Call me Treats

I'm blessed with a mother born with a natural talent to create beautiful dishes from the gifts of our land. I have never once seen her use a recipe (which is probably why I consistently fail at following them). She's also to blame for both me and my brother's refined and often demanding palates. But while I was constantly fed the most delicious creations spanning numerous cultures and regions, I never did get home baked desserts, with one exception, a sweet bread my mother rarely baked.

When she did bake it, she required my help which in turn made me dislike the treat even more so. The bread was always too thick and too tough a consistency. It tasted of saffron and spring, and although pleasant and lovely sounding now, it was the complete opposite of what I wanted then; chocolate, frosting, and an overload of sugar. The bread, which possessed just a hint of sweetness, would be cut into rectangular pieces that we'd often eat for breakfast with butter and apricot jam. The unassuming treats never did satiate my sweet tooth which led to my lifelong search for the perfect pastry. Despite my alarming love for baked goods, I only recently started baking about 3 years ago. A one year hiatus was had but the baking has again commenced.

The holidays motivated an original creation; a flourless chocolate orange cardamon cake. I'd tasted chocolate orange flourless cake prior but being Persian, I had the innate urge to add cardamon. I took the cake to a boy's house for dinner and I'm sure it's the sole reason he kissed me.

There's a special pleasure in baking that I've never quite experienced before. Like anything else you create with your hands - it's empowering. But the most pleasurable aspect of baking is the act of sharing it with the people you love. With the influx of amazing people in my life, I've found myself wanting to bake even more.

Looking over cookie recipes this evening, I stumbled upon a beautiful cookie retrospective by Gourmet Magazine. Take a look at 68 years of cookie history.


Sidenote: I was given the nickname "treats" by my friend Kevin Herwig. We were in the Since By Man van just pulling into downtown Boston for Iodine Fest. Before the van had even parked, I was out the door and on my way into a pharmacy to buy some Cadbury Eggs. They have always been, and will always be, my favorites.