Debbi Fields Great American Desserts [Hardcover]

Debbi Fields (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 1996

As the founder of Mrs. Fields' Cookies, author of two bestselling cookbooks, and host of The Dessert Show, Debbi Fields has had plenty of opportunity to perfect her treat-making skills. In Debbi Field's Great American Desserts, the companion book to the twenty-six-part public television series, Debbi selects forty of America's best-loved desserts, teaches you how to make them perfectly every time, then follows her master recipes with delectable variations.

Try Debbi's classic Devil's Food Cake, then make her irresistible variation: four chocolate layers sandwiched with Dark Chocolate Fudge Ganache and Whipped Chocolate Espresso Filling, covered in White Chocolate Frosting. Prefer pie to cake? Then enjoy Paradise Key Lime Pie, or the decadent Peanut Butter-Chocolate Mud Pie. Have a craving for cheesecake? After you've baked Debbi's New York Style /cheesecake, move on to her Sweet Potato-Pecan Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust. If you think Debbi's Truffle Cake is to die for, just wait until you taste her Triple Truffle Cake. In the mmod for something simpler? Then Debbi's Banana Pudding or Strawberry-Peach Shortcake will fit the bill. And for cookie lovers, there's Chocolate Swirled Shortbread and Caramel Macadamia Butter Cookies.

With easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, and lavishly illustrated with seventy full-color photographs, Debbi Fields' Great American Desserts will inspire cooks and bakers everywhere to create and indulge in these ultimately satisfying delights.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Fields, of the Mrs. Fields' cookie chain, knows the kinds of desserts Americans like: rich, familiar and frequently chocolate. Eschewing the honorific in her third cookbook (after Mrs. Fields' Cookie Book and Mrs. Fields' I Love Chocolate Cook), which is being published simultaneously with the appearance of a PBS TV series of the same title, she covers expected family favorites, including layer cakes, pies, icebox desserts and cookies. Chocolate remains the most favored flavor, especially in such "signature" recipes as Debbi's Devil's Food Cake, Debbi's Chocolate Cream Pie, Debbi's Fudge Mousse, and Debbi's Flourless Fudge Brownies. Fields describes herself as "almost incapable of resisting the temptation to add extra ingredients." This proclivity leads to some excess, as in Peanut Butter, Fruit, and Nut Bars, the recipe for which includes a pecan-chocolate crust topped with peanut butter, chocolate chips, peanuts, almonds, apricots, dates and coconut. More appealing are simpler recipes such as Georgia Peach Butter Cake, Lemon-Berry Bars, Sweet Potato Pie and White Chocolate Bundt Cake. Throughout, recipes are clearly presented and often accompanied by illustrative photos, although discussion of technique is limited. 200,000 first printing; first serial to Family Circle; author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Bluestein and Morrissey are the authors of The 99% Fat-Free Cookbook of Appetizers and Desserts (LJ 2/15/96) and The 99% Fat-Free Cookbook (LJ 4/15/94), among other titles; this time around, they're indulging themselves. True, they do include a chapter of Healthy Cookies (low-fat, sugarless, and/or gluten-free), but there are dozens of recipes for such treats as Cappuccino-Filled Hazelnut Sandwiches, Three-Layer Brownies, and Macadamia Florentines. Instructions are particularly clear, and there is also a section on holiday cookies, from Christmas to Passover to Halloween. Highly recommended. Debbi Fields is Mrs. Fields of cookie shop fame (see Mrs. Fields Cookie Book, LJ 8/92); she has appeared often on the TV Food Network, and this book is the companion to a new PBS series. She offers lots of rich desserts, both her versions of classic favorites such as Coconut Cake and Banana Pudding and her dressed-up, more extravagant variations, such as Lemon-Cream Coconut Cake or Chocolate Banana Pudding. The recipes sound delicious, and her TV show will only increase her popularity. Recommended for most collections.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First edition. edition (September 17, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684831775
• ISBN-13: 978-0684831770
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,239,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing, January 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Debbi Fields' Great American Desserts: 100 Mouthwatering Easy-to-Prepare Recipes (Paperback)

I too was lured into purchasing this book because of the over-the-top recipes but that actually proved to be the downfall. After trying out several I gave up on this book because they either were too hard, didn't work out or were just OK. I made the Carrot Cake twice and it ended up just falling apart both times when I took it out of the pan. And this was after about an hour & 1/2 in the kitchen. Other things like the Flourless Fudge Brownies were way too sweet & rich and made me a little sick to my stomach. I consider myself an experienced baker and there are so many other books which are more helpful and less of a waste. Try the Cake Bible or Betty Crocker books.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Unreliable Recipes, August 19, 1999

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Debbi Fields Great American Desserts (Hardcover)

I regret purchasing this book. Okay, I must admit that the raspberry cream cheese coffee cake was beyond fabulous, and I have made it repeatedly, even in a triple batch for a large crowd at an official function. However, I have had more disappointment than satisfaction when trying other recipes in this book. The yellow cake, for example, was absolutely horrible. My husband and I each took a bite or two from our first (and only) slices of that cake, and promptly threw away not only the remainder of our slices, but the entire rest of the cake as well. Also, I did not like the blueberry muffins. I have tried literally dozens of blueberry muffin recipes over the years, searching for the perfect one, and this recipe ranked low on the list. I found the shortbread recipe only mediocre. So, while there may be other excellent recipes in this book, I am reluctant to try any more, because I don't want to waste my time (and ingredients) on recipes from an unreliable source.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I am very disappointed with this book., October 20, 1999

By 

Robin ([e-mail]) (Princeton, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Debbi Fields Great American Desserts (Hardcover)

I have tried both the devil's food and the yellow cake recipes in this book. Both times I cooked the cakes under the recommended amounts of time and both times the cakes came out very dry. After all of the time and money I put into these cakes, I ended up throwing them out! I also tried the blueberry cream cheese tart. This was only mediocre. I will not try to make any other recipes in this book, as I don't want to waste my time or money!