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Better Baking: Wholesome Ingredients, Delicious Desserts Hardcover – Illustrated, September 27, 2016
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After more than a dozen years developing recipes for food and health magazines and collaborating with noted pastry chefs, Genevieve Ko was determined to create treats that were just as indulgent as their original counterparts, as well as more full flavored and nourishing. In a word, better. Healthful oils prove superior to butter, giving Mocha Chip Cookies crisp shells and molten insides, liberating the citrus in Lemon Layer Cake with Olive Oil Curd, and tenderizing Melting Walnut Snowballs. Refined white sugar pales beside concentrated sweeteners like pure maple syrup, brown sugar, and molasses in muffins and granola. Pomegranate Pistachio Baklava uses reduced pomegranate syrup instead of the usual saccharine one. Nubby flours with personality—whole wheat, spelt, rye, buckwheat, graham flour, and almond flour—bring richness to such desserts as Glazed Apple Cider Doughnuts. And pureed fruits and vegetables (beets in Red Velvet Roulade with Strawberry Cream Cheese; grated zucchini in Chocolate School Party Sheet Cake) keep desserts extra moist.
- Print length400 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherRux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
- Publication dateSeptember 27, 2016
- Dimensions7.94 x 1.21 x 10 inches
- ISBN-100544557263
- ISBN-13978-0544557260
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Editorial Reviews
Review
A Tasting Table Fall 2016 Pick An Epicurious Fall 2016 Pick Named one of the best fall cookbooks of 2016 by The New York Times "It’s hard to find a dependable baking cookbook, but look no further. Baking expert Genevieve Ko brings you flawless recipes that use modern, healthful ingredients." — RealSimple.com “Genevieve Ko has cracked the code: She’s found a way to make beloved sweets good and good for us. Ever wonder what your favorite cookie, cake or muffin would be like with less sugar? No eggs? Different oils? Healthful flours? Nuts? Grains? Ko’s got the smart answers.” — Dorie Greenspan, author, Baking: From My Home to Yours and Dorie’s Cookies “A sign of a great baking book for me is when I pick it up and immediately want to start baking from it. Better Baking is not only full of inspiring recipes but also gorgeous photos and numerous helpful hints on how to bake with more wholesome ingredients. Kudos to Genevieve for sharing recipes that will make all of us better bakers.” — Joanne Chang, Pastry Chef/Co-Owner, Flour Bakery+Cafe “Here are short cuts to simplify, tips to prevent disasters, and amazing, delicious recipes, many with whole grains, seeds, and nuts. Whole-grain wedding cookies better than the original — every recipe you want to try right now!" — Shirley Corriher, author, BakeWise "Better Baking is pure joy. Do yourself a favor: Run home and make the Double-Date Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes." — Matt Lewis & Renato Poliafito, co-owners, Baked “An instant classic with wholesome, diverse ingredients that will leave you feeling great about what you've just baked.” — Art Smith, chef, Homecoming: Florida Kitchen and Southern Shine “A beautiful and thoughtful master class on how to bake your cake and eat it too.” — Carla Hall, Co-host, The Chew and owner, Carla Hall's Southern Kitchen “The best baking book I have seen in many years.” — Sarabeth Levine, author, owner, Sarabeth’s Kitchen and author, Sarabeth’s Bakery “Ingenious recasting of favorite recipes.” —Entertainment Weekly "Don’t be put off by the word ‘wholesome.' It’s true she cuts back on butter and refined sugar; it’s true you’ll find whole-grain flours and a plentiful use of nuts and seeds, but she handles these alterations with the wisdom and integrity of a great baker; and the results are scrumptious by any standards.” —The New York Times Book Review "Motivated to update classics with more alternative flours and less sugar, Ko has created some of the most innovative flavor combinations you’ll find in a baking book, such as Fennel and Currant Corn Bread; Buckwheat Almond Apple Cake; Toasted Walnut and Grape Clafoutis; Chestnut Kisses.” —Washington Post —
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; Illustrated edition (September 27, 2016)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 400 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0544557263
- ISBN-13 : 978-0544557260
- Item Weight : 3.15 pounds
- Dimensions : 7.94 x 1.21 x 10 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,008,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #323 in Soul Food Cooking, Food & Wine
- #960 in Comfort Food Cooking (Books)
- #4,550 in Baking (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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The ingredients you are expected to have on hand include 1 dozen different flours, (which can only by substituted by "A.P. flour according to the book. What is so wholesome about white flour? Why not whole wheat?) A pie crust recipe that needs 10 TBS of butter into 2 1/4 cups of flour isn't better than any other recipe, if the 3/4 cup of "barley" flour you can't find, is replaced by more white flour.
A few recipes require you to roast beets or squash, just to have (sometime)s less than a cup of puree. Why can't we used canned beets? It wouldn't be "wholesome"? Or "turbinado" sugar! Seriously, wouldn't brown sugar be OK? You must follow the directions carefully, or the result will suffer. The instructions are like America's Test Kitchen recipes. Deviate from the specific steps & you will end up w/ something inedible.
A lot of the book calls for fruit juices for moisture. This is just added sugar water, not 'wholesome' cooking. The whole grain components used are la nod to health concerns. But, 1 pound of almond flour for a single cake? (Sponge, not pound cake.)
I had high hopes for this book. But, after looking at each recipe, I may find 4 that will become standards. The rest are useless because they :
1.Need a diva ingredient I'll never use again. 2.Have too much fat. 3. Are too complex. 4. The "Make Ahead" sidebar says the product is best the FIRST day. Really!?! A dozen muffins will be stale by tomorrow? This book may be well intentioned;, but impractical, & the results, so far, are not worth the effort.
