Book cover of BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts

Book description

If you have ever marvelled at a flawless slice of cherry pie in a television bake-off and wondered if you could re-create it at home, BraveTart is for you. Here are recipes for one-bowl Devil's Food Layer Cake, Blueberry Muffins, Glossy Fudge Brownies and even Parks's own recipes for re-creating…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked BraveTart as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Stella Parks approaches baking like I want to, but don’t really have the patience for.

She’s meticulous in her experimentation (check out her posts on Serious Eats) and baking science. In BraveTart, she turns her eyes to classic American desserts like Oreos, Fig Newtons, English Muffins and Graham crackers. Her recipes are stellar, and I like that I can enjoy them knowing that they are at least a little better health-wise than the store-bought versions.

I also enjoy reading through the bits of history each of the recipes includes. Having written a cookbook on remade childhood classics myself, I know…

From Lara's list on feeling like a professional baker.

Yes, this is a cookbook, but 1) it’s by the inimitable Stella Parks of Serious Eats fame and 2) it’s absolutely dripping with American baking nostalgia.

With elevated takes on childhood favorites like fudge brownies and cinnamon rolls and homemade dupes of classics like Twinkies, Oreos, and Pop-Tarts, I defy you to flip through this book without marking a dozen recipes to try.

In my home, breakfast muffins made from her Top Shelf Muffin Mix are on permanent repeat, and the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure approach to chocolate chip cookies never disappoints. Just don’t read it if you’re watching your diet, because I…

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These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

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