A Lasting Relationship

As a reader of cookbooks I am by conventional standards promiscuous. Over the past twenty-five years several hundred volumes at least have sojourned through my bedroom. Some lingered for months on my bedside table, only to retire at last and never return. (The Joy of Cooking, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vols. 1 and 2) Others stayed only a few nights before the spark of attraction flickered out and died. (Everybody Eats Well in Belgium, Mrs. Fields Cookie Book.) But interspersed among my many flings with food in print, a handful of relationships endure. When I tire of my latest crush, they are always waiting on the shelf alive to my touch. In the middle of the night, when sleep heads out for a late night snack, they join me uncomplainingly in bed and keep me company as I wait for sleep to return. No matter how faithlessly I sometimes treat them, they never disappoint me. And like any rich and lasting partner, they continually surprise me with new pleasures.

Among the faithful few is Nancy Baggett's All-American Cookie Book. The big batch gingerbread recipe is my staple for the holiday season. When I want to make a good impression, I bring a box of turtle bars. When I just want to please myself, I make a batch of best ever snickerdoodles. And then there are the brownies supreme, the raspberry cream cheese swirl brownies, the key lime frosties, the date rocks...The book is good as gold (with a few exceptions) but the standouts are the bar cookies. For years I've bookmarked this recipe for brown sugar pecan sticky bars, and last weekend I finally gave them a try.

In a word: I love you Nancy Baggett's All-American Cookie Book!  XXOO from I Ate What I Am!