Miles learned to bake from grandmother

Brianna Miles learned the art of baking sweets from her grandmother, Rebecca Miles, who passed down all her kitchen wisdom.

“She taught me everything I know,” Miles said. “Cookies, pineapple upside-down cake, pound cakes—anything sweet.”

One of her fondest memories from that time is playfully tossing flour back and forth with her grandmother as a child, a moment she still treasures to this day.

Miles, a 2023 graduate of Carthage Christian Academy, has worked as a personal care assistant at Atwood Personal Care Home for seven months. Despite her busy schedule, baking remains one of her greatest passions.

Mile’s considers Sour Patch Kid cookies as her specialty—a unique treat that took her 15 attempts to perfect. Caramelizing the candy just right proved to be a challenge, but the effort paid off.

“It makes me proud when I make them,” she said. “I feel like I overachieved because they’re so hard to get right.”

Miles said she enjoys experimenting with all kinds of sweets, including cookie dough cookies and haystacks, which are favored by her mother. For holidays like Christmas, her homemade banana pudding is a must-have, and this year, she had the joy of sharing it with her coworkers.

Lately, she has ventured into bread-making and is currently mastering sourdough. No matter what she’s baking, she often adds her signature twist—a touch of lemon zest to brighten her recipes.

When it comes to kitchen tools, Miles swears by a good mixer, a sturdy rolling pin, and reliable oven mitts to avoid accidents. Her advice to aspiring bakers is to never give up and to just keep trying until you get it right.

Outside the kitchen, Miles enjoys monogramming t-shirts and spending time with her family. Looking ahead, she dreams of compiling her favorite recipes into a cookbook to share with loved ones.

For Miles, baking is more than a hobby—it’s a way to carry on her grandmother’s cooking legacy while creating sweet memories of her own.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

1/4 cup butter

2/3 cup of brown sugar

1 can of pineapple slices (heavy syrup) in juice, drained

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1 tsp. of baking powder

1 tsp, ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp of salt.

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Pour the melted butter into a 9x13 inch baking dish, making sure it covers the bottom evenly. Sprinkle the brown sugar over the melted butter.

Arrange the pineapple slices over the brown sugar. Place a cherry in the center of each pineapple slice if you'd like. Prepare the mix. Pour the cake batter over the pineapple slices in the baking dish.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then carefully invert it onto a serving plate.

HOMEMADE

BLUEBERRY PIE

2 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. butter

1 pkg. refrigerated pie crusts (or make your own if you're feeling ambitious!)

Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). In a bowl, mix together the blueberries, sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Roll out one pie crust and place it in a 9-inch pie pan.

Pour the blueberry mixture into the crust. Dot the filling with butter. Roll out the second pie crust and place it over the filling. Trim and crimp the edges to seal.

Cut a few slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Let it cool before serving.

SOUR PATCH KID COOKIES

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar, packed

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup chopped Sour Patch Kids and melt them!

Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). In a large bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Pour in the sour patch kids after melted. Drop spoonful’s of dough onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.