Baking in Pursuit of Happiness

How Maida Heatter paved the way for generations of bakers

Years before researchers and doctors would weigh in, Maida Heatter, who died on Thursday at the age of 102, prescribed a simple and effective cure for stress: baking.

In the late 1990s, when the word “stress” went from physiological symptom to societal construct, Heatter, a legendary cookbook author and self-taught baker, wrote:

I heard a doctor talking on television about the dangers of stress. It can kill you. It can cause a heart attack or a stroke. The doctor listed ways of coping with stress. Exercise. Diet. Yoga. Take a walk.

I yelled, “Bake cookies.”

I often talk to the television. I yelled it again and again. The doctor went on with his list of 12 ways to reduce stress…and he never once mentioned my surefire treatment.

Her wit aside, Heatter was beloved by cooks and bakers for her detailed and carefully considered recipes. Born in Long Island, New York, on September 7, 1916, she graduated from Pratt Institute and pursued careers in illustration and jewelry design before entering the world of food.

“The same rule of design that applies to artwork or a nice dress applies to a brownie: You want to keep it simple,” she once said.