Between concerns about black ice and warnings of more “wintry mix” (doesn’t that sound like a holiday party snack?), Monty and I haven’t been out as much as we’d like. Fortunately, two days of near-40º temps have cleared a lot of scary stuff from the roads, and I was delighted to commute this morning.

Meanwhile, there’s been a lot of baking around here. I had some sour cherries (pitted and frozen over the summer) and heirloom cranberries (frozen after Thanksgiving) on hand, and cooked them together into a filling for Joanne Chang’s granola bars. Don’t be misled by the name; other than a scattering of flax seeds and millet on top, there’s nothing healthy about them! But they’re delicious.

For my dad, whose sweet tooth I inherited, I make a monthly batch of spice cookies. The original recipe is from my brilliant friend Dorie Greenspan. With her blessing, I’ve tinkered with it over the years and now use local sorghum syrup in place of molasses; my pal Steve Sando’s extraordinary granulated piloncillo for the brown sugar; and Aleppo pepper for a little heat. I love that Dad loves these so much, and I make sure he never runs out.

Clever way to distract you from the dearth of Brompton-related content, no?