I have baked: the pear coffee cake, blueberry muffins, honey biscotti, & squash scones. All were OK, but not incredible. The biscotti were crumbly & heavy, & you have to toast, then grind your own nut flour. The pear cake was pretty good. Blueberry muffins were skimpy but good. I cheated on the squash scones, & used canned pumpkin puree instead of baking a butternut. They were tender, but the size of 2" cookies.
If you need to watch your sugar of fat consumption & want to bake healthy, tryto find Dr.s Wayne & Yarnall Dr Cookie Cookbooks.
I was a little intimidated by the NYT, Epicurious great reviews since I'm not a fancy cook. But I've been non-stop baking since this book arrived last week. My favorite so far has been the Pumpkin Olive Oil Brown Sugar Bundt Cake. So moist, perfect sweetness level and best thing, you'd never know that it was with no dairy and whole wheat. I then ventured onto Flourless Blueberry Muffin, gluten and dairy free. Again so delicious. My family has gobbled up all the latest baked goods. After having a good half dozen Mocha Chip Cookies, my eight year old said "just make the cookie part". My son lives on chocolate, so to hear him say that told me that even with healthy ingredients picky eaters will still enjoy these recipes. I've also made the Carrot Cake for a family gathering and it was a huge hit. My in laws were fighting to take home the leftover cake slice!
Each recipe is filled with great tips and personal antidotes that makes you feel like you're baking with a friend. Photography is absolutely beautiful. Almost every recipe has a photo. I wish though that every recipe had a picture. Ms. Ko is great at explaining why certain flours were used, or how she was able to achieve particular textures and tastes with different ingredients. She also has suggestions on which brands to use for some of the ingredients, which is quite handy since I'm all about researching best products.
I can't wait to bake more and I'm sure my friends and family can't wait either. Get this book people, or find a friend who has it (like me) to bake some of these deliciousness for you!
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2016
I was a little intimidated by the NYT, Epicurious great reviews since I'm not a fancy cook. But I've been non-stop baking since this book arrived last week. My favorite so far has been the Pumpkin Olive Oil Brown Sugar Bundt Cake. So moist, perfect sweetness level and best thing, you'd never know that it was with no dairy and whole wheat. I then ventured onto Flourless Blueberry Muffin, gluten and dairy free. Again so delicious. My family has gobbled up all the latest baked goods. After having a good half dozen Mocha Chip Cookies, my eight year old said "just make the cookie part". My son lives on chocolate, so to hear him say that told me that even with healthy ingredients picky eaters will still enjoy these recipes. I've also made the Carrot Cake for a family gathering and it was a huge hit. My in laws were fighting to take home the leftover cake slice!
Each recipe is filled with great tips and personal antidotes that makes you feel like you're baking with a friend. Photography is absolutely beautiful. Almost every recipe has a photo. I wish though that every recipe had a picture. Ms. Ko is great at explaining why certain flours were used, or how she was able to achieve particular textures and tastes with different ingredients. She also has suggestions on which brands to use for some of the ingredients, which is quite handy since I'm all about researching best products.
I can't wait to bake more and I'm sure my friends and family can't wait either. Get this book people, or find a friend who has it (like me) to bake some of these deliciousness for you!
But I did make the coconut mochi. I made it for a potluck dinner and it was a hit!
Everyone was asking me about the ingredients and whether it was difficult. I don’t often bake things with rice flour, but I was told it can be a pain to work with. This recipe is super easy. Really just mix everything together, bake and everyone is happy.
What I appreciated about this recipe is the simplicity, from the ingredients to the steps. For one thing, I didn’t have to do much measuring. The recipe calls for the whole box of rice flour and full cans of coconut milk. While it was baking, the house was filled with this delicious smell. We had guests over at the time, and they couldn’t stop commenting on how great it smelled. Even though I made it for a later event, I had to cut into the mochi to give everyone a taste. It wouldn’t be right that they smelled that mochi and couldn’t try it!
The book itself is full of a good variety of recipes...fruity ones, with and without nuts. While the book had some recipes that are more complicated, there are also many healthier versions of familiar favorites. I enjoyed working with the recipes in this book and look forward to baking some more!
Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2016
But I did make the coconut mochi. I made it for a potluck dinner and it was a hit!
Everyone was asking me about the ingredients and whether it was difficult. I don’t often bake things with rice flour, but I was told it can be a pain to work with. This recipe is super easy. Really just mix everything together, bake and everyone is happy.
What I appreciated about this recipe is the simplicity, from the ingredients to the steps. For one thing, I didn’t have to do much measuring. The recipe calls for the whole box of rice flour and full cans of coconut milk. While it was baking, the house was filled with this delicious smell. We had guests over at the time, and they couldn’t stop commenting on how great it smelled. Even though I made it for a later event, I had to cut into the mochi to give everyone a taste. It wouldn’t be right that they smelled that mochi and couldn’t try it!
The book itself is full of a good variety of recipes...fruity ones, with and without nuts. While the book had some recipes that are more complicated, there are also many healthier versions of familiar favorites. I enjoyed working with the recipes in this book and look forward to baking some more!
Top reviews from other countries
Maybe not as ground breaking as you could wish for, but great overview of different ingredients and what effect they'll have on your final product. Lots of good ideas, nice recipes with not too hard to get by ingredients (even for someone like me living in rural Denmark...). Really enjoyed it. Will buy again 😜











