i'd rather be baking

Thanksgiving is now behind us, and truth be told, you probably could have used this recipe about a week ago. I know; I apologize.

The good news is that Christmas is a scant three and a half weeks away. Maybe that isn’t good news. I suppose it depends upon your perspective.

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Last week I got an email from Williams-Sonoma. This email may as well have been addressed to me personally, because it detailed a package of four little pastry cutters, in the shapes of three leaves and one little acorn. I swooned, and drove straight to the mall after work.

It helps that we still have a couple of gift cards left over from our wedding, but who am I kidding? I would have bought them anyway. And it’s a darn good thing, too, because I just don’t make a whole lot of pastry. I don’t know why; probably because I just don’t have the patience for it. But that needs to change, and these little babies are just the motivation I need.

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Although it’s been ridiculously warm in Northwest Arkansas this week, Thanksgiving is, in fact, only about a week and a half away, and that’s what’s on my mind pretty much all the time.

Every year we travel to my cousins’ house in St. Louis for the holiday and my contribution to the weekend is primarily pie-related, but I like to bring along some snacks as well. It’s a big family and well, we get hungry.

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This time of year I can’t seem to leave the grocery store without at least a handful of apples and often a three-pound sack. And when the Granny Smiths (my personal favorite) drop down to the neighborhood of $1/pound, I’m a goner.

I eat the vast majority of these apples sliced or simply out of hand, but I do love baking with them. I stumbled across this recipe while researching road bikes (of all things), and it’s a remarkably healthy one. There’s just enough butter present to make it hearty and satisfying, but the apples, oats, and pecans contribute the real flavor and, beautifully, lots of yummy vitamins.

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So last week we flew the proverbial coop for five days of blissful relaxation on the beautiful beaches of Cancun. And it was just that: blissful.

I’m embarrassed to admit just how many plates of chips, salsa, and guacamole (three of our favorite foods) we put away that week, but the desserts were (maybe) even better. Pictures of those tasty little morsels, and hopefully some Mexico-inspired goodies of my own, are forthcoming.

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