Taste of Home Baking Book or Not Your Mothers Slow Cooker Cookbook

Taste of Home Baking Book

Author: Taste of Hom

Discover more than 725 recipes for irresistible baked goods-from cookies, bars, brownies, cakes, cheesecakes, pies, bread puddings, and meringues to yeast breads, quick breads, coffee cakes, muffins, biscuits, and more-and bask in the warm, complex aroma of a fresh-baked loaf of bread, the luscious whiff of cinnamon rolls, or the sweet, fruity fragrance of pies. Best of all, they are all made with easy-to-find ingredients. Every recipe has been tasted and reviewed by the professional home economists of the Taste of Home test kitchens. More than 675 full-color photographs illustrate mixing and baking methods and showcase the delectable baked results!

Step-by-step directions take the worry out of baking-plus, prep and bake times make it easy to plan your kitchen time. The easy-to-follow instructions will have a novice baking like a pro, and both beginners and experienced bakers alike will appreciate the in-depth quick reference section with general measuring and mixing techniques, charts, bakeware tips, an overview of common baking ingredients, and a glossary of baking terms. The chapters include: Baking Basics; Cookies; Bars & Brownies; Cakes; Cheesecakes; Pies & Tarts; Desserts; Quick Breads; Muffins, Biscuits & Cones; Savory Yeast Breads; Sweet Yeast; Breads; Fanciful Creations; and Holiday Baking. Plus there are solutions to baking dilemmas, information on adjusting recipes for high-altitude baking, and plenty of tips from the Taste of Home experts.

With an alphabetical listing on each chapter divider plus a subject and reference index, you'll have instant access to everything inside this comprehensive baking guide. Special features include a 5-ring binder that lies flat when open, snap-in splash guards to protect the pages from food spills and sticky fingers, tab dividers for quick reference, and pocketed pages to store your personal baking recipes.

Novice bakers will cherish this beautiful volume for its easy-to-follow instructions, and experienced cooks will treasure the at-a-glance baking reference, which covers everything from simple cookies and breads to sumptuous cakes and sophisticated tortes.

Publishers Weekly

Fans of home-baked sweets need look no further than this massive collection of more than 700 recipes submitted by Taste of Homereaders, which covers everything-and its variations (Apple Coffee Cake, Zucchini Oat Muffins, etc.). Designed with the user in mind, the book is organized by type of baked good (cookies, bars, pies and tarts, desserts, savory and sweet yeast breads, etc.) and augmented with helpful tabs and a comprehensive index. Once the flour starts to fly, readers can use the thick plastic page protectors included to keep pages clean, and sturdy ring-bound construction ensures that the book will hold up to frequent use. Submissions come from all over the country, ranging from regional favorites like Old-Fashioned Raisin Pie (from Illinois) and Fruit-Filled Kolachkes, a fluffy Polish pastry, to classics like Bread Pudding and Lemon Bars. Purists may scoff at some recipes and techniques (such as German Chocolate Cookies that call for a box of German chocolate cake mix), but the focus here is the end result. Rounded out with tips on everything from shipping cookies to creating chocolate "clay" that can be molded and used as an accoutrement, the authors have achieved an exceedingly thorough resource; this brilliantly conceived title should top the list for anyone looking for a first book on baking. (Sept.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook

Author: Beth Hensperger

The slow cooker is perfect for today's lifestyle, in which everyone is time- and energy-conscious, economy-wise, concerned about nutrition, and demanding of great flavor. This book offers a way of traditional cooking that's new and fresh.

Publishers Weekly

According to the authors, 80% of American households own a slow cooker. This whopping collection of 350 recipes is reason enough to unearth that Crock-Pot from the attic or invest in one of the new high-tech models. The title, however, is a misnomer, and not just because the book includes a recipe for "Mom's Beef Stew." Much of what Hensperger (The Bread Bible) and Kaufmann (coauthor, with Hensperger, of The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook) present is exactly the kind of comfort food typically associated with childhood snow days or family gatherings. To use the word "hearty" in describing these recipes is to state the obvious. There are more than a dozen oatmeals and porridges, ranging from Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal to Creamy Cornmeal Porridge. Soups include Vegetarian Split Pea, French Onion, and White Bean with Bacon. Twenty-four types of baked beans are mere prelude for the 14 chili options, including "Senator Barry Goldwater's Arizona Chili" (which gives new meaning to the phrase "bowl of red"). Other recipes are for poultry, meat and fish dishes, and New and Old World dishes are plentiful. The only letdown is the "Not-from-the-Slow Cooker Accompaniments" chapter, with its uninspired choices like Baked Rice, and Mixed Green Salad. But the concluding pages, full of puddings and fruit desserts, atone with sinful treats like Chocolate Peanut Butter Pudding Cake and Rum-Butterscotch Bananas. (Jan.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Although it's true that recipes like Frijoles Charros or Moroccan Chicken Thighs with Cumin wouldn't have appeared in "your mother's" slow cooker cookbook, many of the other dishes included here-e.g., U.S. Senate Bean Soup and Sloppy Joes-certainly could have. Hensperger and Kaufmann (The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook) provide lots of tips and ideas for getting the most out of another of their favorite kitchen appliances. But while the slow cooker works well for stews, braises, chutneys, and steamed puddings, some of the recipes are a bit of a stretch. Take Caramel Apples, which uses the cooker (and one to two hours' time) to melt store-bought caramels with water for the apple coating. For collections where other slow-cooker books are popular. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.