Brownies to Die For! (Cookbooks to Die For) (Hardcover)

~ Bev Shaffer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

More than a cookie but not quite a cake, the brownie stands as America's favorite homemade chocolate snack, beloved as much by adults as by children. Shaffer documents just how versatile brownies can be by presenting dozens of recipes for these little squares of sweet delight. Shaffer's brownies range from cakey to fudgy, from plain to fruit laden, from unadorned to frosted, from coffee and liquor spiked to creamy white chocolate versions. Coconut, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, and peanuts add texture to these brownies. Other toppings make use of meringue or of marshmallows. One singular recipe wakes up jaded taste buds with its addition of chili powder. Among the many delights of the book is a caramel-sauce recipe that takes time and effort but that yields a rich result. Supplemental recipes include ice creams, sorbets, frozen yogurt, and fruit sauces. Large, full-color photographs ensure that home bakers know exactly what results should emerge from their ovens. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"An amazing collection of the most tasteful and delightful brownie recipes drawn from her years of experience..." -- --Science Blog.com

"And if you put it on your coffee table, people will be expecting some of your treats, so be prepared!" -- --Rainbo Electronic Reviews

"Chock-full of scrumptious photos and charming asides, both of which help Shaffer’s goal of uncomplicating recipes..." -- --Cleveland Magazine

"Shaffer loves brownies and here are dozens of recipes to prove it. [Her] contribution to the genre is recommended..." -- --Library Journal

"The publishers did a terrific job producing this quality hardcover book, filling it with beautiful craving-inducing photos..." -- --Fabulousfoods.com

"This is a first-rate book for those looking to elaborate on a popular favorite." -- ---Chocolatier Magazine, June 2006

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing (March 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589803825
• ISBN-13: 978-1589803824
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #659,928 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Very pretty book--but were the recipes tested???, May 2, 2006

By	Monica Hembree (Newton, MA) - See all my reviews

I was so excited to get this book--I love to bake and love making homemade brownies. When the book arrived 2 weeks ago, I was not disappointed. Great sounding recipes, very pretty book. I believe I have pasted about 50 sticky-note tabs to the pages of the brownies I wanted to try.

So why two stars? Well, I've now made 4 different batches of brownies, and not one has turned out. The biggest problem seems to be baking time--upwards of 20-25 minutes off the time stated in the book to get them past pure "goo" stage. That would be fine if they turned out ok in the end, but that was not the case. With the extended baking time, the perimeter of the brownies (at least 2 inches in) curled up and was very overbaked before the centers were anywhere close to being ready. I salvaged what I could.

I will use this book for ideas about flavor combinations, but I'll stick with my Cook's Illustrated brownie recipe since it works.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good enough to die for? Maybe., April 30, 2006

By	Jennifer A. Wickes "Food Writer" - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)

"Brownies To Die For"? That title was screaming for me to investigate!

I admit, I like my sweets, especially chocolate. But I needed to know...would I die for these brownies like the title indicates I will?

Bev Shaffer, the author, has been baking brownies for years. She appears to be a true master! Her publisher is Pelican, and having seen Pelican's books before, I knew what to expect.

A comprehensive cookbook on everything brownie related! There are SO many recipes here, it is amazing.

I decided to make a batch. With my sons' input, we decided to make the Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies. The recipe was easy-to-follow, really quite straight forward. The one hitch, the recipe was supposed to cook for 35 minutes or until only a couple of crumbs are on a wooden toothpick. Well, I cooked mine for 55 minutes, and we never got to that stage. I decided, in the end, to remove the brownies, and be able to sample part of the batch.

When this happened, I had to think...what did I do? I went over the entire recipe. Was my pan size correct? Yes. Did I preheat my oven long enough? How's 45 minutes?! Did I follow the recipe completely? I thought so. Did I measure everything effectively? Yeah! Is my oven really heating up to 350 like it needed to be? Well, I am not sure, BUT I am a food writer, cookbook reviewer and recipe developer. Does that make me infallable? No. But what that does say is I am cooking ALL the time. I am trying new recipes all the time. And I honestly have not had such a discrepancy with the cooking time before this situation. An idea I had later was maybe it was a typo, a keystroke error, perhaps, as 3 and 6 are near each other. Maybe the cooking time is supposed to be 65 minutes! (Anyway, I am open that the error is on my side.)

But...were the brownies good enough to die for? Well, I asked my taste testers. My husband - not a big sweet eater - thought they were too rich. My boys gobbled them up! Mine was good! So, I asked...were these brownies good enough to die for? Except for my husband - the non-sweet eater - yes! In fact, they were good enough to kill for!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Where are all the pictures?, August 19, 2006

By	Diana Johnson (Anderson, IN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

Great recipes, but I have a tendency to want to know what the finished product is going to look like, especially on the more complex recipes. Very little pictorial representation is the only drawback that I can find to this book.