heals all things. Even if you are a wild, foul-mouthed hippie… you’re a wild foul-mouthed hippie who can cook. Moms like girls who can cook. Be a girl who can cook.
Boys like bacon.
Boys like pink things if they taste good.
Boys like when you pull out all the stops and doll yourself up for a date. Boys like when you pull out all the stops and make fancy cakes with expensive nuts.
But really… I think that boys like it best when you just throw on some tight jeans and a cute t-shirt. No makeup. I’m also pretty sure that boys are happiest with a simple meal that involves steak, barbecue sauce, and warm chocolate chip cookies.
Now… it’s not that we need to impress boys. Oh heck no. It’s just that sometimes… we want to, and that’s not a crime.
And that’s my two cents… put that in your brain hole to marinate.


















{ 319 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
loved this post!!…and LOVE all your receipes!
Genius. Absolute genius. Love this! And will be posting it on my blog … love everything about your blog. Keep it up!
Bwahahaha!! OMG your so funny. Pretending to sleep till boy leaves…akward… haha!
Thanks for the post. Yummy treats and a good chuckle. =]
I’m a 17 year old girl with lots of boys around me to feed, and this totally speaks to me! I also have two older brothers and a cookie fiend dad, so thanks Joy, you know what’s up!
Oh wow you are so right. Such a cute post.
one of my favorite posts, Joy! miss you and all my LA ladies :)
you’re super sweet Dean! thanks! we miss you too!
Impeccable timing Joy – I just had a baking session for a boy I have my eye on. Fingers crossed!
ooh! good luck!
Cute post! I won my boy (now husband) over with three tins of homemade cookies for our first Christmas together and he STILL raves about it (6 years later).
Mmmm, think it’s time to bake some cookies again.
Boys like sugar and spice and all things nice! So true, they love to have their cake and eat it too!
I’ve always said that the fastest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. My husband always gives me a squeeze when I make something good to eat.
haha, this is just plain awesome! You rock!
Loved this post SO much I posted in on my tumblr! I also made your cinnamon sugar biscotti this weekend and they were a delicious hit!! Thanks!
This is so cute! And yeah. Both my male and female friends get pretty excited when I bring them baked goods.
I had resisted learning how to bake because I didn’t want to end up eating everything I made … but this article changed my mind! My honey could use a few more pounds, and maybe his mother will like me better if I bake cookies for him.
I loved this post. It made me laugh and made my heart happy. You’re great. And funny.
Oh my. Lovely, lovely post there Joy.
But it makes me wonder… is this REALLY the reason why I’ve been baking and cooking like crazy in the past couple years? Is it why I’m on my way to becoming a certified Chef Pâtissier?
To LURE the pretty boys?
I’ve put all my friends under the spell already.
Now I need to do it with my coworkers.
And then find the Man… or not, and just bake my way into eternity.
Very well written post! Love it!
God, do women really still think like this? My eyes could not roll harder.
I like way your brain works. You had me laughing out loud. Now we know that boys like girls who can cook however I only have sons which begs the question, do girls like boys who can cook? :-)
I found your blog through a blog through some other blog. I love your writing style and I think that this particular post is adorable! Plus your recipes make me long for baking abilities that I have yet to acquire. I can’t wait to see what you write/bake next!
Oh, Joy. I want to be you when I grow up, which is right about now.
I am trying to think of a way for my girlfriend to see this without coming across as a chauvinistic pig…
hahahaa! just email it to her! and then take her to a nice dinner. :)
or make her a nice dinner/cookies/cake instead…
I have gotten one marriage proposal over a cupcake.
…and it was not from my boyfriend! Hahahaha totally works!
OH MY GOSH! You are the cutest writer ever! I LOVE baking for my BOY and you are so on the money… about everything! Thanks for being so inspiring! LOVE!
I formerly was an ad agent, calling on car dealerships, and every once in a while I would bring my dealers homemade treats such as a tray of chocolate chip cookies, or chocolate dipped strawberries, cherries, apricots and pretzels….well….99% of the management & sales force is male-dominated…..and let’s just say that my sales numbers went through the roof;)
You know the old saying, “The way to a man’s heart (and ad budget) is through his stomach!”
Yup. It’s all true.
Well..Joy…I love to bake and wanted to impress a certain red headed boy myself. It is a three hour drive to his place and I will be visiting him for the weekend. I need something to impress but not too fancy that it will destroy itself in the car on the drive over…any suggestions?
brownies! do it.
Question, what does it mean when a boy likes to bake?
um…. that they like cookies? a lot?
In this case, it was the marbled cheesecake brownies from Smitten Kitchen, but I concede your point. Now I just need to find a girl in LA who likes being baked for as opposed to the other way around
you shouldn’t have too much trouble with that. ooh wait. models and actresses…. hmm… good luck.
That was the cutest post! My bf loves it when I cook or bake for him. I don’t do it often, so it’s cute when he gets all excited to taste so of my cooking.
This is the funniest and greatest post ever! So happy to have stumbled upon it!
joy, you are my hero. brownies alawayss get the boys and for some reason or another, pancakes are always requested in the morning! great post! :)
Brownies are my sure-fire way to lure boys!
This is by far one of your best posts. It made me smile. A lot. And FYI the part about the steak, BBQ Sauce, & Warm Chocolate Chip Cookies – it’s like you know MY boy!!!! I love my boy and he loves Cookies!
Love this post. In a moment of brutal honesty, I’m sure my now-husband would admit that he married me for my carrot cake and white chocolate/toasted almond semifreddo. And I’m totally fine with that.
this was adorable. Pretty freaking happy to have found your site dollface.
Love this post! I agree with everything!
lol i just came across this entry today and i love it! just last week i decided i would bake for a boy i’ve become interested in…(let’s call it an attempt to at least lay a friend foundation!)…this blog is just the encouragement i needed! thanks Joy!
Hello!
I´m from Portugal and i´ve just found your wonderful blog!..
I really love to cook and i will make a bigg effort to do some of your reacepies..you know, the meisures here are very different, and the names of the ingredients too..but they look soo preety and mouth watering..
Thank you! Maybe, some day, you would like to know some of the portuguese reacepies, some people say it´s the best one ;) *****
I baked a giant chocolate chip cookie in high school for my guy friends. They were all fighting over it…typical boys… so I decided to sell it! I ended up making $30! score
Not gonna lie, a good 50% of why I have decided to become a baker is to attract boys.
I cannot believe how insanely sexist this is. All boys hate pink. Real Men like their women in the kitchen, baking. I want a “boy” who can bake for me. Get your priorities in line.
this is supposed to be a veeerrrryyy tongue in cheek post. please don’t take it too seriously… that would be a mistake.
YOU ARE THE BESTEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love love love this! Thanks for making me smile
I always read your blog but hadn’t seen this post untill today and i have to say that i read it at the most perfect time! i am in a super confusing situation with my boy so i think a batch of warm cookies are the perfect idea!
also to the people that considered this sexist! some of us feminists enjoy being the kitchen and cooking for our boys so there!
← Previous Comments
{ 10 trackbacks }