Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence


Claire Saffitz - 2020
    In Dessert Person, fans will find Claire's signature spin on sweet and savory recipes like Babkallah (a babka-Challah mashup), Apple and Concord Grape Crumble Pie, Strawberry-Cornmeal Layer Cake, Crispy Mushroom Galette, and Malted Forever Brownies. She outlines the problems and solutions for each recipe--like what to do if your pie dough for Sour Cherry Pie cracks (patch it with dough or a quiche flour paste!)--as well as practical do's and don'ts, skill level, prep and bake time, and foundational know-how. With Claire at your side, everyone can be a dessert person.

Sally's Candy Addiction: Tasty Truffles, Fudges Treats for Your Sweet-Tooth Fix


Sally McKenney - 2015
    If you're a candy and sweets lover, then look no further. Complete with over 75 brand new recipes, indulge in truffles, fudge, caramels, and marshmallows. And if you like Oreos, Reese's, Snickers, or other candy bar favorites, Sally will show you the best ways to incorporate these into cookies, cupcakes, bars, and more.Complete with easy-to-follow, step-by-step recipes, Sally's signature photography for every recipe, and snippets from Sally's own kitchen experiences, Sally's Candy Addiction has a recipe for every candy lover in your life.

Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables


Joshua McFadden - 2017
    After years racking up culinary cred at New York City restaurants like Lupa, Momofuku, and Blue Hill, he managed the trailblazing Four Season Farm in coastal Maine, where he developed an appreciation for every part of the plant and learned to coax the best from vegetables at each stage of their lives.In Six Seasons, McFadden channels both farmer and chef, highlighting the evolving attributes of vegetables throughout their growing seasons—an arc from spring to early summer to midsummer to the bursting harvest of late summer, then ebbing into autumn and, finally, the earthy, mellow sweetness of winter. Each chapter begins with recipes featuring raw vegetables at the start of their season. As weeks progress, McFadden turns up the heat—grilling and steaming, then moving on to sautés, pan roasts, braises, and stews. His ingenuity is on display in 225 revelatory recipes that celebrate flavor at its peak.

Layered: Baking, Building, and Styling Spectacular Cakes


Tessa Huff - 2016
    We’re talking layers—two, three, four, or more!   Create sky-high, bakery-quality treats at home with Tessa Huff’s 150 innovative recipes, which combine new and exciting flavors of cake, fillings, and frostings—everything from pink peppercorn cherry to bourbon butterscotch, and pumpkin vanilla chai to riesling rhubarb and raspberry chocolate stout. Including contemporary baking methods and industry tips and tricks, Layered covers every decorating technique you’ll ever need with simple instructions and gorgeous step-by-step photos that speak to bakers of every skill level—and to anyone who wants to transform dessert into layer upon layer of edible art.

The Good Book of Southern Baking: A Revival of Biscuits, Cakes, and Cornbread


Kelly Fields - 2020
    “Kelly Fields bakes with the soul of a grandma, the curiosity of a student, and the skill of a master.”—Vivian Howard, author of Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Bon Appétit • The Atlanta Journal-Constitution • Garden & GunCelebrated pastry chef Kelly Fields has spent decades figuring out what makes the absolute best biscuits, cornbread, butterscotch pudding, peach pie, and, well, every baked good in the Southern repertoire. Here, in her first book, Fields brings you into her kitchen, generously sharing her boundless expertise and ingenious ideas. With more than one hundred recipes for quick breads, muffins, biscuits, cookies and bars, puddings and custards, cobblers, crisps, galettes, pies, tarts, and cakes—including dozens of variations on beloved standards—this is the new bible for Southern baking.

Bringing It Home: Favorite Recipes from a Life of Adventurous Eating


Gail Simmons - 2017
    Gail Simmons is a beloved figure in the food world who has been a popular judge on Top Chef, the number-one rated food show on cable television since its inception. In Bringing It Home, Simmons shares her best recipes and food experiences. From her travels, exploring global flavors and keeping detailed diaries, to her Top Chef culinary adventures with the world's most notable chefs, she is always asking: "How can I bring this dish home to my own kitchen?" Her goal is to make fabulous recipes using accessible ingredients and smart, simple cooking techniques for successful family meals and easy entertaining. From Bloody Mary Eggs to Christmas Brisket Fried Rice; from Summer Vegetable Salad with Charred Lime Vinaigrette to Banana-Cardamom Upside Down Cake with Salty Caramel, there is a recipe for everyone in the family. Simmons also shares ingredient tips, cooking techniques, and many informative "Snippets," as well as personal and behind-the-scenes stories that will appeal to fans and food lovers everywhere.

The Big Fat Duck Cookbook


Heston Blumenthal - 2008
    In this beautiful book, we hear the full story of the meteoric rise of Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck, birthplace of snail porridge and bacon-and-egg ice cream, and encounter the passion, perfection and weird science behind the man and the restaurant.

BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-About Bakery


Erin McKenna - 2009
    Simply, BabyCakes is your key to an enlightened, indulgent, sweets-filled future. This is important news not only for parents whose children have allergies, for vegans, and for others who struggle with food sensitivities, but also for all you sugar-loving traditionalists. The recipes in these pages prove that there is a healthy alternative to recklessly made desserts, one that doesn't sacrifice taste or texture.Having experimented endlessly with alternative, health-conscious sweeteners, flours, and thickeners, Erin McKenna, the proprietress of beloved bakery BabyCakes NYC, developed these recipes–most are gluten-free, all are without refined sugar–in hopes of combating her own wheat, dairy, and sugar sensitivities. In BabyCakes, she shares detailed information about the ingredients she uses (coconut flour, xanthan gum, and agave nectar, for example) and how to substitute them properly for common ones–all the while guiding you safely through techniques she’s spent years perfecting. When BabyCakes NYC opened on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 2005, it helped propel the gluten-free and vegan baking movement into a new stratosphere. Suddenly there was a destination for those with wheat allergies and other dietary restrictions–and, soon enough, celebrities and dessert lovers of every kind–to indulge freely in delectable muffins and teacakes, brownies and cookies, pies and cobblers.Enclosed within these pages are all the “secrets” you’ll need to bring the greatness of BabyCakes NYC into your own home as well as raves and recommendations from devotees such as Natalie Portman, Jason Schwartzman, Mary-Louise Parker, Zooey Deschanel, and Pamela Anderson.For confectionists of all kinds, delicious alternatives lie within: Red Velvet Cupcakes, Chocolate Shortbread Scones with Caramelized Bananas, Strawberry Shortcake, and BabyCakes NYC’s celebrated frosting (so delicious it has fans tipping back frosting shots!), to name just a few. Finally, Erin’s blissful desserts are yours for the baking!

The New Book of Middle Eastern Food


Claudia Roden - 1968
    The book was originally published here in 1972 and was hailed by James Beard as "a landmark in the field of cookery"; this new version represents the accumulation of the author's thirty years of further extensive travel throughout the ever-changing landscape of the Middle East, gathering recipes and stories.Now Ms. Roden gives us more than 800 recipes, including the aromatic variations that accent a dish and define the country of origin: fried garlic and cumin and coriander from Egypt, cinnamon and allspice from Turkey, sumac and tamarind from Syria and Lebanon, pomegranate syrup from Iran, preserved lemon and harissa from North Africa. She has worked out simpler approaches to traditional dishes, using healthier ingredients and time-saving methods without ever sacrificing any of the extraordinary flavor, freshness, and texture that distinguish the cooking of this part of the world.Throughout these pages she draws on all four of the region's major cooking styles:        -        The refined haute cuisine of Iran, based on rice exquisitely prepared and embellished with a range of meats, vegetables, fruits, and nuts        -        Arab cooking from Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan--at its finest today, and a good source for vegetable and bulgur wheat dishes        -        The legendary Turkish cuisine, with its kebabs, wheat and rice dishes, yogurt salads, savory pies, and syrupy pastries        -        North African cooking, particularly the splendid fare of Morocco, with its heady mix of hot and sweet, orchestrated to perfection in its couscous dishes and taginesFrom the tantalizing mezze--those succulent bites of filled fillo crescents and cigars, chopped salads, and stuffed morsels, as well as tahina, chickpeas, and eggplant in their many guises--to the skewered meats and savory stews and hearty grain and vegetable dishes, here is a rich array of the cooking that Americans embrace today. No longer considered exotic--all the essential ingredients are now available in supermarkets, and the more rare can be obtained through mail order sources (readily available on the Internet)--the foods of the Middle East are a boon to the home cook looking for healthy, inexpensive, flavorful, and wonderfully satisfying dishes, both for everyday eating and for special occasions.

Essentials of Baking: Recipes and Techniques for Successful Home Baking (Williams-Sonoma Essentials)


Cathy Burgett - 2003
    Second in the "Essentials" series, this is the ultimate "everything you need to know" baking resource from America's favorite expert on all things culinary. From the simplest muffins to artisan-style yeast loaves, it covers the ingredients, equipment, and fundamental techniques for successful baking. In addition to step-by-step photos and baking tips and tricks, this informative volume offers insights on baking traditions around the world. Over 130 recipes include sumptuous photography, straightforward directions, and multiple variations--in short, everything a cook needs to know to rise to the top.

