The first thing I asked P. when he came home was whether he had liked the cookies I’d managed to slip into his bag before he left. He often asks me to bake cookies—I don’t do it nearly as often as he requests.
“How did you do that?” he asked.
“Do what?” I replied, puzzled.
“The pattern on the cookies.”
Aha!
I realized I knew something he didn’t, and for a moment that made me feel a little triumphant. I’m usually terrible at assembling things—furniture that requires instructions is my nemesis. Even though such items come with manuals, I avoid reading them. It’s ironic since I used to translate user guides; they bored me then and they bore me now. If left with an unassembled piece of furniture, I procrastinate for days before finally asking P. for help. He has the patience for those tasks and actually enjoys assembling and troubleshooting things.
With food, though, it’s a different story. I love challenging myself to try new recipes and to understand the techniques behind them. Maybe that industrial drawing class I took in high school helped in some unexpected way—even though my teacher used to tell me the pieces I drew couldn’t be assembled. “C’est joli, mais c’est un montage impossible, mademoiselle Peltre,” he would say. Still, with baking I feel more confident: food allows for experimentation and creative assembly.
I found the inspiration for these cookies in a recent issue of Cuisine et Vins de France. The magazine’s version used Biscuits Roses de Reims to give a pink color and almond flour for texture. I liked the idea but wanted the cookies to be more colorful and to have a pattern. I decided to pair two colors I find beautiful together: chocolate and pink. Chocolate is one of my little indulgences, so adding it was an easy choice. Creating the pattern wasn’t complicated, yet watching P.’s amazed reaction was delightful—perhaps he simply doesn’t spend enough time in the kitchen.
Everyone has their strengths. For me, baking was the place to prove that I can assemble things after all. If only my old industrial drawing teacher could see me now—this time, montage possible.
