Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland by Shauna Sever

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    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Afternoon tea; American; East European
    • Ingredients: instant yeast; all-purpose flour; walnuts; ground cinnamon; honey; eggs; cocoa powder
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    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Frostings & fillings; Jams, jellies & preserves; Afternoon tea; Cooking for a crowd; American; Swedish
    • Ingredients: instant yeast; eggs; lemons; all-purpose flour; rhubarb; raspberries; sugar; ground cinnamon; milk; butter; almond extract
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    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Afternoon tea; Breakfast / brunch; Cooking for a crowd; American; Swedish
    • Ingredients: instant yeast; eggs; lemons; all-purpose flour; butter
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    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; American; Swedish
    • Ingredients: instant yeast; eggs; lemons; all-purpose flour; butter
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  • Coffee caramel monkey bread
    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Sauces for desserts; Afternoon tea; Breakfast / brunch; Cooking for a crowd; American
    • Ingredients: instant yeast; buttermilk; egg yolks; all-purpose flour; butter; ground cinnamon; coffee; light brown sugar
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    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Afternoon tea; Breakfast / brunch; American; Czech
    • Ingredients: instant yeast; golden raisins; eggs; egg yolks; lemons; all-purpose flour; nutmeg
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    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Frostings & fillings; Afternoon tea; Breakfast / brunch; American
    • Ingredients: butter; buttermilk; instant yeast; eggs; all-purpose flour; ground cinnamon; Chinese five-spice powder; cream cheese; confectioner's sugar
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    • Categories: Fried doughs; Breakfast / brunch; Fall / autumn; American
    • Ingredients: all-purpose flour; nutmeg; butter; eggs; buttermilk; vegetable oil; sugar; ground cinnamon
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    • Categories: Fried doughs; Breakfast / brunch; American; Polish
    • Ingredients: instant yeast; eggs; egg yolks; all-purpose flour; vegetable oil; filling of your choice
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    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Afternoon tea; Breakfast / brunch; Cooking for a crowd; American; German
    • Ingredients: instant yeast; eggs; lemons; all-purpose flour; sour cream; ground cinnamon; blueberries
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    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Afternoon tea; Breakfast / brunch; American; Czech
    • Ingredients: instant yeast; eggs; lemons; all-purpose flour; sour cream; ground cinnamon; fruit filling of your choice
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    • Categories: Cakes, large; Dessert; Cooking for a crowd; American
    • Ingredients: instant yeast; eggs; lemons; all-purpose flour; butter; cream cheese; sugar; vanilla extract; light corn syrup
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    • Categories: Bread & buns, sweet; Dessert; American; Belgian
    • Ingredients: instant yeast; heavy cream; eggs; all-purpose flour; dry-curd cottage cheese; cottage cheese; egg yolks; lemons; cherries; sugar
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    • Categories: Pies, tarts & pastries; Frostings & fillings; Breakfast / brunch; Afternoon tea; American; Danish
    • Ingredients: almond paste; egg whites; all-purpose flour; bread flour; instant yeast; butter; eggs; confectioner's sugar
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    • Categories: Pies, tarts & pastries; Quick / easy; Cooking ahead; American
    • Ingredients: all-purpose flour; bread flour; instant yeast; butter; eggs
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    • Categories: Pies, tarts & pastries; Breakfast / brunch; American; Danish
    • Ingredients: all-purpose flour; bread flour; instant yeast; butter; eggs; milk; almond extract; almond paste; confectioner's sugar
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    • Categories: Pies, tarts & pastries; Breakfast / brunch; American; Dutch
    • Ingredients: all-purpose flour; butter; eggs; almond paste; egg whites
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    • Categories: Pies, tarts & pastries; Frostings & fillings; Breakfast / brunch; American
    • Ingredients: all-purpose flour; bread flour; instant yeast; butter; eggs; cream cheese; egg yolks; almond extract; white chocolate; confectioner's sugar
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    • Categories: Frostings & fillings; Pies, tarts & pastries; Dessert; American
    • Ingredients: all-purpose flour; butter; egg yolks; tart apples; ground cinnamon; nutmeg; cornflakes; egg whites; confectioner's sugar
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    • Categories: Pies, tarts & pastries; Dessert; American; Greek
    • Ingredients: butter; chocolate hazelnut spread; phyllo pastry; cocktail peanuts; sugar; honey
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    • Categories: Cakes, small; Quick / easy; Breakfast / brunch; Afternoon tea; American
    • Ingredients: bran flakes cereal; all-purpose flour; ground cinnamon; buttermilk; eggs; turbinado sugar
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    • Categories: Cakes, small; Breakfast / brunch; American
    • Ingredients: all-purpose flour; sugar; butter; buttermilk; eggs; lemons; almond extract; frozen blueberries
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    • Categories: Pies, tarts & pastries; Dessert; American
    • Ingredients: all-purpose flour; butter; turbinado sugar; sugar; ground cinnamon; ground ginger; blueberries; rhubarb; limes
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    • Categories: Pies, tarts & pastries; Cooking ahead; American
    • Ingredients: all-purpose flour; butter; store-cupboard ingredients
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    • Categories: Pies, tarts & pastries; Dessert; Cooking for a crowd; American
    • Ingredients: cherries; Pinot noir wine; Chinese five-spice powder; almond extract; all-purpose flour; butter; eggs
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Notes about this book

  • EmilyR on September 02, 2019

    Gooey Butter Cake recipe available here : https://www.thekitchn.com/gooey-butter-cake-22931814

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • After-school specials

    • AngelNewsi on July 05, 2020

      Holy moly, are these good! They are definitely going on the favorites list. I went for semisweet chocolate as opposed to bittersweet and used discs instead of chips. The discs were by accident, but ended up working out beautifully!

    • potatooryam on November 15, 2020

      I had initially flipped right by this recipe but was inspired to make them by the great reviews, so glad I did! Not any more work than a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe but the oats and cinnamon sugar really took these to another level. Will definitely make again, will try adding walnuts.

    • EmilyR on April 12, 2021

      Yeah... I am not sold on these. I like the premise but these are a bit cloyingly sweet for me and I added the salt.

    • stef on March 07, 2020

      It really is a meeting of oatmeal/chocolate chip/snickerdoodle cookies. Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside. Nice slight aftertaste of salt. I used a cookie scoop that was 1 1 /2 tablespoons and got 55 cookies. Sure hope they freeze well. Plenty of coating sugar left.

    • Lepa on February 03, 2020

      We absolutely loved these cookies! They were so delicious. The balance of sweet and salty flavors was perfect. I think my cookies were too large and they took twenty minutes to bake but the resulting cookies were fantastic.

    • anya_sf on January 09, 2020

      What a great cross between chocolate chip, oatmeal, and snickerdoodle cookies. My cookies must have been slightly large, as I only got 34. In my oven, baking one sheet at a time, they needed 2-3 extra minutes to turn golden. The cookies were crispy around the edges and chewy in the middle. Yum.

    • amandabeck on August 02, 2021

      These were a big hit with a party full of adults.

    • Pewins on December 26, 2020

      OK... not great. Better the next day

  • Cinnamon-sugared pumpkin chip snack cake

    • vickster on February 10, 2020

      I quickly made this for a dinner party the day my new book arrived. It was a delicious surprise, with warm spicy notes. I love the combination of pumpkin and chocolate.

