KI D S
by Ann Marie Kennon photos courtesy Vanessa Schrauner
Although she plans to bake only as a hobby, Kylie got her first taste of entrepreneurship this past December when she was contracted to bake 300 macarons for Fidelis Publishing Group to distribute as holiday gifts to their customers. "This was a bigger job than she's ever attempted and it was a great opportunity and learning experience, especially at her age," observed Kylie's mom and Jarrell City Manager, Vanessa Shrauner. Kylie's macarons received rave reviews from recipients who were positive they were made by a professional chef.
Renaissance Girl T
hough she's only in 7th grade, this Jarrell chef and baker has been cooking up great things for six years. As a young child, Kylie was inspired by the great taste of her grandmother's cinnamon rolls. "I saw gramma just putting things in a bowl and then it came out cinnamon rolls. I thought, 'I need to learn how to do that!'" Despite one melted plastic baking sheet (from a playset), Kylie learned quickly as grandma taught her and allowed her to help make pies, rolls, biscuits, and more from scratch. "I still help her cook and bake and we try recipes out on each other. When I do my own creations, I like to give away the results because I just like the cooking and I can't eat it all. In our family, food is one way we show love." She gets many requests from family for special recipes, particularly around the holidays. Kylie really enjoys making bread, particularly from the old recipes she's received from her grandmother. She also makes and modifies recipes from three cookbooks handed down from her
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F E B R UA R Y 2021 ď‚Ť M Y JA R R ELL M O NT HLY
great-grandmother, some of which are handwritten. She is known to many in Jarrell for her excellent macarons, which require expert-level skills, but she says being in the kitchen relaxes her and she can't think of a better way to express herself. Mom Vanessa says her mother has the great "feel" of a southern cook but Kylie loves the exact science and precision of baking, which is one reason her macarons are so good. Outside the home, Kylie is a straight-A student and participates in band, theater, and basketball at Jarrell Middle School. If she ever has spare time, she is still working with her hands on embroidery and making earrings. While still young, she thinks she would enjoy a career as an English or History teacher, or maybe a band director someday. Vanessa says, "I believe kids should do something that means something to them and Kylie chooses to do everything... and is good at doing them." Kylie admits, "The kitchen is my favorite thing. It makes other people happy and I love that they appreciate the thought and the effort."
