Baking used to be a pretty big deal around here. I found it therapeutic in so many ways, the whole process. From carefully measuring the ingredients, watching them come together in a sweet sticky batter or dough, to finally getting to eat the stuff clinging to the sides of the bowl, “accidentally” leaving a little extra behind, I loved all of it. Then the baking smell started to fill the kitchen…that sweet sweet smell. If cookies were in the oven, I would sometimes steal one half way through the process – there’s nothing like a warm half baked chunk of dough. This was only the beginning. I had a little bit of a baking problem.

I had to stop. I still bake occasionally, but only when there’s someone or somewhere the goods are destined for, other than my breakfast, lunch, dinner, and all the snacks in between.

A week and a bit ago I set out to bake some apples. They make a fantastic dessert, but luckily don’t evoke the same uncontrollable urge to stuff my face with them at every meal. I decided to experiment with 12 different varieties of apples, trying to determine, once and for all, which makes the best baked apple. Feeling a little on the crazy side walking out of the grocery store with 12 bags of apples, I remembered that it’s not nearly as crazy as what happens when I’m left alone with a cheese cake.

I’ve been trying a few different recipes and settled on something in between my original idea and the recipe in The Apple Lover’s Cookbook. Pink Lady apples (also known as Cripps Pink), as the book suggests, have a good sweet/tart balance and bake wonderfully with a nice pink hue. If you’re disappointed that I didn’t dye the apples neon green, here are some Green Eggs.

Happy St.Patty’s Day!