    • Zosia on March 31, 2020

      The pumpkin takes a back seat to the spices and dark chocolate but the cake is moist and delicious and the crunchy topping - a spiced version of the banana loaf's "snow" - is a nice touch. I substituted light brown for dark brown sugar. It baked in 50 minutes in my oven.

    • lkgrover on November 16, 2021

      Good pumpkin cake with chocolate; enjoyed by all my coworkers. I used 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree.

    • ebs on November 04, 2020

      Based on others' comments, I reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup and went with 1 3/4 cups of the pumpkin puree. I am glad I checked it at 45 minutes because it was done. It is moist and very good, also easy! Next time I make it, I will make a little bit more of the topping - it did not distribute very well

    • tarae1204 on January 07, 2021

      I’ve made this about three times, using the metric pumpkin quantity. Just consistently good and pleases the kiddos.

    • Lepa on October 15, 2020

      This was much too sweet for my taste. As others have noted, the chocolate is dominant and this doesn't taste like a traditional pumpkin bread. My kids ate this eagerly but I'm not sure I'll revisit this recipe.

    • Cris on October 09, 2020

      There is a discrepancy in the amount of canned pumpkin puree -- it indicates 1.5 cups/200 grams, but 1.5 cups weighs 425 grams. I went with the 1.5 cups, and it was very good.

    • Jviney on October 09, 2020

      Thank you, Cris! I made this by weight, in a hurry, without confirming that the weight was correct...and everyone loved it but I felt like it fell flat. I’ll make it again, with the correct amount of pumpkin.

  • Double chocolate zucchini loaf

    • vickster on September 01, 2020

      It has been said many times before, but this zucchini loaf is amazing! Easy too. I highly recommend.

    • kari500 on October 11, 2020

      Having read the notes here, I meant to use half ww flour, but totally forgot (it was one of those days). This is so tender, and not very sweet. I actually like things sweeter, but still, it is very good. You cannot tell there is zucchini in it.

    • Zosia on July 25, 2020

      Really delicious...chocolatey and not too sweet. I used half whole wheat flour, which wasn't at all noticeable. I'm tempted to use all whole wheat flour next time.

    • Tinala523 on April 24, 2020

      I used Hershey cocoa powder and it was still chocolatey good. You really don't taste the zucchini and it is nice and moist. A keeper!

    • stef on August 27, 2020

      This recipe worked using grapeseed oil and I also used 1/4 cup dutch cocoa and 1/4 cup black chocolate. The loaf turned out nice and moist, intense chocolate flavour and not too sweet

    • anya_sf on September 06, 2020

      As everyone else has said, this loaf is super chocolatey, moist, and delicious. Like Zosia, next time I will try whole wheat flour, as I don't think it would be noticeable. I made 1.5x the recipe in 2 8.5"x4.5" pans, so the loaves were smaller; they baked in 48 minutes.

    • fultre on November 28, 2022

      Very rich and chocolatey, and not too sweet. Does not showcase the zucchini, just tastes like (delicious) chocolate quick bread.

    • MollyPellecchia on July 10, 2022

      This loaf is crazy good! Moist, so chocolaty. Easy to make. Used 1 1/2 zucchini to get to the shredded weight. Baked in a glass pyrex loaf pan & took a few min over the hour.

    • KitKatCat on November 16, 2019

      Used natural cocoa powder, instead of Dutch-process because that was what I had at home. I thought it still tasted good.

    • senzler on May 30, 2022

      Wow. What can I say. Only zucchini bread/cake I will ever make again. I did use 1/2 Dutch an 1/2 regular cocoa as first time I made this it was a tad over the top. Freezes well.

  • Wednesday night brownies

    • vickster on November 23, 2020

      As others said, these seemed way underdone at 25 minutes. I will bake a bit longer next time. But they are absolutely delicious!

    • sberes on April 11, 2020

      A great recipe for brownies. Comes together so easily !

    • Zosia on June 10, 2020

      Very easy to make and super fudgy and delicious. I baked them in a slightly larger pan so mine were thinner but they did take the full 25 minutes to bake (internal temp of 196F).

    • stef on July 18, 2020

      This is a great fast recipe to make. Baked at 21 minutes. I also took them out at 196f.

    • Lepa on May 13, 2020

      Oh, wow. I don't need another brownie recipe after trying this. It's so rich and melting delicious! We loved it so much we ate the entire pan in one sitting.

    • C_Richardson on July 05, 2020

      WOW! These are incredible! The family voted them as our new favorites. I purchased Droste dutch processed cocoa and it was SO worth it.

    • anya_sf on August 10, 2020

      After 25 minutes, the brownies seemed too soft, so I baked them an extra 1.5 minutes when edges (but not center) looked fully set - didn't want to overbake. Unfortunately, they were too underdone for my taste and I like fudgy. These were so easy and chocolatey that I will definitely try this recipe again, but will use the toothpick test (moist crumbs attached).

    • Jviney on April 25, 2020

      Easy, super quick as promised, fudgy, delicious.

    • taste24 on August 24, 2020

      Wow.... one bowl + super fudgy and soft? These were outstanding, especially with how easy they were to put together. Perhaps my new "go-to" brownie recipe. As others have mentioned, they were a bit too underdone at 25 minutes. I will cook them for a few minutes more next time.

  • Chocolate-espresso revel bars

    • IvyManning on February 17, 2023

      I love these. My neighbors love these. They are the 80s bake sale bar I've been craving. Personally I found them a bit sweet, so I might reduce the sugar a bit or leave out the chocolate chips. I did sub Country Crock's "plant based cream" for the whipping cream, came out perfectly. Thanks, Shauna, this is ANOTHER winner.

    • Zosia on April 23, 2020

      These were delicious! They were sweet but the bittersweet ganache filling and espresso, which is quite noticeable, prevented them from being overly so. Since I'm still conserving unbleached AP flour, I made these with whole wheat; I think they turned out well.

    • bching on January 18, 2023

      Disappointing. The recipe calls for lots of expensive ingredients--2 sticks of butter, heavy cream, and lots of dark chocolate. Involves lots of bowls and steps the results were simply not worth it. As others have noted, the baking time called for is too long, and I will add that the cooling instructions are confusing. 3 hours to cool, one of them involving putting the 9 x 13 pan in your refrigerator for an hour! As Tarae noted, the flavor improves overnight so the appropriate cooling time may be more like 8 hours! This recipe could easily be cut in half and baked in an 8 by 8 pan.

    • tarae1204 on December 18, 2021

      These are delicious, however my batch overbaked slightly despite being in oven for the lesser amount of time (35 min, but on convection). The good news is, this doesn’t really matter. What happened is that I lost the ganache layer, and instead had the ganache incorporate into the oat cookie bar. I noticed these were better the second day in terms of espresso flavor coming through, and oats being a little more hydrated. We loved them, and I don’t think my less-than-perfect results are a fault of the recipe. I recommend making these for a gathering since they do well being made ahead and are rich.

    • Lepa on January 19, 2020

      This is easy to mix together and really good. Beware, this recipe makes a lot of bars!

