Where is Maddie Howton from? Baking It season 2 contestant's baking passion began from a school bake sale

Peacock's Baking It season 2 will feature eight pairs of home bakers trying to create the best holiday treats to impress four real-life judgmental grandmothers. After many challenges and eliminations, the winner of the show will win $50,000. 18-year-old baker Maddie Howton is one of the contestants on Baking It and is paired up with her mother, April Howton.

Originally from Florence, Alabama, Maddie Howton began cooking and baking in middle school. After being bullied by her classmates because Maddie was not the "cutest little middle schooler," her initial plan was to be homeschooled. However, Maddie's mother, April, encouraged her to participate in a bake sale at the school, where everyone loved her food goodies.

This incident helped Maddie start her baking career, which expanded from small cake spheres to breads, and her bullies began talking to her non-stop so that Maddie would "make stuff for them."

---

Baking It contestant Maddie Howton runs a baking business called Gingerhead

Maddie Howton currently lives with her mother in Studio 23, Downtown Florence, where she operates her baking business called Gingerhead. After the bake sale, Maddie was getting bored in quarantine, so she tried her hands at decorating cakes. This led to Maddie opening Gingerbread in 2020 with the help of her mother. April creates acrylic toppers for Gingerbread custom cakes while also working as a professional woodworker.

She does not plan to go to college and instead bakes and decorates multiple large-scale cakes and other baked goods, which can be ordered online and have to be picked up from Studio 23.

In an interview with News 19, Maddie revealed that she was intimidated by her competition,

"Never in a million years did I think it would happen. And it definitely taught me to believe in myself more."

Maddie's mother, April, also stated in the same interview that she was proud of her daughter for pursuing her passion and watching her on national television.

---

Baking It season 2 will feature a celebrity holiday special episode

Andy Samberg and Maya Rudolph hosted season 1 of Baking It, but this season Andy will be replaced by SNL star Amy Poehler. The show itself is a spin-off series of Nick Offerman's Making It and will feature eight teams facing many festive theme challenges to win the trophy and $50,000.

The season description reads,

"Baking It season 2 premieres December 12 on Peacock, with a new batch of bakers competing in teams in a series of captivating challenges hilariously designed by Maya and Amy themselves. These challenges will test the competitors across a variety of bakes for the chance to win some serious money and the adoration of the beloved Baking It judges, a panel of opinionated grandmothers!"

The contestants for the competitive culinary series are:

1. Agnes Tamburello and George Molina: Married couple
2. Allen Speigner and Matthew Bardoner: Roommates
3. Keith and Corey Holland: Brothers
4. Maddie and April Howton: Mother-Daughter duo
5. Reema and Ravi Patel: Siblings
6. Sharon "Sevn" Strickland and Shemara "Kandyy" Pittman: Couple
7. Sydney and Jenna Brasuell: Sisters
8. Yuki Burton and Omonivie "Olma" Agboghidi: Friends

New episodes of Baking It will drop on Peacock every Monday at 3:01 am ET starting on December 12. The show will have a total of five episodes. Other than the official series, NBC will air a holiday special episode of the show on December 12, at 10 pm ET.