Archive for the ‘Magazines & Cookbooks’ Category
Marshmallows are not a treat for just everybody. The soft, fluffy pillows of sweetness are a delicious treat for those who love them, though, and nothing is more satisfying for a marshmallow-lover than to make a homemade batch of marshmallows. The first time you try homemade marshmallows, there is definitely an element of magic to it because they don’t seem like something that you’d be able to recreate easily at home! The new book Marshmallow Madness!: Dozens of Puffalicious Recipes is dedicated to the art of making homemade marshmallows. It contains dozens of recipes for dozens of different flavors – and quite a few ideas for putting all that marshmallow to good use, as well.
The fun starts when you pick up the book, because this book has a soft, puffy cover that really suits its subject matter. Once you open it, you’re greeted with bright colors and, of course, plenty of recipes. The introduction covers all of the basic ingredients you need for ‘mallow making and the basic techniques that are used in the recipes in the book. The recipes themselves are divided into several chapters: Classics (Chocolate & Vanilla), Fruity, Happy Hour (Cocktail-Inspired), Connoisseur (Gourmet Flavors, such as Maple-Bacon) and Kids Flavors. The final chapter of the book features recipes that use the marshmallows, both as drink toppings and as elements in more complex desserts, such as cupcakes and whoopie pies.
All of the recipes are very clearly written and easy to follow along with. Generally, they’re very similar, so once you are confident with one recipe, you’ll easily be able to branch out into making the others. Just about every recipe is accompanied by an inviting picture of the finished product that will definitely make you want to start “mallowing” yourself.
Macarons, the delicate French almond-based meringue cookies, have a reputation for being as difficult to make as they are delicious. The small cookies require a bit of practice and a bit of luck to get right in most cases. Of course, having some good directions to follow will help you become a macaron master in short order. I’ve tried to be as detailed as possible in my macaron recipes, but if you want to expand your reach to include even more flavors, you might want to move on to a copy of Macaron Magic. This book is a complete guide to making all kinds of macarons. What sets it apart from other cookbooks is the level of precision with which the author approaches the process of making macarons and the guidelines set out in this book will not only help you to make excellent ones at home, but will help you understand the whys and hows of making perfect macarons.
The book is divided into seven chapters. The first is an introduction to macaron basics, helping you get your shell technique down pat and giving you a very detailed overview of two basic filling recipes for ganache and buttercream. The rest of the chapters feature macaron recipes with different themes, including boozy cocktail-inspired cookies and holiday-themed macarons. The Maple Bacon recipe will catch the eye of anyone who loves sweet-savory combinations.
Visually, the cookbook is almost as exciting as browsing through a pastry case filled with rainbow-colored macarons. There are lots of photos of the finished products, as well as plenty of pictures that illustrate the macaron-making process step-by-step. Macaron making doesn’t need to be complicated, but to get your homemade cookies to turn out as well as those that you’ll see at fancy French pastry shops, you will need to put some time into learning the basic techniques required for good results. This book makes the process clear and enjoyable – with a fun variety of recipes to choose from on top of that.
When the craving for something sweet hits you, a towering layer cake may look good, but the odds are that you really want something small and sweet (at least smaller than a whole cake!) to satisfy your sweet tooth. Homemade treats tend to be the best choice for this sort of thing, and when you put the effort into mixing up a batch of delectable cookies, you want them to be memorable, as well as just tasty. Small Sweet Treats: Sassy, Savory, and Sweet is a book that was put together with this in mind. It features dozens of recipes for simple treats that will satisfy anyone’s craving for dessert but will still stand out in your memory as something special.
This book offers a wide variety of recipe types and doesn’t limit itself to just one type of dessert. There are cookies, cakes and cupcakes, and you’ll also find recipes for scones, fools, tarts and fruit pies, among other things. This makes the book a little more exciting because it means that you’ll pick it up again and again when simply looking for inspiration, and that you never quite know what you’ll end up settling on. The recipes are straightforward and very approachable, primarily made with easy to find ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen but laced with slightly more unusual ingredients that are part of what makes these recipes unique. Lavender and cardamom are things that you might not have in your kitchen, for instance, but these recipes can ease you into trying them out.
