Strawberry Brownie Bars

You know, I am not really very “dessert”.

Lulu Peyraud, Lulu’s Provencal Table

Twenty-one blog posts into this misadventure and only now am I offering a sweet recipe–clearly I’m not really very dessert, either.

This wasn’t always so. As a bright young thing, I loved sweets. A life without dessert after every meal–even breakfast–was unimaginable.

Welcome to adulthood, where the unimaginable becomes mundane reality.This is also called middle age.Turning forty didn’t mean a longing for sporty cars or extramarital flings. Instead, I lost my taste for sugar.

I have no explanation for this.  Perhaps just as certain children outgrow picky eating habits, my tastes changed. Whatever the case, what was once terrible craving is now almost total disinterest.

A lack of interest in eating desserts extends to a lack of interest in preparing them.  In truth, baking makes me nervous. There’s no checking a cake for salt or taking a quick taste to see if it needs another five minutes. Then there’s the matter of equipment.  Savory foods are forgiving if your casserole is ten inches around instead of eight.  Just try that with a cake.  All this anxiety over something we won’t eat anyway?  Life is too short.

But can one seriously claim to love cooking yet pale at the thought of baking?  Probably not.  But we’re not going into a philosophical riff on the cook/baker divide tonight.  I’m too tired. Instead, let’s discuss this brownie recipe.

Even if like me, you are not very dessert, it is still useful to have a dessert recipe. Said recipe should be foolproof, impressive, lavishly delicious. Because let’s face it: mundane reality means dinner parties, children’s bake sales, and random moments of insatiable craving.  And those moments need a dessert.

These brownies can be dressed up with fruit, whipped cream, creme fraiche, or ice cream. They can also be served alone.  The jam is a subtle but definite afternote.

This recipe is adapted from the much missed Gourmet Magazine.