French Farmhouse Cookbook


Susan Herrmann Loomis - 1991
    The author visited and lived among farmers, cheesemakers, ranchers, and vintners from the Pyrénnées to Alsace-Lorraine, from Normandy to Provence. The result is a stunning portrait in recipes, lively essays, and a wealth of astucesótips passed down through generations of cooks. Here are dishes prepared by lifelong cooks--not chefs--intended to satisfy, not impress."Susan Loomis's new book is that rare thing: a cookbook that expresses accurately the milieu of its recipes. It is a timely and beautiful reminder that we have to connect back to the land in order to recover a sustainable future."--Alice Waters, author of Chez Panisse Vegetables.Main selection of the Book of the Month Club's Good Cook Club. 55,000 copies in print.

More From Magnolia: Recipes from the World Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen


Allysa Torey - 2004
    Ever since Magnolia Bakery opened its doors in 1996, people have been lining up day and night to satisfy their sugar cravings -- patiently waiting in line at the old-fashioned yet funky bake shop to buy cupcakes, layer cakes, pudding, and ice cream, much to the surprise and delight of owner Allysa Torey. Now, from the baker who brought cupcakes to everyone's attention, come even more recipes from Greenwich Village's favorite bakery and her home kitchen. Whether it's a birthday cake, weekend breakfast treats, or sweets for a bake sale, you'll find simple and delicious recipes to delight family and friends on all occasions in More from Magnolia: Recipes from the World-Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen. Beginning with the ever-popular cupcakes and frostings, you'll find the much-requested recipes for the mouthwatering Magnolia's Famous Banana Pudding and sinfully rich Red Velvet Cake with Creamy Vanilla Frosting, all with helpful hints that let you achieve the same sweet results as the bakery. In the well-loved Magnolia style, Allysa Torey brings you new twists on old favorites, such as Devil's Food Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting, Peaches and Cream Pie with Sugar Cookie Crust, and Apple Tart with Hazelnut Brown Sugar Topping. You'll also find breakfast treats like Cream Cheese Crumb Buns and Blueberry Coffee Cake with Vanilla Glaze; and afternoon snacks like Black Bottom Cupcakes, Walnut Brown Sugar Squares, and Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chip Cookies. From Banana Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing to Heavenly Hash Ice Cream Pie, these are the desserts that Allysa makes for friends and family at home -- unfussy, straightforward, and simply delicious.Illustrated with eight pages of beautiful color photographs, as well as black-and-white stills that capture the daily life of the bakery, More from Magnolia is an irresistible collection of new classics that will inspire you to fill your kitchen with sweet things.

Great Cookies: Secrets to Sensational Sweets


Carole Walter - 2003
    From traditional favorites like Snickerdoodles, Oatmeal Raisin, and Favorite Lemon Squares to future stars of the cookie jar like the trail mix–inspired Teton Trailers and chewy, chocolaty Midnight Macaroons, Great Cookies provides something to satisfy every taste and every occasion. There’s even a section devoted to the quintessential American cookie—chocolate chip. With nuts or without? White chocolate or milk? Chocolate dough? Oatmeal in the dough? Carole provides a dozen chocolate chip recipes in all, plus definitive research on a crucial issue: “Not All Chocolate Chips Are Created Equal.” Drop cookies. Bar cookies. Piped, pressed, and rolled. Great Cookies covers every conceivable method for baking these tasty confections. In the more than thirty years that she has studied and taught baking, Carole has cataloged a wealth of helpful tips and troubleshooting hints that for the first time are gathered in one collection. With guidelines for measuring and substituting ingredients, storing and freezing, recapturing that fresh-from-the-oven flavor, decorating, even gift-wrapping and shipping, Great Cookies addresses all the basics and then some. And this ultimate guide is rounded out with authoritative information on ingredients, equipment, and the foolproof techniques for which Carole is known, including the essential “Secrets To” hints for every type of cookie. With master baker Carole Walter by your side, you may never look at a glass of ice cold milk the same way again.

Professional Baking


Wayne Gisslen - 1985
    The revised Fourth Edition offers complete instruction in every facet of the bakers craft, offering more than 750 recipes including 150 from Le Cordon Bleu for everything from cakes, pies, pastries, and cookies to artisan breads. Page after page of clear instruction, the hallmark of all Gisslen culinary books, will help you master the basics such as pâte brisée and puff pastry and confidently hone techniques for making spectacular desserts using spun sugar and other decorative work. More than 500 color photographs illustrate ingredients and procedures as well as dozens of stunning breads and finished desserts.

The Tassajara Bread Book


Edward Espe Brown - 1970
    It requires nurturing and care. In this twenty-fifth anniversary edition of the international best-seller that started a generation of Americans baking, Ed Brown shows how to make—and enjoy—breads, pastries, muffins, and desserts for today's sophisticated palates. And in a new afterword, he reflects on the widespread influence of the book and offers five new recipes.This is 2010. I have just purchased a new copy of this book, which I first owned back in 1970 or 1971. I love them and use them until they fall apart. I believe they are a GREAT introduction to breakmaking for a new baker, and an excellent wedding gift.