What Josh Snyder Is Baking Up for The Office's Angela Kinsey This Mother's Day
Josh Snyder has acted in all sorts of TV shows (One Tree Hill and CSI: New York, to name a few) and films like Miss Dial and Shopgirl. But these days he's more likely to be baking up treats to feature on his website Baking with Josh and Ange. Oh and he's married to The Office's Angela Kinsey. We chatted with him to find out what he and their kids are cooking up for Mother's Day.
EatingWell: How did you fall in love with baking?
Josh Snyder: I come from a baking family. My Grandma Snyder, who is turning 94 this year, was always making something in the kitchen. From an early age, I remember my sisters and I helping her make different desserts for the many social functions she attended with my grandpa. She even put together a cookbook with all her recipes that I treasure and use quite often.
But I really fell in love with baking and cooking after I had kids. As a dad on a budget, I started making and decorating my kids' birthday cakes each year, then I started making cookies for school functions. Eventually my wife and I started a YouTube show called Baking with Josh and Ange, and I haven't looked back since.
EatingWell: What are you and the kids making for Angela this Mother's Day?
JS: Whenever we bake something for Angela, it's her favorite pie: Chocolate Meringue Pie. She loves pie so much that one year, when I asked her what she wanted for Christmas she said, "No gifts, please. Just pie."
EatingWell: Does your family spend a lot of time in the kitchen together?
JS: Our kitchen really is the center of our home. It's where we share about our day, listen to music and even have occasional dance parties. Cade (12), Isabel (14) and I love to bake the most. We make Brookies a lot. I love that it's something we can do together, and they are becoming great bakers!
Angela is more of a cook. She loves to improvise, which can be disastrous when baking. Just ask her about the baking soda/baking powder incident—those cookies were like hockey pucks. She has never lived that down.
EatingWell: What's your family's favorite weeknight dinner?
JS: Anything from the grill. Lemon Garlic Grilled Chicken is one of our family's favorite meals. And I make a delicious skirt steak. I always try to round out dinners with grilled or roasted veggies.
EatingWell: Who packs the kids' school lunches and snacks, and what's in them?
JS: We both do. Cade loves a PB&J with cucumber and a fruit bar, Jack (14) prefers deli meat with grapes and chips, and Isabel likes pasta with red sauce, apples and chips.
EatingWell: What's your favorite thing to bake?
JS: My all-time favorite dessert to make is Gingerbread Cookies—I love the smell from the gingerbread spices. My grandma made these cookies, and it brings back such fond memories. Also, it gives the kids and I a chance to decorate, which is one of our family's favorite traditions!
EatingWell: In your opinion, what's the most underrated piece of equipment for baking?
JS: I think it might be a tie between parchment paper and a cookie scoop. I make a lot of brownies and bars and being able to lift them out without a mess is a huge plus.
Also, a cookie scoop changed my baking life. I'm kind of a perfectionist, and I need all my cookies to be the same size. Not to mention, you can use a cookie scoop for meatballs or as a petite ice cream scoop!
EatingWell: What do the words "eating well" mean to you?
JS: To me eating well is all about balance. While we do make a lot of treats in our house, we try to enjoy them in moderation while focusing on healthy food that makes us feel good. It's OK to splurge occasionally, because eating and sharing meals with the people you love is one of the best parts of life!
EatingWell: Beer, wine or cocktail?
JS: Scotch. Neat.
EatingWell: What's always in your fridge?
JS: Frank's RedHot
EatingWell: Finish this sentence, To me cooking is ...
JS: Family
EatingWell: If you could have dinner with anyone, who would it be?
JS: My wife
EatingWell: Speaking of your wife, if you had to cook for Angela Martin (Kinsey's character on The Office), what would you make?
JS: Vegan carrot soup with Langues de Chat (French Cat Tongue Cookies) for dessert. No beets because, well, we know the thought of popping a beet into her mouth makes her want to vomit.