pastry

“It gets really bad at Christmastime,” one long-suffering woman working at the pastry counter told me, noting that Yuletide season is fast upon us.

I checked out, darted to the coffee shop across the street, and sketched the thing in my notebook: a soft, sturdy pastry — probably yeasted — layered with cheese and black pepper.

Heading into the holidays, she is working on hiring four extra employees to help with an expected influx of customers seeking scones and other pastries for holiday gifts, celebrations and comfort.

If a pleated edge feels above your pastry pay grade, simply fold the edge of the dough over the filling.

“Butcher paper is the classic home-cafe aesthetic. People just love the visual aspect of seeing rows of pastries laid out and labeled.”