Miniature Cheesecakes

Most people approach coffee or tea and an accompanying treat in one of a few ways. Either you are (a) the dainty sip-and-nibble sort, (b) the expedient bite-and-gulp variety or (c) an eat-first, wash-it-all-down-later type.

Where we converge is in agreeing that the ritual of the coffee break or tea time makes the mundane marvelous.

Always a welcome pause, the coffee or tea break is a poor man’s or woman’s urban jungle Club Med, a virtual oasis unlike anything else in our jam-packed lives.

Best of all, it is a ritual that calls for the best in homey little treats. Miniature cheesecakes, delicate scones, buttery rugelach, lavishly swirled marble cake are just some delights that are perfect for a coffee hour recipe collection.

All are easy; none is cloyingly sweet or heavily frosted. These are wonderful just warm from the oven or even a day or two later. This is the type of baking that is solidly rooted in the home kitchen.

So bake a batch of something and brew a pot, then sit back and anticipate that small endorphin rush. Second cup is on the house.