I Dream in Cinnamon Rolls

For those of you who don't know, I kind of have a food obsession. Or as Mr. TwentySomething would say, I am "a fat girl trapped in a skinny girl's body." Which is fairly accurate considering I used to be a fat girl. I have outgrown the baby fat, but have not outgrown my love of food. Baked goods to be exact.

It's not my fault really, food obsession runs in the family. I am genetically predisposed to salivate at the sound of the oven timer. You see, both my mom and my grandmother are foodies. Each important event is marked by a signature pastry. Easter is homemade cinnamon rolls and coconut cake...not at the same time, but I wouldn't put it past us. Birthday cakes are adorned with sugar flowers and sweet rolled fondant (both my mother and I have taken cake decorating classes). The Fourth of July calls for our family's Strawberry Shortcake recipe (which Mr. T is thinks is not sweet enough because he has been brainwashed by the cheap snack cakes that they sell in the supermarket). Thanksgiving, of course, means Pumpkin Pie. But not just any pumpkin pie, pie that has been developed through years of experimentation until the perfect crust emerged. Laced with vodka, it comes out of the oven all golden and flaky with specks of butter. Christmas has given us my grandmother's traditional Swiss cookie, Biberli.

I spend most of my time trying to suppress my food addiction, which I am fairly effective at. In general, I am a very healthy eater (ie. "fat girl trapped in a skinny girl's body"). Mr. T's comparison used to offend me a bit, but when a new cookbook comes in the mail, as it did yesterday, I feel the warm fuzzies rush over me and I can't help but blog about its amazingness and own up to my obsession.

The famed America's Test Kitchen has a book called Baking Illustrated. It is a 350 recipe Bible for pastries, breads, and the like. It gives scientific explanation for why particular recipes "work" and why some don't. It would probably bore most people, but it produces an indescribable feeling, to which Mr. T rolls his eyes in pitiful ignorance. It tests dozens of recipes, from apple turnovers to blueberry muffins, to present what they believe to be the absolute best of each confection.

I am contemplating creating one dessert a week. In attempts preserve my skinny-girl facade, I have a devious plan of dropping off all of the leftovers at work. Mwahaha! If that doesn't win you friends, I don't know what will!

Unfortunately, I stayed up an hour past my bedtime last night while reading my new cookbook, so I will have to survive the morning on coffee. But I don't fret much because I woke up in a surprisingly energetic mood. That's probably because I spent the night dreaming about Cinnamon Rolls. No lie. My mom and I were both making cinnamon rolls for Easter and I was extremely concerned that people would like hers better than mine. But she typically leaves that job up to me now, so I shall be Queen once again :)