    • Running_with_Wools on May 25, 2021

      I made a batch of these gluten free last summer. They were fantastic. There were a few steps to follow, but I enjoyed a relaxing weekend bake. It makes a very large batch, so it's worth the effort.

  • Brewers' cheddar bread

    • kari500 on October 14, 2020

      I'm glad I read these reviews, or I'd have thought I was crazy. This smelled fantastic as it was cooking, and looked great coming out of the oven. But ... the beer is just off tasting in this. I used Stella Artois, and it was good - I had a sip - not skunked. But the bread tasted skunked. Very disappointing.

    • Lepa on April 17, 2020

      I love IPA and bitter beers but you don't want to use one here! The bread wasn't good at all. My kids, who eat everything I bake, wouldn't eat more than a bite. My husband and I also didn't like it. I MIGHT try this again with a light beer but find the waste of so many ingredients a bit painful.

    • Jviney on February 15, 2020

      I’m not sure about this one. I used Leinenkugel Oktoberfest ale, and the loaf has an edge to it that overpowers the cheese for me. Unpopular opinion, I think, but nevertheless...

    • Jviney on February 18, 2020

      Update from a few days later: I didn’t love this fresh, but toasted the next few days and slathered in butter...and especially with tomato soup? Divine.

  • My favorite pie crust

    • TrishaCP on July 06, 2020

      This tasted great and was just as flaky as promised. Like Zosia, my crust also lost any definition upon baking.

    • Zosia on May 31, 2020

      This is now my favourite pie crust too. The dough was very easy to work with and was very flaky once baked. All definition in the crimped edge was lost but there was no shrinkage at all.

    • stef on October 04, 2020

      This made a very nice flaky dough. I made the single pie crust recipe and after rolling it out refrigerated for half hour. It didn't shrink and held it's crimp after baking.

    • Lepa on April 23, 2021

      I made used this recipe today and made one of the best pie crusts I've ever achieved. The texture was perfect!

    • anya_sf on August 01, 2020

      Easy method, good result. I made the double crust and had to add a few extra teaspoons of water. There was a lot of extra dough for a 9" pie. I didn't blind bake or crimp, so I can't speak to that.

    • amandabeck on November 26, 2021

      I used this dough for a pumpkin pie -- it was like sandy coming out of the food processor but came together well and had beautiful visible butter flecks when I rolled it out. Like other reviewers, my beautiful crust crimped edges totally lost all definition (and shrank the tiniest bit) but I would 100% make this again.

    • ashallen on November 01, 2021

      Great crust. Crusts like this one made with just butter (no shortening) and all-purpose flour (no cake or pastry flour) can sometimes be tough, but this one has really nice tenderness and flakiness. Recipe provides good, clear instructions without getting overly complicated. As mentioned in some earlier notes, the crimped edge on the pie lost definition during baking - I'm guessing it's the baking powder at work (?) and might try omitting it next time. Dough looked like a giant pile of crumbs when I dumped it out of the food processor bowl, but easily formed a cohesive dough with kneading. December 2021 Update: Made crust again without baking powder. Crimping still lost definition during baking (perhaps a tad bit less), so it's not the baking powder!

  • Big, bold blueberry pie

    • TrishaCP on July 06, 2020

      This is at the top of my list of the best pies that I've ever made. The filling was luscious and not too liquidy and like Zosia, my bottom crust was also cooked through with no sogginess. (I did use a metal pie tin rather than a glass pie plate as specified.) The sweetness was just the right amount. Highly recommend.

    • Zosia on May 31, 2020

      Fabulous pie! It had a high ratio of delicious, fresh tasting fruit filling to crust and no soggy bottom. The crust was very good too. I baked the pie from frozen which added 20 minutes to the bake time. There's a discrepancy between the volume and weight measurements of the maple syrup; I used the volume of 1/3 cup, about 50g rather than the 112g listed in the ingredients.

    • anya_sf on August 01, 2020

      Absolutely delicious! Wonderful flavor with just the right sweetness. The pie sliced cleanly - filling was not runny at all. Crust was flaky and not soggy. I had an extra 100 g blueberries so I added them in. There was a lot of extra crust dough - don't just roll it out to 12" or the crust will be too thick.

    • MollyPellecchia on May 04, 2021

      Crust was so easy to work with & turned out very flaky. And like others, had crust leftover. Wonderul pie although the next time will sprinkle with SUGAR vs Salt. How crazy is that!

  • (The original) Mrs. Braun's oatmeal cookies

    • SugarTreeBaking on September 23, 2020

      Excellent Oatmeal cookies, this will now be my go-to. Perfect texture and the golden raisins were enjoyed by even the non-raisin lovers. My scoop was too large, resulting in big cookies, but no complaints from the cookie eaters.

    • stef on March 28, 2020

      A nice crunchy cookie. I skipped the raisins and also sprinkled a small amount of flaked sea salt on top. Got 53 cookis

    • anya_sf on April 15, 2020

      Nice and chewy, everything I'd want in an oatmeal cookie. This will be my go-to recipe when I have shortening on hand. My scoop must have been slightly bigger, as I got 20 cookies from half the recipe. Baked 13-14 minutes.

    • Ecngreg5 on December 22, 2022

      This was a wonderful oatmeal cookie! I used dried cherries and walnuts. High approval from everyone!

  • Potato chip-chip shortbread

    • jenmacgregor18 on July 16, 2022

      I did have a problem with this not coming together at first. When I mixed the flour into the butter sugar mixture, it was just crumbs and not a smooth dough. I had weighed my flour according to recipe.... and double checked all measurements. Not sure where it went awry. I just had to add additional butter a bit at time until it looked right-- maybe about and extra 3 - 4 oz. After, that I didn't have any problems. Although mine looked nowhere as tidy as the photo in the book, they were very good. I used baked lay's chips.

    • Skamper on March 13, 2022

      We enjoyed these. I used regular unsalted butter and lays chips. A bit to delicate for a road trip cookie, but I was pleasantly surprised that these froze well, unbaked, even with the potato chip topping.

    • Running_with_Wools on May 25, 2021

      I made these for my family on a really hot day. They lost their shape slightly because I should have chilled them longer. I made these gluten free. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly (used Lay's) and they were to-die-for. Really delicious. Butter, melt in your mouth, with crispy bits of saltiness and the dark chocolate chips.

    • SweetLittleBytes on January 21, 2021

      Only use Lay's, or whatever similarly thin and salty potato chip is local to you. The first time I made these, I used Ruffles, which were too thick and didn't deliver on the sweet/salty combo that this is supposed to be.

  • A simple bran muffin

    • jenmacgregor18 on August 27, 2022

      They look healthy, lumpy & brown, but are delicious. Very good plain or with a bit of butter or cream cheese. Not too sweet and not too healthy tasting. They freeze and reheat well too. When we polished off the last of the batch, we were wishing we had a couple more left. I added 1 cup of raisins. Next time, I'll try dates. Based on her recipe intro, I had a recollection of my mother making the Jiffy bran muffin with dates.

    • Zosia on March 04, 2021

      Batter must be refrigerated from 4 hours up to 12 hours.

    • Zosia on March 04, 2021

      Very good, basic bran muffin. I omitted the sugar topping and they were still pleasantly sweet.

