When it's cold outside, there's something cozy about a warm kitchen and the aroma of something sweet.

• Baking can be many things: an act of creation, connection, control, AP reports.

Many people who enjoy it say they find comfort — and even therapeutic benefits — in the structure: the precision, the process and the desire to try again if something goes awry.

• It's also a relatively accessible hobby — and the types of goodies you can make range from a delicious and simple chocolate chip cookie to a delightfully complex sourdough.

The big picture: Lots of Americans picked up baking during pandemic lockdowns, but the frenzy isn't over, NPR reports.

• Sales of baking cookbooks are up 80% this year, compared with 2024, according to Circana.

We asked our Axios colleagues and their family members who love to bake what makes this hobby special in the winter. Here's what they said:

🧮 "As a child, I loved science and math. Baking is the purest, sweetest version of those subjects," says Danielle Settles Graves, who's on Axios' Client Partnerships team.

• "Baking requires a level of patience and care, which feels therapeutic to slow down during this busy season and focus on something that comes from my heart and hands."

🥶 "'I'm a single mom on the plains — western South Dakota — and baking is one of my favorite things to do with my kid on winter days when it's too frigid to go outside," says Axios director of audience insights & research KB Ruleaux.

• "They've been helping me in the kitchen since their high chair days, and now — at 6! — they're almost tall enough to stir a bowl of ingredients without a step stool."

🍞 "Making food and drinks for my family and friends is probably my love language. When it's chilly outside, baking cookies, brownies and breads feels warm and cozy, like a big hug," says Regina Moriarty, wife of Axios Pro managing editor George Moriarty.

• "My sister brought me some sourdough starter last Christmas, and I've been enjoying making sourdough breads and treats from the discard. So I feel connected to her, too, when I'm baking with it."

The Geminids meteor shower streaked across the night sky as stargazers gathered at the Valley View of Yosemite National Park in California over the weekend.