i'd rather be baking

One thing I’m loving about Utah is the abundance of cheap, beautiful produce. Recently this has meant apples (especially my favorite, Granny Smiths!) at prices I haven’t seen since last October. I’m not sure what the cause of this bounty is, but I’m not complaining.

I know what you must be thinking: it’s March, nearly April. Who cares about apples right now? And don’t we all have bathing suits to fit into soon, anyhow? Let me tell you: you need this bread.

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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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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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