Why don't you just pin your desktop apps to Start? Then it's not 1, but 0 extra clicks to open the app you want. That is the intended/expected usage model in Windows 8 and it's why it boots to Start in the first place.
Loading User Information from Channel 9
Something went wrong getting user information from Channel 9
Loading User Information from MSDN
Something went wrong getting user information from MSDN
Loading Visual Studio Achievements
Something went wrong getting the Visual Studio Achievements
Why don't you just pin your desktop apps to Start? Then it's not 1, but 0 extra clicks to open the app you want. That is the intended/expected usage model in Windows 8 and it's why it boots to Start in the first place.