The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes From New York's Sweetest Bakery [Hardcover]

Jennifer Appel (Author), Allysa Torey (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 3, 1999

On the corner of Bleecker and Eleventh Streets in the heart of Greenwich Village sits the Magnolia Bakery. This unassuming shop, where the smells of home-style baking weaken even the strongest will, has attracted a clientele that ranges from kids on their way home from school to celebrity glitterati. Cupcakes swirled with pastel frosting crowd the counter, and cakestands display Lemon Vanilla Bundt Cake, Apple Walnut Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Icing, and Coconut Layer Cake, swathed in fluffy white frosting and covered in drifts of coconut. As Time Out New York says: "The secret to Magnolia's success is simple: Nobody knows how to bake like this anymore."

Magnolia's owners Jennifer Appel and Allysa Torey know how, and in The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook they share their most mouth-watering recipes, from sweet breakfast treats like Dried-Cherry Crumb Buns to classic Iced Molasses Cookies, from decadently rich Caramel Pecan Brownies and Raspberry Marzipan Cheesecake to refreshing Lemon Icebox Pie. Their easy-to-follow recipes and invaluable baking hints mean that even the inexperienced baker will be able to frost the perfect layer cake, turn out the flakiest pie crust, and whip up the creamiest cheesecake. Illustrated with eight pages of glorious color photographs, The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook will inspire you to turn on the oven and create sweet memories for your family and friends.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Appel and Torey are owners of the eponymous Manhattan bakery, which turns out the kind of white-cake treats that graced most tables decades ago. Retro deserts include Chocolate Wafer Icebox Cake, made with Nabisco wafers, and Oatmeal, Raisin, Almond Cookies. These recipes are classics, with a few updated touches. Pecan Pie was handed down from a Texas grandmother; Magic Cookie Bars are packed with chocolate chips and coconut and sweetened with three cans of condensed milk. The unfortunately named Dump Cake is a throwback to old women's magazine recipes, consisting of cherry pie filling, canned pineapple, cake mix, pecans and butter. These super-sweet, mostly buttery items hark back to a pre-cholesterol eraAevidenced by Chocolate Chip, Peanut, Banana Loaf, which the authors describe as "healthy." A chapter on cheesecakes offers Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake and White Chocolate-Hazelnut Cheesecake. A section of baking tips includes little new information for even novice cooks (e.g., advice such as measuring accurately and watching cookies carefully to guard against burning). The same can be said of this book as a whole: these recipes are good, if ordinary. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Mary Alice Kellogg The Shuttle Sheet The kind of old-fashioned time warp baking so good you'll wonder, is it legal?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (November 3, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684859106
• ISBN-13: 978-0684859101
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 0.7 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (85 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #91 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Baking > Desserts

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 69 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars I really want to love The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook but... April 15, 2006

By Worthington

Format:Hardcover

I consider myself to be an avid and skilled baker/cook. I have been baking and cooking successfully for well over 22 years. I got this book and MORE FROM MAGNOLIA as gifts from a friend who is a big fan of the cupcakes at the Magnolia Bakery in New York. I was very careful to follow the recipes exactly and I most certainly am not a beginner. The first recipe I tried was Magnolia's Vanilla Cupcakes. The cupcakes turned out okay; a bit on the dry side and I would have used maybe a bit more vanilla. I tried two more recipes (Devil's Food Cupcakes and Chocolate Buttermilk Layer Cake) just to give the books the benefit of the doubt. I used only the freshest, highest quality ingredients and I was extra conscientious when following the recipes and the results were still mediocre. The cupcakes were dry and the layer cake was bland. Old-fashioned is a quality I like in my baking but dry and bland are qualities no one likes. I have heard so much praise about the goods at the Magnolia Bakery that it leads me to wonder if the recipes in the cookbooks have been adjusted to turn out inferior results. The book itself is easy to follow, well-written, and laid out neatly. The lack of so many pictures did not bother me at all and the pictures they did include were beautiful and attractive. But the recipes are what matters the most in any cookbook. The results have been consistently just okay. I really expected a lot but I'm sorry to say I'm disappointed.

72 of 76 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Recipes are crowd pleasers January 21, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

I am a teacher who has a dream of owning a corner bakery like the Magnolia Bakery one day. Therefore, I cook desserts for the faculty at my school at least once a week. Everything I've made from this book has received rave reviews. The day I made the apple walnut cake, two of my colleagues went out bought the cookbook for themselves. The caramel pecan brownies and the chocolate sour cream cake were also a hit. Also, the white chocolate macadamia cookies are much better than the ones at the mall cookie store. This book is a must have for every new bride!

44 of 46 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Baking Book December 20, 2000

By Stephanie Manley TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

You will find this book a great resource on basic baking items such as muffins, cakes, and cheesecakes. This is not the book for you if you are looking for something completely original, but is perfect if you are looking for really good recipes for standards. I liked that the instructions were extremely clear, there was no room for error when preparing the recipes. This is one of the most detailed books in this respect that I have seen. All the recipes that I have tried have come out well. I also like the fact you do not need exotic recipes for this book. Most ingredients can be readily found in your pantry. If you are looking for a resource for classic bakery recipes this book is for you. The page design is lovely, and there are many pictures to go along with the recipes.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good book May 5, 2000

By VA

Format:Hardcover

I had read about this book on another website and was immediately intrigued by one of the recipes listed. It was an orange vanilla chip cookie that was supposed to taste like those old fashioned orange creamsicles. The day I bought the book and brought it home, I baked those cookies and took them to a bake sale at work. They were a big hit. I made about 5 dozen and they were quickly gone.

When I was mixing the dough, I thought the authors had made a mistake. The dough was very dry and difficult to mix. I had thought about adding extra eggs. I decided to go ahead and bake the first batch. They baked up thick, soft, chewy, and delicious. They didn't spread and become thin. They were surprising light-tasting and made everyone want more.

The other recipes look just as wonderful and I look forward to trying them all. They are simple, with no complex ingredients and the instructions are very clear. Even a first-time baker would have no problem with these recipes. The only complaint I had was that there were too few pictures.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars a gift that keeps giving January 11, 2000

By bob

Format:Hardcover

this review is actually from my wife! I am a big fan of the delicious cupcakes and other goodies at the Magnolia Bakery and was pleased to find out that they opened a similar store near my work (Bttercup Bakery) Unfortunately we moved uptown and it was very difficult for me to have my cupcakes on the weekends. Then I happen to find this book and immedialy purchased it hoping to recreate some of the magic from the bakery but lo and behold I am a terrible cook - so I did the next best thing and gave this book as a holiday present to my wife and earmarked the pages where I wanted her to concentrate on. The book must be geat because the output of my wife's work was just as good as the real thing and now I am happy on the weekdends. It is the first gift that I have given that I can reap the rewards over and over again! My wife enjoys using the recipes and I enjoy eating the results..............The only problem for the authors is that I do not visit the bakeries as much as we can replicate my favorites at home

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is fabulous October 15, 2005

By E. Ries

Format:Hardcover

After visiting the famous bakery in New York, there was no question I had to get this book. And the results have been amazing...absolutely everything I've made has been to die for! My colleagues at work beg for my cupcakes after I brought them in for a birthday and the icebox desserts take minutes, but look beautiful and taste even better! A lovely book that brings me back to NYC and my mom's kitchen at the same time!!