    • stef on March 13, 2020

      Nice muffin, I reduced the sugar by 20% but added 3/4 cups dry cranberries.

    • Jviney on February 19, 2020

      A nice, basic muffin recipe. They aren’t terribly sweet but have a nice crunch from the turbinado sugar top. I used bran flakes with flax - liked them.

  • The only banana bread you'll ever need

    • jenmacgregor18 on February 26, 2022

      Lush texture and fantastic flavor. I've always found the ATK recipe very good and reliable, but this may have replaced it. To be fair, it's been years since I've made banana bread. So my memory is probably not accurate enough to compare them. This loaf, however, is disappearing quickly. Note: Mine took 75 minutes to bake at 325F.

    • Zosia on February 20, 2020

      This is a tasty loaf with a fun, crunchy sugar topping. I wish mine had taken only 70 minutes to bake....it took 80 with the final 20 at the higher temperature of 350F. I used half whole wheat flour and substituted light brown sugar for dark.

    • Tinala523 on April 29, 2020

      Very moist and delicious. Used really ripe bananas. Crunchy sugar topping really make it special. Next time try adding walnuts.

    • stef on March 03, 2020

      Like others I found I had to bake it longer. After 60 minutes up oven temperature up to 350. After 10 minutes internal temperature 205f. Will add nuts next time. Go-to recipe if I need to make banana bread quickly

    • tarae1204 on May 01, 2021

      This is a wonderful straight-up banana bread - no additions.

    • Lepa on January 03, 2020

      This is a good banana bread if you are like me and don't like it too sweet. The "snow" sugar topping is new to me and was really good. My loaf took seventy minutes to bake.

    • EN1 on March 29, 2020

      Not too sweet Needs 4 bananas

    • anya_sf on March 01, 2020

      My loaf needed 73 min to bake. I used white whole wheat flour. The banana bread was moist and tasty; I liked the brown sugar flavor. Interestingly, my son thought it was a bit too sweet, but my husband thought it was barely sweet and he didn't care for the molasses notes. They both still prefer Flour's recipe (but that one's definitely more work).

    • Mtetpon on February 15, 2020

      I agree with Lepa it took me 70 minutes as well. Lovely and moist and sugar topping was a revelation.

    • msmuggins666 on July 24, 2022

      I love this recipe. I’ve found that if you don’t quite have 400g of bananas, you can add the remaining grams in apple sauce and it works well. I’ve also successfully used the Snickerstreusel topping from BraveTart on the top of the loaf (though the sugar topping suggested is nice too). The loaf takes at least 70 min to bake.

  • Red berries and cream gelatin mold

    • jenmacgregor18 on July 16, 2022

      Delicious. The made from scratch gelatin with juice and the panna cotta layer are definitely an improvement from the standard jello molds, I used diet cran-raspberry cocktail and used erythritol in lieu of sugar and it still turned out great.

  • Iced buttery lemon bundt cake

    • darcie_b on March 18, 2021

      Comes together easily and has a great crumb.

  • Ginger molasses softies

    • hirsheys on January 02, 2020

      Lizzy made these - they were quite good, though she found them a bit fussy. Not sure that they are the best of the molasses cookies I've made, but a solid option.

    • tarae1204 on January 07, 2021

      Maybe I used the wrong brand of molasses, maybe I made a mistake along the way, but I found these way too strong. Not sure I’ll make again.

  • Nebraskan runzas

    • chawkins on November 25, 2020

      The dough was so wet, I was wondering if I miscounted and put in one less cup of flour. I added 4T of extra flour and the flour and the dough was very workable then and still excellent when baked. I only had finely shredded cheese, I think the requested larger pieces would have been much better for the filling.

    • Zosia on March 30, 2020

      Family really enjoyed these. The brioche-like dough was slightly sweet and though manageable with flouring, was prone to stickiness. I left them as half-moons rather than try to manipulate the shape further and omitted the melted butter at the end.

    • stef on December 14, 2020

      We LOVED the buns. My dough was really nice e to work with. I added the instant yeast directly to the flour. Will make sure there's beer next time.

    • lauraprooks on October 07, 2021

      I thought these were great! I didn't have a stand mixer, so the dough was pretty hard to knead as it is so wet and sticky, but it came together in the end. I also used ground pork in the filling and added extra garlic/seasoning based on other reviews. Delicious!

    • Skamper on April 12, 2021

      I had to add 1.25 cups more flour to get the dough to come together. Also has to add quite a bit of salt and some extra Worcestershire to season the filling. These were ok but I thought there was too much bread for the filling.

    • senzler on May 30, 2022

      I really liked these but I did add sow thyme and a little more Worcestershire as a friend made them, she liked them but it bought them a tad bland.

  • Angel fluff

    • sberes on April 11, 2020

      One of the best things I’ve made in a long time! Worth the effort to cut the marshmallows. Make sure to spread the cookie base very thin. I wasn’t diligent in that and ended up baking it much longer !

  • Next-level crispy treats

    • sberes on March 27, 2020

      Excellent . Easy. Quick.

    • Smokeydoke on June 21, 2020

      These are really sweet.

    • senzler on May 30, 2022

      I am not a fan of the straight up rice crispy bar. We always had the scotch-a-roos, but these might have changed my mind.

  • Donut loaf

    • EmilyR on April 29, 2020

      This is a great old fashioned cake that comes together quickly. I made a couple amendments only because I can't run to the grocery on a whim, so I used kefir in place of the buttermilk and I didn't use all of the powder sugar as called for on the outside. While it looks beautiful, we just sprinkled some on prior to serving. This pairs wonderfully with coffee and I'd make it again.

    • Zosia on May 16, 2020

      This cake has great flavour and a wonderfully tender crumb - much better than any powdered sugar doughnut I've ever had! I sugared only the top of the loaf which added just the right amount of sweetness.

    • Tinala523 on April 29, 2020

      Actually tasted just like a powdered donut! A bit messy to coat the whole loaf and the cake is a bit delicate, but the family loved it!

    • stef on May 15, 2020

      Successfully made in a 10 cup Bundt pan

    • stef on March 22, 2021

      Left out nutmeg and added 1 1/2 cups chocolate chip. Baked in a 10 cup Bundt pan. Turned out great.

    • Foodycat on April 08, 2020

      14tbs is about 195g, in case other non-American bakers find that irritating! I am glad I persevered though, because this is a really delicious cake with a lovely tang and a beautiful tender crumb! I used self-raising flour instead of AP with raising agents, and I only did the butter and icing sugar treatment on the top. Edited to add Feb 2021 - made it again and added a punnet of fresh blueberries. Took the full 75 minutes to bake, but absolutely beautiful flavour and texture.

    • anya_sf on September 24, 2020

      I made 2/3 recipe in an 8.5"x4.5" loaf pan. Baking time was 60 minutes. Careful when coating the loaf with sugar - mine tore a little. This tasted just like homemade Donettes!

    • pattyatbryce on January 11, 2020

      Make this today! It is so good and easy. Our cookbook club is going wild over it. It is available online at https://www.thekitchn.com/donut-loaf-22978257 if you don't have the book, but you will likely buy it after making.

