Ideally, the voting process should be nothing but exciting, but it’s harder this year than usual. Looking toward November is a worrisome occupation, at least for me. I want to believe that everything will turn out okay, but I’m in a negative frame of mind these days.

Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I bake. There’s a mindful mindlessness about baking that lets my brain fall away a bit as I make ganache or press tart dough into a pan. The motions are repetitive, soothing, and exactly what I need sometimes. When the result is this mind-blowing linzer tart smothered in ganache and almonds, I can banish all the negativity and just think about the rich flavors exploding in my mouth.

It’s not like me to be incredibly negative, or at least, not in my head. But recently I’ve sustained a series of failures, and so I’ve had to work harder to focus on the good stuff. Whenever I’m in this frame of mind, it’s hard to see all the people who are seemingly more satisfied and successful displaying their good fortune right and left. The rational part of my brain is thrilled for them, but the emotional part is resentful. That’s human nature, after all.

So in times like these, I’m shifting the focus where it should be. On my family, of course, which affords me great joy. On the part of my job that takes place in the classroom, where I work with the best students a teacher could ask for. On the changing season, letting sunshine and fresh air into the house. On having an awareness of purpose. There’s so much to be thankful for.

When I get thankful, I think of pie. Really. It’s some kind of Thanksgiving trigger. But it’s April. What to do?

Well, make a tart. It’s gluten-free for my beloved Kenny and kosher for Passover for the rest of us. We don’t get normal food until Sunday! Yes, that counts liquor. Happy hour is going to have to wait a bit.

This is one of the best desserts I’ve made in the GF category. The crust (adapted from Paula Shoyer’s The New Passover Menu) is mainly almond meal with some walnut meal thrown in for good measure. Once the crust is baked, I spread raspberry jam over the top and filled it with ganache. I made this tart non-dairy by using fake coffee creamer and margarine, but the recipe will list heavy cream and butter because that’s more standard. They both work, though!

I’m looking out the window as I write this, where the leaves on the trees have become rich and green. There’s a lot that’s good to focus on. During a time that’s less than easy in some ways, I need to see all the beauty and savor it. And I also need to savor this tart, so get on that train with me!

I. Love. Grapefruit. I know it must come as a shock that a sugar-addicted fiend like me actually eats fruit, but my diet is reasonably healthy. And I eat half a grapefruit every day.

In fact, I love grapefruit so much that I’ve specifically avoided going on a medication because it would ban grapefruit from my diet with some awful chemical reaction. I can’t do that. Every day I need my fix, and if I bake it into a tart, well, so much the better. This is a tart for the ages! You’re going to love it.

A few days ago I wrote a post complaining about my body aches and pains, and I’m happy to report that I can once again move my head from side to side. Last week my neck and shoulders went, and I had to go through my day moving like a robot. My students found it hilarious. Well, until I reminded them that if they continued  to mock me, I’d have my revenge when I was all better. That stopped them pretty quick.

The act of staying healthy is a delicate balance, one that most of us struggle with. It’s not just about what you eat, or how much you move. It’s about how you see yourself. And I gotta say, mass media is working against women pretty strongly these days.

Before I had daughters, I would mindlessly read magazines on weekends, enjoying the endless (and repetitive) tips they offered up each month: how to be happy, why eating breakfast is so important, ways to organize my life, and the ever-present cover headline: drop five pounds in two weeks! Or something along those lines.

I never used to think about magazines or their covers much, but now that I have girls, I’m paying attention. I’ve gone through life being far too much of a perfectionist about my own physique, and I don’t want to pass that on to my girls. I’m careful on all sorts of levels on that front, and one way to make positive change is to get the magazines out of the house.

Really. Next time you’re in a grocery store line, read the covers. They’re demeaning. And despite the fact that the magazine industry claims to be embracing more realistic body types, they’re still classifying women in a healthy weight range as plus-sized, and associating that with shame. And their cover models are still unrealistically photoshopped.

I’d like to put this tart on a magazine cover. That’s how splendid it is, and how opposite of anything horrible I find it to be. This is one of those times that I get obsessed by my own dessert. It doesn’t happen all the time, so when it does, you can bet I’ll tell you.

It’s so easy to make, too. The base is my white chocolate graham cracker crust, and the filling is just a mixture of fresh ruby red grapefruit juice, condensed milk, zest, and egg yolks. That’s all, folks.

Trying to raise kids with a healthy self-image is really hard. Trying to be a balanced, healthy eater is also hard. So make it as easy as you can on yourself, and incorporate some of those lovely fruits into dessert. They make for real showstoppers!

Over the past several weeks, I’ve given you quite a few Thanksgiving pie options. But I couldn’t resist adding just one more!

As a baking blogger, the holidays provide inspiration and ideas. I love having the time of year do the recipe brainstorming for me, especially when a tart like this is the result. Guys, I kept my very favorite for last. Yes, I’ll play favorites today.

This past weekend, Kenny and I got away overnight to a posh hotel in historic Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. We’re lucky to live near all kinds of little getaway spots, and even though it was chilly, it was really lovely to walk on the waterfront and see the boats and pretend it was a lot warmer.

The best part of the hotel was the pool. It was a heated indoor pool, and getting in was like being enveloped in a warm water hug. Maybe I’ve never told you this before, but I love baths. Baths are a daily thing for me, even if I’ve showered too. I love the bubbles, the scalding water, the jets (yep, my tub is tricked out), and the music playing softly in the background as I let all the stress melt out of my tired muscles.

