Sweet Maria's Italian Cookie Tray: A Cookbook [Paperback]

Maria Bruscino Sanchez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 1997

Sweet Maria's Italian Cookie Tray presents sixty-five recipes for the delicious, festive cookies that brighten every Italian home, at the holidays and all year-round.
Maria Bruscino Sanchez opened Sweet Maria's bakery when she was just twenty-six years old, specializing in authentic Italian cookies and cakes made from handed-down family recipes. The result has been a booming business, and this very special cookbook.
The irresistible reciples range from drop, molded and filled cookies; biscotti; taralle and biscuits; pizelles, and more. Easy to prepare and perfect for any occasion (or no occasion at all) they include:

Chocolate Almond Macaroons, Pignoli Nut Cookies, Amaretto Biscotti Sesame Cookies, Almond Crescents, Lemon Drop Cookies, Chocolate Puffs, Florentines, Lady Fingers, Sweet Ravioli Cookies, Christmas Honey Clusters, Angel Wings, Cinnamon Nut Bars, and more.

Whether you grew up in an Italian home or just wish you did, this wonderful collection is sure to become a cookie lover's favorite--one you will return to again and again.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Growing up in a close-knit, Italian American family, Maria Bruscino Sanchez was surrounded by tradition: food, customs, and celebrations from the "old country" were lovingly observed, and if the original meaning was sometimes hidden beneath the patina of a new culture, the respect and desire to stay connected to the past remained. As an adult, Sanchez turned family tradition into her livelihood, opening Sweet Maria's bakery in Waterbury, Connecticut, where she re-created the cakes and cookies of her youth--but with a distinctly American twist. With Sweet Maria's Italian Cookie Tray, Sanchez offers her culinary treasures to an even wider audience; recipes range from drop and molded cookies to filled ones, biscotti and biscuits, taralle and pizelles, and many more. Cookie lovers will find plenty to devour in this compilation of Italian American favorites.

From Booklist

A few years ago, only a handful of Americans appreciated Italian cookies beyond the familiar amaretti. An explosion of interest in Italian cooking has changed all that, and biscotti and pizelles now appear in restaurants and bakeries from coast to coast. Sanchez, bakery owner from Waterbury, Connecticut, has built a business based on production of Italian cookies, and she now shares her recipes. Some Italian cookies, such as nut-studded biscotti, require special techniques, being twice baked (the literal meaning of biscotto). Others, including bar and drop cookies, more directly recall typical American cookies. Frizzelle, spiked with both fennel seeds and a prodigious quantity of black pepper, add a new dimension to the cookie baker's art. Sanchez's precise directions ensure consistent results in the home kitchen, but not all her required ingredients may be readily available in areas lacking Italian markets. Mark Knoblauch

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; 1st edition (July 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312156707
• ISBN-13: 978-0312156701
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (53 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,081 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Cookies
  • #97 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > European > Italian

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 56 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed Review June 2, 2003

By Aaauger

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was thrilled to find this book. There's something special about an Italian cookie bakery with the variety of designs and flavors. I tried four recipes. Two were good but were similar to recipes I already had: Coconut Macaroons and Anise cookies. The other two were failures: the Florentines were so thin that they separated from the almonds and the Sesame cookies were inedibly bitter. Many of the recipes use the same base ingredients which makes for easy preparation but somewhat redundant taste. I wished for the more elaborate cookies. My biggest issue was the lack of photos for visual guidance. Also appearance is a huge part of Italian cookies. I'm sure that the absence of photos kept the cost of printing down but it was a false economy. I will try more recipes in this book but will also look for others with more instruction.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST OF THE BEST December 27, 1997

By [e-mail]

Format:Paperback

THIS BOOK WAS ONE OF THE EASIEST BAKING COOKBOOKS THAT I'VE EVER COME ACROSS. IT WAS VERY SIMPLISTIC. I TRIED ALMOST EVERY RECIPE IN THE BOOK AND WAS VERY PLEASED WITH THE RESULTS AS WAS MY STEP-FATHER WHO IS FROM ITALY. THE BISCOTTI WAS THE BEST!!!!!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent. These recipes are the real thing!!! July 18, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

These recipes are for cookies just like my Itlain grandmother use to make. They are authentic, accurate, and great.