    • Skamper on August 17, 2020

      This really does taste like a powdered donut. Made as directed, including fresh grated nutmeg, then baked as cupcakes. Filled three quarters full and baked 18 minutes at 350. Brushed the tops with melted butter and dusted with powdered sugar. They were a hit.

  • Chocolate chip cookie brittle

    • Zosia on March 03, 2020

      This recipe provides almost instant gratification if one is craving a chocolate chip cookie. It is very crisp, very buttery and very good according to family et al. I used walnuts and semi sweet chocolate chips as that was what was quickest for me.

    • stef on December 17, 2020

      Very easy to put together. I really had to work hard to spread it on my sheet. A cross between a crisp cookie and brittle. Nice to have with coffee

    • Lepa on April 18, 2020

      This was really good - and, as noted by Zosia, almost instant gratification. I had some doubts that the batter would cover the pan but I patiently worked with my offset spatula and that got the job done.

    • anya_sf on August 30, 2020

      I made 1/2 recipe in a quarter sheet pan and half of it was gone by the end of the day. Toasted pecans and bittersweet chips were great in this, but I'll definitely try different mix-ins, such as coconut and macadamia nuts. Quick, easy, addictive! I found it easiest to spread the dough in the pan using my fingers.

    • fultre on November 28, 2022

      These are addictive, due to the crispy texture, it’s like eating cookie chips or crackers. The cookies always disappear quickly.

    • Pewins on December 26, 2020

      Not easy to spread but it really will fill a half sheet pan.

  • Crispy iced oatmeal flats

    • Zosia on April 02, 2020

      Loved these crunchy, spicy cookies. I used less than half the icing.

    • tarae1204 on January 07, 2021

      I can’t wait to make these again. I loved the sandy/crisp texture, oats and spice flavor, and the icing. Smooshed dough into a rectangular prism rather than cylinder, and they were easier to cut but still baked uniformly.

    • Lepa on February 21, 2020

      These are good- not too sweet. They had a nice buttery oat taste. They were a bit crumbly when I cut the cookie logs but I found that sawing (instead of pressing the knife straight down) while holding the log reduced the crumble. I pieced together some of the broken ones and they were fine- you couldn't tell which had been broken when they were done. I made them for my son's birthday celebration at school and his teacher said they reminded him of the oatmeal cookies he ate as a child.

    • BasicStock on April 22, 2020

      Addictive! Think I'll double the recipe next time. They didn't flatten out as I think they were supposed to, so I pressed down on them about half way through the baking time. Might try adding a bit more liquid and see if that helps. The oat and nutmeg flavour is a winner and not overly sweet.

    • Running_with_Wools on May 25, 2021

      Better than the archway original. Simple and good.

  • Bluebarb and lime crumble pie

    • Zosia on June 15, 2021

      Excellent pie! Generous amount of filling that's not too sweet, flakey crust and crunchy topping. We loved it!

    • Lepa on February 27, 2020

      This pie is amazing! The flavors are incredible. I was a bit confused about whether blind baking was necessary because there is a page on blind baking directly after the recipe. I read and reread the directions and decided to trust them and skip blind baking. The pie was perfect and I think that was the right call.

    • anya_sf on July 09, 2022

      Delicious! Just the right sweetness with or without vanilla ice cream. Filling was perfectly set, not runny at all. My topping ended up sandy rather than gravelly, but still worked. My rhubarb had been frozen and wasn't completely thawed, which may be why the pie took 15 extra minutes to bake. The bottom crust was crisp - almost too crisp as it was difficult to cut with a fork - perhaps due to the longer baking time.

  • French silk pie

    • Zosia on October 07, 2020

      The filling was light and airy, very chocolatey, and deceptively rich. Made with 70% cacao chocolate, the mousse was quite sweet. It was an impressive dessert that took very little effort to make - and family loved it - so I would make this again with a darker chocolate.

    • stef on October 11, 2020

      The filling is very rich but light. I served it with whipped cream because I didn't have any stabilizer. I almost feel that you can serve the filling as a dessert topped with whipping cream. There are raw eggs in it but you can use pasteurized.

    • jimandtammyfaye on August 07, 2022

      Another delicious winner from MWM! Such an easy dessert to make ahead. It tastes much better after sitting overnight. I would opt for plain sweetened whipped cream for times when I don't expect leftovers. I may experiment with different crusts and try using pasteurized eggs for more sensitive stomachs.

    • SweetLittleBytes on January 21, 2021

      Definitely make this 24 hours in advance; if you eat it too early it's very sweet.

  • Scone-top blueberry muffins

    • Zosia on November 02, 2020

      I so appreciate a recipe that is successful even when substitutions are made: whole wheat AP flour for white AP and 1% yogurt for buttermilk. The batter rose quite a lot but "giant" paper muffin cup liners I bought by mistake, which sit just a little taller than regular, were able to contain it. They were delicious!

    • stef on June 09, 2020

      Used fresh blueberries and kefir instead of buttermilk. Made them slightly too big got 8 instead of 12 muffins. Will cut sugar a bit next time. They are very nice and moist

    • tarae1204 on January 07, 2021

      Wonderful recipe! I loved the texture and flavor.

    • Lepa on March 29, 2020

      These were really good! They have a nice, mild buttery flavor. The scone tops are a bit sweet but the muffin is otherwise not very sweet at all- a very nice combination. Like @anya_sf, I greased the top of my muffin pan because I didn't have tulip liners and I didn't experience any issues with sticking.

    • anya_sf on March 28, 2020

      White whole wheat flour worked well in these. I didn't have tulip liners, so I greased the top of the muffin tin as instructed and am glad I did. I did not use all the sugar topping. We loved these muffins - lots of blueberries!

    • MollyPellecchia on January 12, 2021

      Baked 12jan2021 with fat blueberries. Baking time was 20 min after bringing the temp down to 375. Toss FROZEN berries with 2 tblsp flour for each cup

    • senzler on August 27, 2022

      Great blueberry muffin. Definitely one to repeat. I didn’t have tulip muffin liners so used regular and got 20 muffins. They had a great rise and did not spill over onto the tin despite the fact that I filled them fairly full.

  • White chocolate cream cheese Danish

    • Zosia on May 02, 2020

      Sooo delicious. I used quick blueberry jam from Food 52 and made 10. I left the danishes in the square shape but I would like to try a more elaborate shape next time.

    • MakeMyHay on November 22, 2021

      Corners did not stay folded but tasted amazing. Great lamination. I used a homemade lemon curd (recipe from The Last Course).

    • anya_sf on April 21, 2020

      I used a half batch of dough to make 4 slightly larger pastries. The folded corners of dough did not want to stay in place, so the baked Danishes were pretty much square. The filling was thick enough that it did not leak over the sides, so I was able to use a generous amount (at least 1 Tbsp each). For the jam, I used very thick, low-sugar, cherry preserves. I skipped the icing, but will make it next time, as the pastries were not overly sweet. They puffed up a lot in the oven, and were tender, flaky, and delicious.

  • Shortcut Danish pastry

    • Zosia on April 05, 2020

      This was quite easy to make and shape in my cool kitchen. I used it to make the Danish Kringle and it puffed up into beautiful flaky layers (a shame they had to be compressed in that particular recipe).