Other  than dessert, I have these other material loves in life: a good book, a great workout, and a hot bath. So as I chugged back and forth in that heated pool, I realized that my life would be pretty luxurious if I could come home from work every day, jump into a heated pool, swim for a while, and then dry off in a lounge chair with a book and some truffles.

I just heard Steven Tyler in my head shrieking “Dream On.”

If the pool fantasy can’t come true, I’ll take this tart instead. It’s all my favorite things. Maybe not everyone’s on the marzipan bandwagon, but I really don’t care. This is the best.

The crust is buttery and light, with some almond meal thrown in for kicks. Piled into the crust is raspberry jam, a baked marzipan layer, and thick chocolate ganache with toasted almond flair. If you want an elegant but totally doable dessert to present tomorrow, this is your girl.

Okay, kids. I’ve got more baking to do tonight, so I’ll catch you later. I’m pretty excited to get all those pies lined up on the table, and I hope you are, too. Have a safe, joyful, warm and cozy Thanksgiving with family and friends. From JAB and me to you, happy holiday season!

I still remember my first slice of key lime pie. It was quite a special moment. My husband and I were dating and we went on vacation to Florida, and in a restaurant overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, I had my first slice. I think that moment was perfection. And I’ve been trying to recreate it ever since. This particular tart, though not a key lime pie, manages to bring back that happy feeling effortlessly.

Initially, I meant for this to be purely a lemon tart. But then (yay for happy accidents!) I ran out of lemons, so I improvised by combining lemon and key lime juice. It worked out beautifully, adding even more dimension to the tart citrusy flavor. And talk about summery! I decided to add the word “sunshine” to the tart’s name because it really is like a burst of warm, breezy air after a long, dark winter.

Before I start complaining about the weather again, let’s focus on this tart. The graham cracker crust is made with brown sugar and melted white chocolate. I happened to have some white chocolate chips hanging out on my counter, so I took about half a cup, melted them along with the butter for the crust, and the result was a solid and much more addictive base for the tart filling.

If I’d been really fancy, I probably would’ve zested key limes along with the lemon for the filling. But since the key lime was kind of not on purpose, the lemon worked fine. It added all the necessary tartness and brightened up the color. Yellow is my favorite color. Reminds me of everything happy! As does my microplane zester. I could go on about my zester all day, but I’ll spare you. Suffice it to say that it’s one of my favorite kitchen tools, ever.

If you’d like to make this as a pie, go for it. I just wanted to feel a bit fancier, and the tart pans that have removable bottoms are so easy to work with. If you don’t have one, it’s a great investment.

I’m going to go grab a frosted margarita right now along with a slice of this and pretend I’m back in Florida again. A gal can dream!

Crust:

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs

Filling:

• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup key lime juice
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat a tart pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter and white chocolate. Stir until smooth. Mix in the graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar until the crumbs are moist. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared tart pan, being sure that you pack the crust tightly with your fingers.

Bake the crust for 5-10 minutes until set.

While the crust is baking, prepare the filling. Combine the zest, lemon juice, key lime juice, and egg yolks. Stir in the condensed milk and mix until thoroughly combined. Pour the filling into the crust and bake for 15-20 minutes until set.

Allow the tart to cool completely. Refrigerate overnight. When you’re ready to serve, slice into wedges!

Turns out, it is! This tart is dessert gone retro, the kind of treat people used to eat in the dark days before peanut butter cups existed. But there’s a lot to be said for the sweet, buttery crumbs that contrast so beautifully with the plums.

While I went ahead and called this a tart, that was really for lack of a better word. It’s very dense and kind of like a cross between a giant sugar cookie and a yellow cake. The hybrid works, but I still have no good word for it. And there’s a gentle sprinkling of cinnamon sugar on the top that is reminiscent of a Snickerdoodle. So you could call it a cookie cake if you like. Either way, it tastes happy!

The number one goal when making plum tart is to make sure that plums are evenly distributed throughout the batter. Apparently, it’s all too easy for them to sink to the bottom, so I very carefully pressed the plum pieces into the top of the dough. That way, they stayed on top.

Result? A crumbly sweet treat with a springlike touch of plum consistently throughout. It’s a lovely way to beckon in a new season, one full of warmer weather and better fruit.

This dessert feels very civilized. Like you should be eating it with classical music playing in the background while attending a garden party. But I ate it at the kitchen table while my three kids threw Play-Doh at one another instead. I still managed to have a moment to myself, and it felt good.

It’s always fun to think of beverage pairings to cut the sweetness of dessert a bit. In this case, if you’ve ever had Constant Comment tea, that’s my drink of choice with this tart. The flavors in the tea complement the cake’s spices perfectly.

Go hide wherever you can and grab a slice of this. Just eat it within the first few days (unless you freeze it), since that’s when the freshness of the plums are at their peak!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 and 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 4-5 plums, cut into small chunks
• cinnamon sugar (equal parts sugar and cinnamon)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper, and then treat the parchment with cooking spray.

In the stand bowl of a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and beat again.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Gradually, beat the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, mixing well after each addition.

Press the batter into the greased pan. It will be thick and sticky, so you might want to spray your hands with cooking spray first to make the process easier. Press the plum pieces into the top of the batter, being sure to cover the surface area with plums.

Sprinkle the tart liberally with cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges are golden and a toothpick comes out of the middle clean.

Let the tart cool, and then transfer it to a wire rack. When you’re ready, cut into wedges and serve.