I am a 20-year-old student from Canada, with an amazing cook for a father -- here's hoping I inherited some of his "baking thumb"! I have only gotten interested in real baking within the last several months.
My favorite things to cook
Cookies, brownies, and other sweet desserts.
My favorite family cooking traditions
When I used to lick the mixers/bowl after Dad made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. My younger sister usually gets that honor now; but it was fun while it lasted! Hehe.
My cooking triumphs
I seem to be getting good at substituting "lighter" ingredients in recipes and still making a pretty nice-tasting dessert. I also once managed to make decent cookies out of slightly screwing up the mixing order of a given recipe (see my 1 1/2 chocolate chip cookie recipe).
My cooking tragedies
Splenda brownies, and my first batch of double chocolate cookies. Way TOO light and fluffy, believe it or not -- I didn't include quite enough fat in those recipes. But I am learning a lot from my mistakes. :)