Baking Season Unleashed

We have officially entered the annual stretch when my kitchen transforms into a full-time operation of flour, sugar, and unhinged ambition. Baking season is unleashed. Proceed at your own risk (or reward).

Two cookbook authors have been especially present in my culinary brain lately — Pyet DeSpain and Dorie Greenspan — thanks to my recent interviews with them on New Books Network.

Pyet’s Rooted in Fire blends Potawatomi and Mexican traditions with stories that give every recipe deeper resonance. Her interview is rich with heritage, memory, and the kind of cooking that feels lived-in and loved.

Dorie, meanwhile, remains the patron saint of approachable cakes — and all-around baking doyenne. In talking about Dorie’s Anytime Cakes, she makes even the simplest loaf feel celebratory. Baking with her guidance is like having a friend whisper, “Go ahead, make cake for no reason at all.”

Speaking of which, I’ve already baked her holiday cake with dried cranberries and spices (pictured above). It turned out fragrant, festive, and fully aware of its own charm.

While I’ll be in full kitchen-tilt mode for the next few weeks, I’ll also be heading out on a cavalcade of glorious restaurant stops for my birthday. My friends know the mission.

And, if you are my friend — and you’re within walking or subway distance — consider this your advance notice: a deluge of baked goods is coming your way. I cannot stop it. I won’t even try. You shouldn’t either.