A Cookbook Review:

Written by Dorie Greenspan with photographs by Alan Richardson. It was published by Houghton Mifflin Company in 2006.

Dorie Greenspan has done it again. Here is a cookbook that combines some of what she's written before, like Baking with Julia (Child), along with her own personal cooking experiences. Plus as a bonus, nearly every recipe has a section called "Playing Around." This is where you could find almost-endless flavor and/or ingredient variations. This section alone more than doubles the amount of recipes found in her cookbook.

If you're having trouble deciding which cookbook to add to your collection this season, make it easy on yourself and get Dorie Greenspan's Baking - From My Home to Yours.

Dorie Greenspan is an excellent cookbook writer. Her recipes are written in a manner that every level of baker can understand. She doesn't overly express her cooking instructions. She explains just enough to help the beginning baker, but not bore the experienced baker.

The first tip I got from Dorie's book concerns mixing cookie dough. I make most all of my cookie dough in my KitchenAid stand mixer. Instead of gradually adding the dry ingredient mixture to the butter mixture, Dorie just throws it all in. She covers the machine with a dish towel and then mixes it for 5 minutes. I can't wait until I make cookies again. The other tip leaves me thinking that I may never totally rely on chocolate chips again. Dorie's right when she says that although chocolate chips are "convenient, melt"... quickly and ... keep their shape but "they often lose in flavor and texture." Dorie uses whole bars of chocolate and chops them-up. I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't want to eat a chocolate "chip" cookie with chunks of chocolate instead of chips in it? With all of the different qualities and types of chocolate bars out there, my cookies may never be the same again.

Breakfast Sweets

Chocolate-Chocolate Chunk Muffins, Citrus-Currant Sunshine Muffins, Pumpkin Muffins (with sunflower seeds), Sweet Potato Biscuits, Toasted Almond Scones, Cardamon Crumb Cake, Fresh Mango Bread, Golden Brioche Loaves, Raisin Swirl Bread and Kugelhopf.

A Cache of Cookies

Chocolate Chunkers, Midnight Cracklers (with a "double dose of chocolate"), Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies, Honey Wheat Cookies, Granola Grabbers, Bittersweet Brownies, Quintuple Chocolate Brownies, Espresso Cheesecake Brownies, Chewy-Chunky Blondies, White Chocolate Brownies, Applesauce Spice Bars, World Peace Cookies and Lemon Sables

Cakes of all Kinds

Double Apple Bundt Cake, Coconut Tea Cake, Swedish Visiting Cake, Banana Cake, Cranberry Shortbread Cake, Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread, Almost-Fudge Gateau, Cheesecakes, Devil's Food White-Out Cake, Gooey Chocolate Cakes, Caramel-Peanut-Topped Brownie Cake and Chocolate Armagnac Cake (the cake that got her fired).

Pies and Tarts

Parisian Apple Tartlet, Pumpkin-Pecan Pie, Butternut Squash Pie, The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart, Florida Pie (Lime and Coconut), Crunchy and Custardy Peach Tart, Chocolate-Crunched Caramel Tart, and Honey-Almond Fig Tart.

Spoon Desserts

Lemon Cup Custart, Caramel-Topped Flan, many-flavored Marshmallows, Chocolate Bread Pudding and Ice Creams

Indispensables

Crusts, creams, candied fruit peels and nuts.

Dessert Maker's Glossery

Like all of the recipes in the book, this section is clearly written in her own voice. She explains the baking terms in a pleasant personal way.