eBook The Baking Bites Cookbook download

I have been following this blogger for years. So glad she put together a cookbook. the pictures and recipes are great.

simple recipes for quick bites...nice.
I have not tried all of them yet but the ones I have are good.

Overall, this is a good first cookbook. It's short, but not too short. The recipes run the gamut from cakes and pies to cookies and bars to breads and brownies, so there is a nice variety to choose from. Even though there are some generic/basic recipes, many do fulfill the author's promise of containing a little something extra to make them special or different. In her next cookbook, though, I'd like to see her include some more creative recipes, like ones she's featured on the blog.

One big shortcoming for me was the shoddy editing. Many of the recipe headers have typos ("finger" instead of "ginger," etc.) or misspellings ("compliment" in place of "complement" multiple times, etc.), and even some of the recipes contain mistakes (though not in ingredient amounts, that I have found, luckily). This is disappointing because I know that Nicole, like me, is a linguist, and errors like that unfortunately make the book look more amateur and unprofessional than she deserves.

I've tried four recipes so far, and I liked three of them...

White chocolate oatmeal crunch brownies: I made these first, because I'd seen them hyped up in reviews by several recipe testers. I don't know if my expectations were too high or what, but these weren't what I was hoping for. Mine turned out more like a dry snack cake than brownies, and the flavors fell a little flat for me.

White chocolate brownies: These redeemed my hopes for the book, in a big way. I made them twice in a row, because the first batch was so good. The second time, I replaced half the melted white chocolate with peanut butter, and threw in a mix of peanut butter and chocolate chips. These had a nice crumb and just the right brownie consistency, and really melted in my mouth. I got loads of compliments when I shared them.

Jelly doughnut muffins: I liked these, especially when warmed up a little before eating. The muffins themselves were moderately dry and not overly sweet, but those qualities paired well with the jam filling (I used blackberry). The sugar coating makes all the difference, and really helps them taste dougnutty.

Dark chocolate-flecked coffee cake: I just made this one last night, and it turned out beautifully. The "crumb" topping seemed really moist when I made it, and the batter really thick, but I rolled with it. It rose up majestically in the oven, and the resulting cake is moist, but light and soft, and just the slightest bit tangy. I used greek yogurt in place of sour cream, and mini chocolate chips instead of dark chocolate shavings.

Final verdict: The recipes are simple, but many have nice little flairs of originality. Typos aside, this is a good basic baking cookbook, and would be especially appropriate for beginner bakers.

-Amber Shea
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