I actually feel like baking something. Perhaps it is the weather; when it’s cold and blustery outside, my ultimate nesting instinct kicks in and I feel like doing all things domestic. I say actually, because the desire to bake is somewhat unusual for me. I believe there are two kinds of people to be found in the kitchen. Those who like to cook, and those who like to bake. That is not to say that the bakers don’t enjoy a good twirl of the soup spoon from time to time, and that the cook-ers don’t grease and flour a cake pan from time to time, but on the whole…

This desire to bake may be unusual for me, but the desire to eat sweets however, is definitely not. In fact, I’m a bit of a dessert whore. Now mind you, this doesn’t mean I need a rich, ganache covered confection, laced with toffee, nougat, and all kinds of tooth-achingly sweet goodies. I just need something sweet to culminate a meal, a biscuit, piece of chocolate, or the aforementioned ganache covered treat.

The propensity to not bake, does not provide problems come the dessert course when I am entertaining. This doesn’t mean I rely on the bakery; and I certainly don’t offer my friends a bowl of oranges and proclaim, “Dig in.” Fruit is a wonderful ingredient in dessert fare, but not simply fruit. In the summertime, I grill stone fruit. Peaches, nectarines, and apricots are wonderful sprinkled with sugar, or dried ginger, and roasted either on an indoor grill pan, or an outside BBQ. In the fall, a little bit of sweetened mascarpone cheese, sprinkled with figs or red grapes. Those are just two examples, both excessively easy, that quell the sweet tooth inside us all.

But when I want to bake, heat up the oven, warm the entire house, the smells of yeasty goodness wafting about, what other choice do I have than to break out one of my many cookbooks, peruse the pages, blow the dust off my measuring spoons and cups, and begin the process that will end in delightful construction of some late afternoon treat.