Column: The season of sweet treats

We’re finally in that cold, gift-giving, fireplace-burning stretch of the year — the time better known as the holiday season.

More than any other time of the year, these weeks are associated with the overconsumption of rich foods, which I enjoy.

But it’s not simply the season of food — it’s the season of baked goods.

Bourbon pecan pies with flaky butter crusts, delicate Christmas tree-shaped cutout cookies and sufganiyot and jelly-filled donuts eaten during Hanukkah have come to occupy permanent places on kitchen counters from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve.

As a girl with a mighty sweet tooth, I don’t mind these dishes taking up a little of the counter space that I’d normally use to cook.

But as much as I love making desserts, for there’s nothing I enjoy more than surprising someone with a plate of cookies or a loaf of gingerbread, I’ll be the first to admit baking doesn’t come naturally to me.

This summer, I worked at a Japanese-French bakery in the heart of my neighborhood in San Francisco, where I learned the skills one must have to be an effective baker.

I applied for the job, thinking I’d catch on quickly since I’ve always loved to cook, but I soon found myself in a room where I didn’t understand the language spoken.

Eggs had to be tempered, cold butter had to be cut into flour and pasty cream had to be emulsified.

Flour was listed in pounds and ounces, not cups.

Worst of all, there was no eyeballing ingredients. Everything had to be weighed.

Though professional baking can get somewhat of an effeminate reputation in comparison to professional cooking, there’s nothing unmanly about perfectly kneading dough.

From the reactions between baking soda and acids, to mixing together ingredients at a certain temperature to emulsify liquids, baking isn’t something everyone can do effectively.

It’s more than just cooking. It’s science.

Though I’ve finally perfected the technique of cutting cold butter into dry ingredients for scones, pie crusts and croissants, I’ve still got a long way to go.

I can make a good pie crust, but don’t expect that crust to be fluted or latticed.

So next time you cut yourself a piece of homemade pumpkin pie, before you gorge yourself, thank whoever made it.

There are few people in this world who have magical, all-butter pie crust-making hands, and it’s time they get some recognition.

— acarnold@indiana.edu

Follow columnist Amanda Arnold on Twitter @Amanda_Arnold14.