    • anya_sf on April 21, 2020

      I used Plugra butter. The dough was surprisingly easy to make and roll. Even after all the turns, there were visible chunks of butter (maybe I should have cut the pieces smaller?), which I coated with flour as needed during rolling. The dough baked up super flaky and delicious.

  • Five-spice sweet rolls

    • Zosia on April 13, 2020

      Really delicious. The bun was tender and the sweet spice filling was tasty and just a little bit different. There's a discrepancy between the volume and weight measurements given for the water; I used the weight (the larger amount). The dough was soft and slightly tacky but not difficult to work with.

    • stef on May 24, 2020

      I used the larger amount of water 113g and the dough came out nice and soft and easy to work with. Rolled it 18x12 and cut the rolls in 1 1/2" pieces. No 5 spice so used pumpkin spice. Will make dough and use with other fillings. Too much icing would make half next time.

    • Lepa on January 23, 2021

      I didn't notice the discrepancy in the water measure and used the cup measure. I needed to add 2tbsp of extra flour to get the dough to the right consistency. These were delicious but a bit sweet for us. I used 1/2 the icing but next time I'd use even less - the thinnest schmear- and let people add extra if they wanted to. The buns-and the icing- were delicious.

    • anya_sf on April 05, 2020

      I made 1/2 recipe in an 8"x8" pan, refrigerating the unbaked rolls overnight. The rolls needed extra time to rise in the morning; they still hadn't risen much after 1.5 hours, but at least started to look puffy, so I went ahead and baked them and they expanded nicely in the oven. As Shauna recommends, half the icing (in my case 1/4) was plenty. The rolls were nice and soft, sweet but not cloying, just what I'd want in a sweet roll. The five-spice was subtle; the main flavor was cinnamon.

    • anya_sf on April 14, 2020

      I also noted the discrepancy in the water measure vs weight and used the measure (smaller amount), which worked fine. It looks like there's some leeway.

    • alsigmon on October 01, 2021

      I'm glad for the note about the water discrepancy. I went close to the larger amount, about 110 grams, and the dough definitely felt soft and not stiff at all. I looked at other yeasted recipes in the her book. She uses 1/4c as 57grams water in multiple other recipes, which has me wondering if this is a error.

  • Paczki

    • Zosia on February 20, 2020

      So good! The brioche-like dough was soft and sticky but quite manageable after an overnight proof in the fridge. It was also very active and the doughnuts were ready for frying after only 2.5 hours with the first hour spent in a cold kitchen that was slowly warming up. At 78-79g each, they were large and puffed up enormously during cooking, which took 5-6 minutes. I'm nervous about frying so kept my batches to 3; by the time I was ready to fry the final batch, they were over-proofed and deflated a little after cooking - those were for family. Scary frying moments aside, I had a lot of fun making them and I will again, though next time, I would make them smaller and keep them in a cool spot while they await their turn for the fryer. Made for Polish Fat Thursday.

  • Danish kringle

    • Zosia on April 05, 2020

      These turned out very well and were delicious. I filled one with mango jam and the other with almond filling. I didn't have almond paste to make the book's filling recipe but I did have almond flour. I could have made paste from it but it was easier to make a half batch of Dorie Greenspan's almond cream from Baking Chez Moi, which had similar ingredients. Also, I iced them with frosting left over from the Iced Oatmeal Flats. The hardest part of the recipe was compressing the beautifully puffed pastries when they came out of the oven - I could barely bring myself to do it!

    • anya_sf on April 26, 2020

      I made one kringle from 1/2 batch dough (frozen, thawed). Rolling it out 24" long took a bit of effort and the shape didn't turn out perfectly oval (I think I should have stretched it again after filling), but that didn't matter. I used the almond filling plus some seedless raspberry jam, which was a delicious combination. Fantastic and less work that I'd anticipated. The kringle tasted perfectly fresh when baked the night before serving.

  • Mary and me almond bundt cake

    • Zosia on March 26, 2020

      This took a little bit of effort to make but it has a beautiful soft, velvety crumb and fantastic almond flavour. I will make this again. I used 180g egg whites.

    • MakeMyHay on November 22, 2021

      Didnt have white chocolate so used semi-sweet (that’s why the cake is so dark in my photo). Turned out tender, moist and flavorful.

    • anya_sf on March 28, 2020

      I made 1/2 recipe in a 9" bundt pan (not full) coated with Baker's Joy to make sure it didn't stick. It took about 10 minutes less to bake. The texture was similar to pound cake; the almond, coconut, and white chocolate flavors were more subtle than expected. We quite liked it. I think it would be great with a dark chocolate glaze.

  • Sunflower State bread

    • Zosia on February 29, 2020

      Quite good for a same-day bread. It had a soft crumb and was nutty and just a little bit sweet. The dough was pliable but not sticky, a dream to work with.

    • anya_sf on March 26, 2020

      A nice sandwich bread. The seeds are pleasant and not overly prominent. The dough took a lot longer to rise in my cold kitchen. My loaf got quite dark and baked up lopsided for some reason.

    • MiMi60 on May 19, 2020

      We absolutely loved this bread. It is a straight forward easy recipe. I will be using this one regularly.

  • English muffin bread

    • Zosia on February 12, 2020

      This made great toast and was much faster to make than most yeast-raised breads. It was fun to try but family prefers the whole grain English muffins that I buy.

    • stef on April 07, 2020

      Easy to make and has a nice crunch toasted.

    • anya_sf on April 06, 2020

      Relatively quick and easy to make if you have a stand mixer. I used 150 g white whole wheat flour, the rest all-purpose. My dough needed an extra 30 minutes to rise. The bread was nice toasted, and the appearance certainly resembled English muffins. The texture and flavor weren't quite the same, but we still enjoyed it.

    • Pewins on December 26, 2020

      Better toasted. Too soft for use in stuffing

    • Jviney on February 01, 2020

      I liked the bread and it was very easily assembled. Maybe not an outstanding recipe; wishy washy on whether or not I would make it again.

    • senzler on May 30, 2022

      Not sure about this one. It was ok but didn’t really taste like an English muffin

  • Caramel canvas blondies

    • Zosia on October 30, 2020

      I'm not a fan of blondies but those who are thought they were delicious. Apparently the flaky sea salt was quite noticeable and helped to cut the sweetness as did the (optional) dark chocolate chips and toasted walnuts I added.

    • sosayi on November 06, 2022

      Great Blondie base recipe, and I agree with others that the maldon salt is really nice in this. As is the browned butter. Used leftover Halloween candy as add-ins, a mix of snickers, peanut butter cups and dark chocolate.

    • Pewins on December 26, 2020

      Make with macadamia and caramel bits. Really good. Needs closer to 45-50 minutes.

  • Buckeye bars

    • Zosia on March 23, 2020

      Very much like a peanut butter cup but with a topping of bittersweet chocolate and salt, even more delicious. They were a big hit! I made them in a 9" pan so the layers were a little thinner than intended and I cut them into 28 bars.

    • tarae1204 on May 01, 2021

      Wonderful, easy and rich. Quite different from a traditional Buckeye treat but my Ohio-born spouse approved of them anyway. The graham cracker crumbs are an improvement over the original!

