My boyfriend and I enjoy cooking dinner together, and I’d like to think we do it up right! We light candles, get the Spotify playlist going, and try not to make too much of a mess. You also couldn’t find a more apropos metaphor for our relationship dynamic, which he pointed out as I painstakingly measured out a cup of couscous while he (literally) tossed in spices with a ‘dash here, bit there,’ mentality for our chicken dish. He remarked that he was surprised that I’ve never taken up baking, primarily because I’m a long-proclaimed sweet tooth, but also because bakers tend to value precision and honor the text (ahem) I mean the cookbook.
Fast forward to a couple of days ago, and he’s holed up in a post-ACL surgery haze. He already has his mom back at his place to hold down the fort, to buy groceries, and to help his shift from couch to bed. So, what can I do? I can bake some cookies. Now, Adam, if that comment from a few weeks ago was you Inception-ing a sweet treat into my brain for your future needs, then I say touché and well done. It worked, and my share of the cookies were delicious!
Baking provides an opportunity to make something and show up for the people we love, and these four books prove that in equal measure. Okay, that pun was intended, but could I really help myself when books like The Good Pie Party and Donut Fall in Love are on this list?! The first is a sweet picture book about a farewell between friends, and the latter is an adult romance brought together by a donut collision. I read Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau last summer, and the YA love story is as delectable as the images of freshly baked bread. Rounding out the helm is Anna Meriano’s Love Sugar Magic, a middle grade adventure that follows Leonora Logroño and the magic required (both literal and figurative) to save the family bakery business. Bon Appétit!
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