End of an Easy-Bake era...

I can't cook. In fact, i've never been able to make anything that resembles food. When I was little, my mom bought me an Easy-Bake Oven in the hopes that it would prompt some sort of love of cooking. It didn't. I used that oven all the time, but never desired to expand my cooking knowledge. It was one of my favourite possessions as a child, and I was always ready to make little cakes for friends and family. If I still had it, I would probably still use it. Not a real oven... that would be crazy.

It is with sadness that I announce the death of Ronald Howes, the inventor who created the Easy-Bake Oven. He was 83 years old, and in addition to the oven he also worked for the defense department developing weaponry, developed a nontoxic Play-Doh, and created various glow-in-the-dark compounds. A pretty well-rounded resume if you ask me.

The Easy-Bake Oven was introduced in 1963. Initially it used a light bulb as it's primary heat source (which is what I used when I had one), but in recent years an actual heat source has been introduced. By 1996, more than 16 million ovens had been sold all over the world. The oven comes with small packets of pastry mix and round cooking pans, but tons of extra add-ons are available. I think at one point you could even buy an Easy-Bake mixer, but I wasn't far enough along in my culinary career for one of those. T0day you can buy the oven for $24.99, but of course, the ingredients packets range from $5-20. That's where it get's pricey.

Who knew that a light bulb-powered baking toy could become so popular! I remember that my friends always could make those crazy, double-decker cakes like the ones in the picture. I never could figure that part out. When I think back, I actually had many great times using that little oven! My childhood best friend - Allison - and I would get together on the weekend, have tea parties using my grandmother's old tea set, and of course, have cakes and cookies fresh out of the oven. I would make them for my family, and usually eat about half the cake batter before it even hit the oven. Thinking about it definitely makes me feel nostalgic. Rowland Howes stumbled upon a great idea, and I commend him for it.

However, I close this blog post with a very important question. I know many little girl's had Easy-Bake Ovens, but has anyone ever heard of a boy who had one?