    • Jviney on July 03, 2020

      They are a fun sweet salty combination. I think next time I will make them in a 9x9 as Zosia did; In an 8x8, the peanut butter layer is too thick as compared to the chocolate layer in my mind. Love that they are rich and can be stretched to feed a crowd.

    • taste24 on November 16, 2020

      These are delish and easy to put together. Less sweet than a Reese's, which was something we all enjoyed!

    • Running_with_Wools on May 25, 2021

      For my family, this recipe alone is worth the price of the cookbook. I make the entire thing in the food processor and I use gluten-free graham crackers. I have reduced the powdered sugar to 1 cup, they are quite sweet. But they don't last more than an afternoon in my house (family of 5).

  • Chocolate bumpy cake

    • Zosia on June 21, 2020

      This was a fun cake to make with some new-to-me components and I really liked the contrasting textures of tender cake, creamy buttercream and chewy fudge frosting. Of course it was very sweet - too sweet for me - but I made it for Father's Day and my husband (and everyone else) loved it. He gave it 5 stars. A few notes: I lined the pan with parchment which made for easy removal of the chilled cake for slicing and serving; I used half Dutch process and half black cocoa for the cake and followed ingredient weights which meant a little more oil in the cake than the volume measurement; I used a 1" piping tip for the buttercream as directed which resulted in bumps much larger than those in the book's photo.

  • Golden almond cookies

    • stef on October 04, 2020

      The cookies are made in a food processor. Made a nice crisp almond flavored cookie. I used a 2 teaspoon scoop and cookies turned out a nice size. Baking time was 16 minutes.

    • tarae1204 on January 07, 2021

      These cookies causes my tongue to slightly tingle and the same happened for others (but not all who tried them). This cookie grew on me... I was nonplussed by it but they got better when I thinned the egg yolk wash with a drip of water and made sure it really covered the cookie before baking. I thought it was a boring, one note cookie; but that simplicity is what my kids and certain others absolutely loved. To each his own.

    • taste24 on December 28, 2020

      My dough didn't mix very well in the food processor, so I was mixing often with a rubber spatula. The cookies were okay - not my favorite. Very crumbly and the egg yolk brushed on top added a different, unpleasant flavor for me. However, my family members really enjoyed these!

    • WaterPenny on February 18, 2021

      I was totally craving a Chinese almond cookie and these hit the mark. I used almond flour and just went right to the stand mixer. So quick and easy but it really reminds me of going to Chinatown for eats and treats. It’s a real simple cookie, but it’s delicious.

  • My go-to chocolate chip cookies

    • stef on May 15, 2020

      It's a good basic cookie, bake on convection for 13 minutes.

    • Lepa on February 26, 2020

      These are good, basic chocolate chip cookies. They were easy to mix together and the dough only needed an hour in the refrigerator. The cookies took 15-16 minutes to bake.

    • anya_sf on July 28, 2020

      Good cookies. I baked some after a couple of hours of chilling, some the next day - both were good and we didn't notice a difference. We preferred them baked 14 minutes; they were still very soft. They were quite sweet even with 60% bittersweet chips; darker chocolate would be even better.

    • MarciK on April 25, 2022

      The perfect chocolate chip cookie. I added a touch of cinnamon and clove, but I’m sure they would taste just as delicious without. I also used semi-sweet chocolate chips because that’s what I had on hand, but cut down very slightly on the sugar. I’ll buy bittersweet chocolate chips next time to make it as written. It’s a forgiving recipe for adjustments according to taste and whims.

  • My favorite double-crust apple pie

    • stef on October 08, 2020

      Apple pie filling. The cornstarch left an aftertaste.

    • ashallen on November 01, 2021

      This is a great classic apple pie. My husband inhaled it. My first time using Honeycrisp apples for pie and they were a really nice mix of sweet and tart with a not-too-soft-not-too-firm texture. The filling does call for a fair amount of cornstarch but I didn't notice an aftertaste (though it's not a flavor I'm particularly sensitive to). I baked the pie until the center reached 205F (couple degrees past full cornstarch gelling temperature of 203F). Filling was thickened enough to slice well but not gluey. Crust was buttery, tender but sturdy, and flaky - great! Baking sheet called for in recipe was helpful for catching butter that oozed from crust rim early in baking and preventing smoking but, even though I used my thinnest sheet, it prevented bottom part of crust from browning. I ended up removing pie from sheet and baking it on lowest oven rack at the 60 minute mark and that worked great. Top crust browned deeply but wasn't bitter. Rim protector and foil prevented overbrowning.

  • Chocolate chip marble bundt cake

    • stef on November 16, 2020

      It's a nice moist cake. My only beef is why is there no volume/weights for how much batter to take out to mix the chocolate with and also for distribution of layers. The ingredients are in volume/weight. Cake baked in 55 minutes

    • mamacrumbcake on August 14, 2020

      Beautiful and delicious marble cake. The texture is just perfect. The chocolate part is so richly, deeply chocolate. Prepare your pan very well because this cake wants to stick. Took 65 minutes in my oven.

    • anya_sf on December 23, 2021

      My bundt pan is dark colored, so I baked the cake at 325 F; it was done in 70 min. Mini chocolate chips worked well. I sprayed the pan with Baker's Joy and the cake did not stick. Despite what seems like a lot of sugar, the cake was not too sweet, but was just right - moist and chocolatey. We loved it.

    • Jviney on September 21, 2020

      Absolutely delicious, just loved it. I buttered and carefully floured my pan, and the cake still stuck, but we didn’t care. We enjoyed every bite.

    • MollyPellecchia on January 18, 2022

      Delicious, moist, delicate crumb with a wonderful chocolate swirl. I used the 75th anniversary bundt pan - well sprayed & floured & cake released beautifully. I followed the oven placement tip on the page before the recipe & baked lower oven for 65 min. A repeat!

    • jimandtammyfaye on March 19, 2022

      Outstanding! Used a 6-cup Bundt and 9x5 loaf pan. Both reached 210 degrees around 35 minutes. Love the texture and flavor of the cake. Agree with other note that it would have been nice to have measurements for distribution of layers, but eyeballing it worked fine. I liberally sprayed Baker's Joy into the pans just before adding the batter, and both pans released the cake perfectly.

  • Pullman loaf

    • stef on November 11, 2022

      Quick to put together. Baked 30 minutes with cover, 15 without. Next time will let it rise to 1 1/2" from the top. Nice sandwich bread.

    • tarae1204 on May 01, 2021

      Like prior reviewer, I also found the stated 45 minutes of baking was too long. Check at 35 and 40 min for internal temp of 190. Still it was very wonderful with a delicious crumb, and my kids loved it.

    • anya_sf on June 08, 2020

      A good, sturdy white sandwich bread. Using 25% white whole wheat flour worked well. Shaping instructions produced a beautiful loaf. I baked it for the stated time and it may have been slightly overdone, so next time I'll check early.

  • Silky, creamy chocolate frosting

    • stef on September 20, 2022

      This is a delicious frosting not using butter or icing sugar. I made 20% more. Will make again.

    • senzler on May 30, 2022

      Great chocolate frosting. I will make again.

