Mom's Big Book of Baking: 200 Simple, Foolproof Recipes for Delicious Family Treats to Get You Through Every Birthday Party, Class Picnic, Potluck, Bake Sale, Holiday, and No-School Day (Hardcover)

by Lauren Chattman (Author)
Key Phrases: vanilla whipped cream, angel food cake, savory zucchini bread, Good Excuse, The Cookie Jar, Old-Fashioned Cookies Mom's Way (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Lauren Chattman is both a pastry chef and a mom, so she's in the perfect position to offer Mom's Big Book of Baking, a cookbook filled with recipes the whole family will love. This collection of 200 recipes for simple, home-style baked goods lets already busy moms bake for bake sales, slumber parties, the family cookie jar, and other special occasions, without spending what little spare time they might have tied up in the kitchen. Tips called "Kids Can Help" describe different ways to involve children in the kitchen, and there are also plenty of funny sidebars, entitled A Good Excuse to Make..., that will give you a chuckle whether or not they convince you to try the recipe. Chattman includes favorites like Caramel Swirl Brownies, Rolled Sugar Cookies, Lattice-Top Apple Pie, and Chocolate Milk Pancakes. You'll be well prepared for birthdays with recipes such as Strawberry Cupcakes with Vanilla Whipped Cream and Strawberry Roses, a "magical" Marble Pound Cake, and Chocolate Birthday Cake Frosting. --Leora Y. Bloom

From Publishers Weekly
Author of the highly successful dessert cookbook Instant Gratification, Chattman now offers her skills as a mother as well as pastry chef. The book covers baking from pancakes, waffles and muffins through cookies and cakes to pies and breads. The recipes are clearly written and prefaced with short descriptions and notes. Many of the recipes offer tips on ingredients, variations and how and when to involve children. The Instant Homemade Microwave Brownies, recommended for kids seven and older to help in the baking fall well within their capabilities, although she suggests, "The dish will be hot... so removing it from the microwave should be mom's job." Her use of butter as the fat of choice, while not for cholesterol watchers, makes the recipes rich and inviting, particularly when she pairs it with the large quantity of blueberries in Best Blueberry Muffins to give a very berry satisfying result. One or two recipes, such as the Sprinkle Cookies, are slightly disappointing, although the description did prove to be accurate, as her daughter says, that "these taste like cupcakes." However, with such a wide variety of baked goods and the effortlessness needed to produce good results, this book will be a solid bake book for the busy mom, particularly one who wishes to involve her children.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Common Press; illustrated edition edition (October 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558321926
• ISBN-13: 978-1558321922
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,396,986 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent baking book even if you are not a mom., January 6, 2003

By	Ariel Pawlak (POMPANO BEACH, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mom's Big Book of Baking: 200 Simple, Foolproof Recipes for Delicious Family Treats to Get You Through Every Birthday Party, Class Picnic, Potluck, Bake Sale, Holiday, and No-School Day (Paperback)

I bought this book for a gift but after looking through it I had to keep it for myself. I would say that I am a medium level cook but I think the recipes are so easy and fool proof that even beginers will have success with them. I usually do the bulk of my baking during the holidays. So far I have made mainly the cookies from this book. I was tired of having Christmas cookies that looked good but were lacking in taste. This book has solved that problem for me. For the last two years I have made all of my holiday baking from this book. The almond thumbprints with the milk chocolate ganache is out of this world. Also excellent is the cherry and white chocolate rugelach. I had never tried such a complex cookie before, you have to make a dough, roll it out and shape the cookie, but the results were outstanding. The recipe for apple pie has become my standard Thanksgiving one. Best of all are the notes Lauren writes throughout the book. You feel like you get to know her and her family. Each chapter has an introduction to it so you know what equipment or special techniques you will need. There are also confidence boosts as Lauren explains how easy it really is to make waffles, breads, cookies, etc. I have always wanted to try making homemade pizza dough and Lauren's recipe is so straightfoward that I'm finally going to give it a try. There are no pictures of finished products in this book but I didn't miss them in the least. The recipes are all simple and straightfoward. There is an emphasis on not needing to have special equipment or hard to find ingredients. You probably own all of the equipment you need and all ingredients can be found in your local grocery store. If you should ever want to go a more exoctic route, Lauren also provides an online resource guide so you can find real chocolate sprinkles or the perfect shape cookie cutter. Whenever I want to make a treat this is the first book I reach for. I recommend it to everyone.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yummy stuff!, November 12, 2002

By	"jenhl" (Washington USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mom's Big Book of Baking: 200 Simple, Foolproof Recipes for Delicious Family Treats to Get You Through Every Birthday Party, Class Picnic, Potluck, Bake Sale, Holiday, and No-School Day (Paperback)

I've never been much of a baker, but I received this cookbook as a gift and thought I'd try some recipes. All the recipes I've tried have been quick, easy and so delicious. I've made several of the muffins -- all so much better than anything you could buy in the store. Most of the recipes are so easy my 4-year-old can help. I use this cookbook often and I plan to give it as a gift to my friends who are busy parents.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the books that I reach for the most, March 18, 2004

By	Heidi Namba (Renton, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mom's Big Book of Baking: 200 Simple, Foolproof Recipes for Delicious Family Treats to Get You Through Every Birthday Party, Class Picnic, Potluck, Bake Sale, Holiday, and No-School Day (Paperback)

I collect baking cookbooks and I have many. This book is one I reach for often. There are a few of my favorite recipes in here. The White Birthday Cake Frosting is the BEST! I make it all the time and always get raves about it. There is also a Raspberry Cheesecake Bar Recipe that is to die for! I give this book only 4 stars because there are recipes in this book that I think are not that great. I bake frequently (a least a few times a week) and therefore I'm pretty familiar with recipes that work and ingredients that work. The recipes that are not that great are few though. No matter what cookbook you buy, you can always expect to like only so many of the recipes either due to personal opinion or the fact that it just might not be a good recipe. I recommend this book if you like good old fashioned baking. Lots of easy recipes and classic recipes. It's inexpensive and has tons of recipes.