Then get ready forA Dash of Trouble.
And their secret ingredient?Magic.
Some recipes took up multiple pages and seemed to require weeks or months of preparation.
Credit: Claire Morice; Walden Pond Press
Others, like Isabels snow spell, were simple enough to be explained in a few sentences.
Leo saw cakes that had something to do with babies (Delivering them?
Leo wasnt sure) and pies that would help with training pets.
Walden Pond Press
Not everything required baking, but every recipe made something sweet.
Leo flipped between the dictionary and the recipes, marveling at all the things her familys magic could do.
It made her fingers itch.
She couldnt wait until morning, much less until she was in high school.
She needed to try these recipes now.
She needed to bake.
The recipe was for galletas voladoras.
Galleta meant cookie, and Leo recognized the puerquitos, pig-shaped brown-sugar cookies, in the illustration.
She flipped to the almost-back of the Spanish-English dictionary.
Flying cookies couldnt be too much harder than flying flour, Leo thought.
Under her bed, Leo found the Easy-Bake Oven she had begged for on her sixth birthday.
The plastic toy oven would help Leo keep up with her older sisters again.
Leo snuck halfway down the hall to the bathroom (much safer than the kitchen for late-night excursions).
It was only Senor Gato.
Leo wondered briefly if he was magic too (Werent black cats supposed to be?
Would Senor Gato tell Mama?
), but he simply jumped onto the counter and rubbed his back against her elbow in lazy circles.
Youd better not be a spy.
She shook her finger at the cat, who meowed and batted at her hand.
Ripping the cookie mix open sent yellow dust floating across Leos floor.
She tried using Isabels spell to clean the mess, but she was too excited to concentrate on snow.
To make the real cookies, Mama used a rolling pin and cookie cutters.
Cutting the cookies was one of the first things Mama ever let Leo do in the bakery.
Mama had baked and sold them anyway, advertised as Leos Lucky Pigs.
But it was hard to tell if she was imagining it.
She set the timer on the plastic oven and bounced up and down on her heels.
The moon hid behind a cloud, shrouding everything except for the glowing white and pink plastic.
The air filled with the smell of sweet warm dough and spicy magic.
Leo pulled her knees up to her chest and smiled.
The freed leg wiggled.
Leo yelped and dropped the spatula.
It shook its wings, lifted its snout toward the ceiling, and leaped into the air.
Leo covered her mouth so her giggle wouldnt wake her family.
Hey, dont go over there.
Youll get crumbs on my books!
Leo pulled her copy ofMatildaout from under the sugar pig.
The pig continued digging its snout into her pillow as though rooting for food.
Maybe the pig didnt speak English?
Ven, Leo tried, and stretched out her arms, like Abuela used to when Leo was small.
The pig raised its snout and turned toward her.
The little pig jumped into the air and flew into Leos raised palm.
Okay, go on.
She tossed the cookie into the air and let it explore her dollhouse.
Lets make you some brothers and sisters.
Hermanos, she added, and the pig flew in spirals up toward the ceiling.
Leo took this as a sign of approval.
