Nancy Baggett
Books: Cookbooks | Baking | Desserts
The All-American Cookie Book (2001), The All-American Dessert Book (2005), Simply Sensational Cookies (2012)
The All-American Dessert Book (2005)
I love to bake. So when I come across interesting dessert cookbooks I tend to pick them up. I ordered this one on a whim, just because I was looking for something new.
The first thing I noticed about this book is that is has gorgeous pictures. Gorgeous--but real pictures. The desserts look absolutely delicious, but they also look like something that could possible come out of my kitchen. Things are not perfect--there are spills, the dishes are well used, things are lumpy, there are crumbs. Essentially, not only do the desserts look delicious, but they look like something I might be capable of making. Although I have several recipes I want to try, I've only tried one so far.
I wanted something chocolate-y, so I made the chocolate pudding. I was never a big fan of chocolate pudding, but I decided that maybe it was because it was just the instant stuff, so maybe if I made real chocolate pudding, it might be just the chocolate dish I was looking for.
It was! Yum! Although I have to admit that without the whipped cream I found it too rich. But with whipped cream (and fresh strawberries--yum yum yum!)
The recipe was straight-forward and easy to follow, and called for ingredients I had on hand. (Well, I didn't have whole milk on hand, but that was easy enough to pick up. Of course I keep bittersweet chocolate and Madagascar bourbon vanilla on hand. So take that into consideration.) I didn't run into any problems with the recipe, and the result was as good as I was expecting. I'll have to try more recipes, but the style was such that this is a book I will probably reach for again when I'm looking for something sweet.
Rating: 9/10
Simply Sensational Cookies (2012)
So, maybe I have a problem.
This is the fourth cookbook–dessert cookbook (and third cookie book)–I've finished in a week.
But I love baking. What can I say? And I'm always looking for just that perfect cookie.
I have two other of Nancy Baggett's dessert cookbooks, so when this one came up as a daily deal, I simply couldn't resist.
Lots of pictures.
Organized by cookies type (drop, rolled, bars, etc).
And a very useful chapter at the end of frostings, fillings, and finishing touches.
I'll admit that I am extremely picky about frosting. Anything you get at a grocery store? ACK! PTOOIE! Nasty. But the more I read into this chapter, the more excited I got–using natural ingredients to create colored frostings and sugars–with flavor?! YUM! Some of them are obvious, like using grape juice concentrate for making purple frosting, but I'd never consider (and should have!) using citrus zest for colored and flavored sugars. Or lavender flowers.
I have a lot of pages marked in this book, for things I want to try. Like Iced Lemon Drops. Or Carrot Drop Cookies with Cream Cheese Glaze. Or Browned Butter-Pecan Shortbread. Or Vanilla-Cream Sandwiches. Or Chocolate Whoopie Pies with Raspberry Creme Filling. Or Frosted Strawberry or Raspberry Swirls.
I really wanna make Frosted Strawberry Swirls.
So I've got lots lined up, and we'll see how things turn out.
Published by Wiley
Rating: 8/10