Tips on baking techniques and ingredients are sprinkled throughout the book that are helpful to new bakers and more experienced ones alike. There are also plenty of beautiful photos that will inspire you to start baking as soon as you get into your kitchen. The only thing that I would change about this volume is that the recipes don’t remind users to preheat their ovens when starting out on a recipe, which means that you really do need to read through the instructions before beginning (always recommended anyway) to make sure that your oven is ready when your dessert is ready to bake. Overall, however, this is a lovely book with plenty of recipes that will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth and let you get a little creative the next time you bake.
The Treats Truck is a New York City food truck that is packed with baked goods of all kinds and roams the city bringing a little sweetness to people’s daily routines. The Treats Truck Baking Book: Cookies, Brownies & Goodies Galore! contains some of the truck’s most popular recipes so that you can make them at home without stalking a food truck if you live in NYC and without booking a plane ticket to the city if you don’t. From the original Treats Truck, this dessert-centric business has actually grown to include a real storefront where customers can pick up their favorite snacks without wondering whether the truck will be nearby, but the book will take readers back to where this story began, with a truck, some sweat treats and a lot of hungry customers.
There is a real sense of fun about this book and it’s easy to see that just from looking at the cover. There are bright colors throughout the book, along with, photos of the truck, customers (sometimes with cute stories about them) and tempting pictures of the food, which all come together to paint the picture of a much loved truck selling much loved treats.
The recipes in this cookbook aren’t complicated or particularly fancy. Instead, they’re comforting, satisfying and tasty. They’re also recipes that you are very likely to actually make (you’ll certainly be tempted) because not only are they easy to make, but most of them use ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. You’ll find things like Classic Rice Crispy Squares, Apple Pie and Cream Cheese Brownies – all homemade favorites. Many of the recipes also come with suggestions for variations, so you can make a few simple tweaks and get treats with whole new flavors. There are also ideas that allow you to mix-and-match some of the book’s recipes, for instance adding a filling to a pair of cookies to turn it into an indulgent sandwich.
The thing that is going to catch your eye when you glance at The Butch Bakery Cookbook is that the cupcake on the cover is garnished with crispy chunks of bacon. You might be slightly turned off by this, thinking that you prefer your cupcakes to be topped with sprinkles. You might also get excited, thinking that not only does salty bacon on top of a sweet cupcake sound like a great idea, but that this book offers something different than other cupcake-centric cookbooks. If your thought is the latter one, than this is a cookbook that might be right up your alley.
The cookbook has a theme of “manly” cupcakes and baking. This is because the author opened his bakery with that same idea in mind: few bakeries were catering to men’s tastes in cupcakes even though men definitely wanted to eat dessert. The bakery was a success and eventually spawned this cookbook, which sticks to the theme carefully. The introduction starts out with a “boot camp” to give a crash course in baking techniques. The ingredient lists are “rosters” and the recipes are “plans of attack,” which makes the book stand out from the crowd. The result of this theme is that the book is quite funny to read through with lots of alternately humorous and useful baking tips and notes on this theme.
Just because the book is written with a “manly” angle, doesn’t mean that everyone can’t enjoy this cookbook. Advice on setting up your kitchen aside, the recipes are fun and innovative, delivering cupcakes with big, bold flavor combinations that you won’t see just anywhere. You’ll find Chocolate Stout Cupcake with Vanilla Stout Buttercream and Chocolate Covered Pretzels, B-52 Cupcakes, and the “Home Run Cupcakes,” which are peanut butter cupcakes with banana buttercream and brown sugar-baked bacon bits. The recipes themselves, which are divided into chapters by theme, are easy to follow along with (in spite of the theme) and the baking tips will help you through any problem areas that you encounter as you put together the recipes. There are plenty of excellent photos to inspire you to get in the kitchen and “play ball”, as well.
