Saturday, October 5, 2013

Cooking the Books Review

Fat Witch Brownies: Brownies, Blondies, and Bars from New York's Legendary Fat Witch Bakery by Patricia Helding (Rodale, 2010).

The various bar cookies I have made from this book (and that my sister has made) have all been delicious. Every recipe in the book bakes in a 9x9" pan, which is billed as a good thing by the author but since I didn't have a pan that size (I bought one) I found it somewhat irritating. The instructions are clear and given in a logical order. It drives me crazy when you come to a step in the middle of a recipe that calls for melted butter and this is the first mention that melting (and cooling) will be required. Helding doesn't do this, she gives you the preparation steps as part of the directions. Most recipes have a yummy looking picture (just looking can't be fattening right?).

The Butterscotch Bars (p.47) and the Emerald City Brownies (p. 123) were particularly good and I am looking forward to making the Toffee Bars (p. 78) and the Cherry Oatmeal Bars (p. 94). 

I would recommend this book for any lover of bar cookies, even if they are new to baking.

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

11 comments:

  1. I love bar cookies, brownies etc. I think not having how the ingredient needs to be prepared listed with the ingredient would turn me off too!
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  2. I have heard this is a good cookbook and everyone who has written about it enjoyed baking from it.

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  3. I love to make bar cookies... this sounds like the perfect book for me!

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  4. These sound wonderful! I'm not a fan of the 9 in pan but now that two teenagers have flown the coop maybe I need to rethink my attitude. A smaller pan might get us through.

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  5. Mmm.... now I am thinking I should make some brownies this afternoon! I haven't made any for a while!

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  6. LOL on the baking pan. I like that this makes small batches. Much more sane for two people than baking a huge amount. I have multiple 9x9 pans, so I'm in good shape. :)

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  7. I like to stop by Fat Witch when I am in Chelsea Market in NYC, but I have not yet tried to make one of their recipes.

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  8. I've never heard of the Fat Witch Bakery - but I am a lover of bar cookies and the Butterscotch bars sound delicious. I will definitely check out the cookbook for some new sweets to try this fall.

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  9. Well, I am not a brownie person, but my roommate is... in spades. I shall put this on her Christmas gift list. Great find!

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  10. I adore brownies and bars, and since I have a pan in that size which I've hardly ever used, this seems like the perfect book to add to my collection :-)

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

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