Merry Baker

My Sunday before the bridal shower found me in my kitchen as the “Merry Baker.” I opted to don my apron and my pastry chef’s hat, so to speak. I baked and I baked. It took a long time to get everything that I wanted to make for the shower. I wanted to do something special, not just order desserts and pastries from a bakery shop, which would have been quite easy.

Well, to be honest, I did buy a few cookies from the store, but most of the desserts, I made. I have a killer recipe from one of my favorite chef’s, Mario Batali’s cookbook. I use his recipe so often that there are a number of baking stains on the page. I even know the recipe by heart, and have sort of adopted it as my own. Sorry, Mario.

Afterwards, I pulled out my recipe for Sherry Cake, which I use to make in the 70s. In the last five years, I resurrected this recipe and make it for family holidays. It has become a favorite dessert for my family, especially one daughter-in-law, who asks me to bring it along to her house for the Christmas Day dinner. The sherry makes the cake flavorful, and moist, and it gets better with time. That is, if it isn’t eaten right away, this is usually the case.

Then I tackled my famous lemon breads, which I usually bake at Christmas, and give them away as presents. My final dessert was Lemon Drop Cookies. The first time I made these cookies was for my daughter’s First Communion party. I remember eating so many of these cookies – that I vowed never to make them again. That didn’t last long, but I vowed to use my will power.

The bridal shower was for my youngest son’s fiancée, who by the way is a terrific young woman. The people attending were wonderful, as were their gifts. And let’s just say – the desserts were spectacular!