OK. Clearly this time of year there should be a self-help group to address baking. I mean, we all know about the websites you need to visit once the temperatures drop and you start eating and put on a few kilos, which really sounds better than pounds, but you are still gaining weight and you want to bake, but you don’t want to eat the products of your love.

I get it. So I went to church with my offering. I tell you, my experiment was incredible, I don’t care what they said. I do not care that it was blessed by the priest. I met Linda and got a “revision” to my recipe. So simple, so pure. I am converted.

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Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened. Good luck in this climate.

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1/4 cup packed brown sugar. Very easy to do in this climate.

2 eggs. They will be separated.

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract.

1 cup flour

1/4 cup chopped pecans

2⁄3 cup of your favorite jam. I went with guava.

1/4 tsp. salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet. Normally I use the spray on. But this is going to be a long season and maybe I will use this baking time to develop a muscle in my upper arm area, so go with the manually operated Crisco. Yes, they still make it.

Separate both eggs. You will reserve one yolk, and two whites. Whisk those egg whites. Cream butter, sugar and your one egg yolk and vanilla. At this point, Linda points out, it’s easy. Add the flour and salt, mixing well. She just used her hands. God bless her.

Now what you do is shape the dough into balls (about one inch around) roll them in egg the whites. Now the pecans (Linda is from the South. Note the capitalization on South. If she had her way I would have bolded it.) Place the cookies on the cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for (I’m serious) five minutes.

Remove cookies from oven. Dent each one gently with your thumb. Be gentle. Save your anger for your next potluck. Focus. Put in a small dollop of your favorite jam. Back in the oven for another seven minutes. Take them out and, guess what, Linda is right.

Simone Grandmain is an internationally published travel and food writer who currently calls Truckee-Tahoe home. She welcomes your recipes, kitchen “must-haves” and food news at simonegrandmain@gmail.com.