Sweets: Soul Food Desserts and Memories [Paperback]

Patty Pinner (Author), Sheri Giblin (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2006

Growing up in a large African-American family in a small town in Michigan, Patty Pinner spent her childhood helping the women of the house-the Queens of Soul Food-whip up the sweet treats that crowned family dinners, neighborhood gatherings, and church socials. In SWEETS, Patty shares her family's stories, maxims, and magical desserts, many named after family members like Cud'n Daisy, Aint Sug, and My My, her beloved grandmother. Part recipe book, part family history, this sweet-as-can-be cookbook is a heartfelt tribute to women who ruled the home and the kitchen with their wisdom, hearts, and cooking.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this sweetly sentimental cookbook, Pinner shares "plain old down-home confections" and her childhood memories of the lively women who created them: Mama, "My My" (her grandmother), "Aints" Lula and Pinky, "Cud'n" Flossie and more. In addition to the standard pound cakes, fruit cobblers and cookies of most home-baking books, she relates some truly original recipes, like Cud'n Bertise's Mashed Potato Fudge and Cud'n Merle's Mississippi Bean Fudge, which "doesn't taste one bit like beans," she assures. The exhaustive section on pies includes Egg Pie, Old-Fashioned Sugar Pie, Cantaloupe Pie, Butter Bean Pie, White Potato Pie and others, proving that one can make a pie out of just about anything-or even a Little of Nothing (the name for a pie that calls for only milk, sugar, flour, vanilla, butter and cinnamon, whose recipe came from Miss Nellie, the only white woman among Pinner's pantheon of cooks). The recipes and story snippets are punctuated with snapshots of family gatherings in small-town Michigan and Pinner's concoctions, making this a nice, nostalgic collection of desserts.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

* A collection of treasured dessert recipes and stories from a small-town African-American family's soul food kitchen. * Includes 95 recipes for cakes, pies, cobblers, cookies, candies, puddings, and ice cream, plus archival family photographs and full-color dessert shots. * Filled with poignant and often hilarious anecdotes, along with baking tips from Big Mama, Grandma My My, and many others.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1580087981
• ISBN-13: 978-1580087988
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.6 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,868 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #94 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Desserts

More About the Author

Patty Pinner is also the author of Sweets: A Collection of Soul Food Desserts and Memories, which was selected as one of the best cookbooks of the year by The New York Times and called 'a sliver of fancy cake with a soulful memory' by the Washington Post. Patty Pinner lives in Saginaw, Michigan.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How About 6 Stars?!, March 4, 2006

By 

Anna V. Carroll - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sweets: A Collection of Soul Food Desserts and Memories (Hardcover)

This isn't just a cookbook, it's a national treasure! Over the last few years I have purchased numerous cookbooks that center around Southern cooking or Soul Food. This one tops them all. From cover to cover it is a joy to read. The photographs are awesome. This book took a great deal of time to write. Perhaps 100 years. The recipes date back that long. It is a story of families, American families, that we all need to read, enjoy and praise. The recipes are wonderful, homey, comforting, easy to make. I LOVE this book! If you buy only one cookbook this year, Patty Pinner's book is THE one! Thank you Ms. Pinner for sharing your incredible family with the world. I am overwhelmed.

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of the Best, July 2, 2007

By 

Tracy D. Slinker "Tracy Slinker" (Redondo Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sweets: Soul Food Desserts and Memories (Paperback)

I got this book & read it cover to cover. I have over 250 cookbooks, and I am a snob when it comes to good cookbooks. Out of all my cookbook, I'd say that this is in the the top 5. It takes me back home to KY, and my grandmother kitchen. And reminds me of all the wonderful food that we ate at home & at the church revivals. All the women would try to out cook each other. The recipies in this book, are almost word for word & step for step what I remember watching my grandmother & the other ladies I grew up watching cook. Patty, you call this Soul food cooking. But to me & everyone raised in the south. It's just really good/great home cooking. I'd love it if you came out with a cookbook on veggies & meats etc. Bless your heart for writing this book. I thought I lost the chance to make several of the dishes listed in your cookbook. I lost my grandmother, and her recipies with her. I'd only remember some of them. So now, I have them back, and I've already started using your cookbook. Amazon will only let me give you 5 stars. But if I could I'd give you 100. Yes people the book is that good. I cook on the side for a living, so I know what I'm talking about!!!!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars COULDN'T WAIT TO TRY THE RECIPES, A+++!!, October 26, 2007

By 

Italia "Ciao Pronto" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweets: Soul Food Desserts and Memories (Paperback)

I am so happy that I stumbled across this book when searching for a southern dessert cook book. I couldn't wait to get it in the mail and quickly went through it to try the first recipe that stood out. I made the down home bred pudding and it was fantastic!!

Instead of using regular rum, I used hazelnut liquer and it turned out much better than I could have expected. I also tweaked the measurements here and there because my family loves a "wet" bread pudding.

So needlesstosay, I've been asked to make this for Thanksgiving as the main dessert! I can't wait to try the rest of the recipes. If they are any where close to this one, I'm sure they will all taste amazing!!