My Open House Baking Ordeals

Every year the book store staffers make goodies for the store's holiday open house. The catch? The recipe must be from a cookbook currently sold at the store.

My first year, I overreached and everything that could go wrong, did. Here's The Saga of Romeo's Sighs and Juliet's Kisses. I have noted since then that a lot of the staff "test" their recipes beforehand, and often change their minds. OK, highlight that one on my iPhone mental "how to succeed at your job checklist." What, you don't have one of those? I write down how to deal with all the weird rare occurrences, and then when I handle them I look like a star. Whoops, 30 year secret exposed: take notes and cover your ass!

The second year went much better. From my Facebook: "I know, cookies are tiny tidbits in the grand scheme of life. Yet, when one is asked to bake an unfamiliar recipe for the store's Holiday Open House, one is delighted when they approach perfection. These are picturesquely entitled Apples Rolled in Autumn. In truth, an oatmeal-apple-walnut cookie."

The third year, I tried something cutesy. Dorothy's Toast from The Wizard's Cookbook.

I don't have a picture because it ended up not looking at all like the picture in the cookbook. It tasted OK, though. (I really wanted to do the Wizard's Wands. Maybe if I have a party someday...)

This year I went with Chrissy Teigen's Twitter's Banana Bread and I do feel this was a complete success. There are coconut flakes and chocolate chunks in that beauty, along with six (yes 6) bananas. And it came perfectly out of the pan, which is a win right there!

Available today (11/17/18) for a limited time only!