By Mary Pannabecker Steiner

Like most young children, Lily Schumacher enjoyed helping out in the kitchen.

But about the time she reached third grade, she took matters into her own hands and embarked on a baking spree. Six years later, she's still mid-spree. Her baking knowledge far outweighs that of many adults.

Now that school is in session, most weekends find Lily in the kitchen, thumbing through well-worn cookbooks searching for the next new recipe to try. During the summer, though, she baked nearly every other day, turning out cookies and cakes for her family, friends and neighbors to test.

It was, she says, advantageous that her family moved into a house with air conditioning. She could bake whenever she wanted -- despite the heat.

To view photos of the baking process, click here.

On a recent blustery Saturday, Lily agreed to be interviewed, photographed, and videotaped as she led her audience through the production of one of her favorites: Strawberry Cream Cookies, which comes from her favorite baking book, "The Taste of Home Baking Book."

It's a good cookie, she said. "Even if they're in a cookie jar for two weeks, they'll still be soft."

She'd set up the kitchen just right, with her mixer in full reach of all of her baking supplies - flour, sugar, butter, cream cheese, egg, vanilla, and strawberry jam. Nearby was a set of handmade cookie sheets, given to her by her mentor, Joanne Overmyer, known locally for her own baking skills.

Waiting in the wings to offer assistance or help answer questions were her parents, JP and Tim Schumacher. Her brothers, Isaac, Joseph and Levi were out of sight for the moment, as was her sister, Hannah, away at college.

Thoroughly comfortable in her role as featured baker, Lily emulated the confidence of the television chefs she enjoys watching. As she began the process of measuring ingredients, she explained each step. In between, she found time to respond to questions - all without burning a cookie.

Icon: Why did you choose this recipe?
Lily: It's one of my favorites. It's from my favorite baking book, "The Taste of Home Baking Book." I have a ton more upstairs.
Icon When and why did you start baking?
Lily: I always liked helping out in the kitchen. I was in third grade, 9 or 10.
Icon: Do you remember the first thing you baked by yourself?
Lily: Peanut butter cookies. They actually turned out pretty good!
Icon: Who tests your products?
Lily: My brother, Isaac, and my dad. Joseph will only try them if I really beg him. He loves my German chocolate toffee cookies.
Lily: I remember my second one - chocolate chip cookies. I actually made my own recipe. It had a lot of vanilla in it. But now I can't find the recipe.
Icon: Why do you put your cookie dough in the freezer?
Lily: I always put it in the freezer because it usually cuts by half the time it needs to chill. Since you roll it into balls, it takes about 15 minutes to become malleable.
Icon: Now what?
Lily: I preheat the oven, get things ready. Usually while I'm waiting for the dough to chill, I put away everything I don't need.
Icon: What did you get for your birthday (near Thanksgiving)?
Lily: I got a scone pan and a cookie press. I've never made scones before.
Icon: What else would you like to learn?
Lily: My dad's going to help me with pie crust. He's got a really good way with pie. My mom bakes really good banana bread and cinnamon rolls.
Icon: Have you ever messed up a recipe?
Lily: The first time I made cream puffs, I messed up the recipe. You're supposed to put the eggs in one at a time. I put all of them in at once.
Icon: What's one of the hardest recipes you've tried?
Lily: I made a raspberry cheesecake with lemon crust for Mr. (Mark) Bourassa. It took 5 1/2 hours to make one cheesecake. That was my second cheesecake - the first was chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake.

Lily pulls the bowl of dough from the freezer and tests it with her fingers. It must meet her approval because she begins rolling small balls of dough. She places one on the cookie sheet.

Lily: These have to be exactly one inch. I measure the first one (with a ruler)and from then on know how big to make them. I use the end of the wooden spoon, stick it in flour and then make an indentation in each cookie. Then I put a little bit of jam in each hole. They bake for nine to 10 minutes.

Ten minutes later, she removes the cookie sheet from the oven and places it on a large cooling rack. After about a minute, she begins to remove them from the sheet.

Lily: I like to use a small, short-handled spatula with no holes in it. It has to be just big enough to scrape off a one-inch cookie.
Icon: Will you bake all of these tonight?
Lily, shrugging: Maybe. Unless I decide to do my homework.

Because, after all, she's really a typical 15-year-old, serious about school, soccer, track, and Japanese lessons, not to mention video games, and movies. In the next minute, though, she mentions her hope to try baking spritz the next day so she can try her new cookie press.

Lily, who loves to take a long time in the baking aisle of the grocery store, plans her baking carefully. But as any baker knows, quality ingredients and equipment aren't inexpensive.

Her mother, JP, laughed. "When Hannah was a teenager, I had to put her on a clothing allowance. Now I have to put Lily on a baking allowance."

Strawberry Cream Cookies (From "The Taste of Home Baking Book")
1 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
3 oz. cream cheese
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
Seedless strawberry jam or jelly

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolk and vanilla. Add flour and blend. Put in freezer until firm (10-15 minutes).
2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Using the end of a wooden spoon, press a hole in the center of each cookie. Fill with jam or jelly. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven onto wire racks to cool.
Tips:
If the dough doesn't taste sweet enough, add some extra sugar and vanilla.
If you don't have vanilla extract, regular vanilla works almost as well.
Put a little flour on the wooden spoon tip to keep the cookie dough from sticking to it. Shake off extra flour on tip before you use it. Press the wooden spoon about halfway into the dough ball. (As long as you can't see the tray underneath the dough, you are fine.)

Click here to view the second of three short videos.

Click here to view the third of three short videos.