  • The best American buttercream

    • stef on July 09, 2020

      I tried to reduce the buttercream by 30%. The result was that it was a slightly too thick to pipe. It tasted nice and creamy without that sandy taste of icing sugar

    • stef on November 29, 2022

      The secret of this buttercream is to beat it for at least five minutes and it becomes nice and creamy almost like italian meringue buttercream.

  • Ermine frosting

    • stef on April 12, 2020

      Made 1/2 recipe. Came together well. Not too sweet. Iced 7 regular cupcakes.

  • Italian bread

    • stef on May 26, 2020

      A very quick bread to make. Tasted like Italian bread. Next time I will let it rest for 24hrs in fridge.

    • anya_sf on August 06, 2021

      Good recipe for this type of bread. Although the initial shape seemed more baguette-like, the loaf rose a lot in the fridge so it did end up wider, as expected. After the stated baking time, the internal temp was well over 190 F, so perhaps I could have taken it out sooner, but a thicker crust isn't a bad thing here.

  • Cheater's fudge

    • stef on November 29, 2020

      Nice smooth not too sweet fudge. I too used only 1 teaspoon of salt.

    • lkgrover on April 03, 2020

      Good fudge, easy preparation. I used 70% Lindt chocolate, walnuts, and 1/2 tsp fine fleur de sel (no other salt). The fleur de sel is excellent, but adds a distinctive flavor. As written, I think this recipe would be far too salty.

  • Dark chocolate-pecan mandelbrot

    • stef on February 03, 2021

      A chocolate intense Mandelbrot with a hint of espresso. The dough is very sticky. I refrigerated it for 45 minutes and that made it easier to handle. Very nice with coffee.

  • Frosted snickerdoodle bars

    • Foodycat on April 17, 2020

      New technique for me, making a cake-y base and deliberately deflating it to give a flatter bar. I only had true cinnamon, not Saigon cinnamon so I added a drop of cinnamon oil to it as well, but even with that the cinnamon flavour was much more subtle than I expected.

    • Jviney on April 13, 2020

      These are great! I felt like the bars weren’t quite done after the last five minute bake, and let them go another five which I would not do next time...they are cake-ier than the picture and more than I would like. I’ll make them again!

    • Running_with_Wools on May 25, 2021

      I love snickerdoodles and the idea of making bars. When I tried the recipe, I was not able to get them to lose thier puffiness, so my batch came out more like a snickerdoodle cake. Next time, I'll be more agressive with the pan banging.

  • Everyday fudgy chocolate sheet cake

    • lkgrover on April 22, 2022

      Good, dense & rich cake. I used 1 tablespoon black cocoa, and the filled the rest of the 1/2 cup with Dutch cocoa.

  • Monster cookies

    • tarae1204 on January 07, 2021

      Addictive cookie. I used corn syrup and m&m’s instead of Reece’s pieces. I felt like the peanut butter flavor (Skippy, as recommended) faded on the days following baking. But with the oats and chocolate, and the chewy texture, they were still wonderful. I preferred the cookies made with a small 1 tbl scoop (instead of 3 tbl) but still cooked the length specified in recipe.

    • Jviney on February 01, 2020

      For my personal taste, these virtually cannot be improved upon. I used honey and it worked just fine. Delicious.

    • Running_with_Wools on May 25, 2021

      I've made this recipe 4 or 5 times now and they are really good. Letting the oatmeal "rest" with the dough for 4+ hours changes the texture and makes them puffy and chewy, and just delicious. It makes several dozen cookies and so my neighbors have enjoyed these, too. And, since we're gluten-free, I sub cup-for-cup gluten free flour for the small amount of flour and there is no change in texture. These are my kids' favorite.

  • Lemon angel pie

    • tarae1204 on September 29, 2021

      Lovely, creamy gluten free variation of a lemon meringue pie. The meringue recipe is cooked low and slow, and does not brown. It’s filled with a perfectly balanced lemon curd, chilled, and topped with freshly whipped vanilla whipped cream. It’s a bit like an Eton mess. It is difficult to slice - very difficult. A braver baker than I could try making these as individual servings.

  • Mom's cherry shortcake squares

    • tarae1204 on December 18, 2021

      These are lovely and light. I made them with canned cherries rather than cherry pie filling, so the cherries were less sweet but it’s still quite nice! My seven year old thought they were “like fluffy pancakes” and I thought to myself, yes these would make a great sweet accompaniment to a brunch. They are keeping well individually wrapped in wax paper.

    • mamacrumbcake on May 18, 2021

      Lovely cake, fragrant with vanilla and a hint of lemon, and of course, cherries. My oven is too small for a half sheet pan so I made it in 2 quarter sheet pans with no problem. In the small pans, they were done in about 20 minutes.

    • C_Richardson on July 05, 2020

      These cherry squares are super easy to put together. They're perfect for a last minute family dessert! They received raved reviews from parents and kids alike. I just stocked up on cherry filling again to prepare for the next batch.

    • senzler on May 31, 2022

      A big hit plus easy to put together.

  • Raspberry poke cake

    • tarae1204 on October 14, 2021

      Delicious vanilla buttermilk cake baked up perfectly, and smelled amazing. Raspberry gelatin purée was very liquid - this area of the recipe could use more clarification. The frosting combining whipped cream and cream cheese was just wonderful. The end result didn’t look quite like the cookbook picture but was delicious and surprisingly rich. Everyone loved it.

    • Smokeydoke on June 21, 2020

      I love the idea of poke cake, growing up in California, I had no idea what a poke cake was, there's a universe of poke cake possibilities! Flavoring the cake with jello (pretty much) or pudding is ingenious! That being said, this recipe did not work for me. This is an upscale poke cake, she has you make homemade raspberry gelatin, then use that to flavor the cake. I'm sure it was operator error but mine ended in tragedy. Whatever I did, the cake turned an unsightly blue and my homemade jello never quite set, it just made a weird textured cake. Oh well, onward and upward...

  • Scandinavian rice pudding

    • tarae1204 on November 12, 2020

      Love this dreamy rice pudding. Makes a really big batch - 8+ servings. I made the rice cooked in milk a day in advance then mixed in the vanilla whipped cream the next day before serving. Good quality vanilla and cream, toasted sliced almonds and raspberries take this over the top.

    • anya_sf on December 25, 2021

      My Swedish mother-in-law thought this was the best rice pudding ever. She (and the rest of us) loved having the whipped cream folded right into the pudding - she said, "I wish the Swedes had thought of that!" Well, perhaps they did, but we'd never had it this way before. We loved this both plain and topped with lingonberry or raspberry preserves.

  • Garlicky, butter-swirled pull-apart rolls

    • Lepa on January 20, 2020

      These rolls are fantastic. I didn't have time for the long, slow rise recommended by Sever. Instead, I let the dough rise in an oven with the light turned on for two hours. The resulting bread was soft and had a rich, plush texture.The flavor of the filling was also perfectly balanced. If you like garlic bread, this is next level and should be on your list!

    • anya_sf on March 01, 2023

      The volume and weight of butter in the dough don't match; I went with the volume (which would equal 57 g). These rolls were sooooo tasty - like garlic bread and cinnamon rolls had a baby. Yum!

    • senzler on May 30, 2022

      I liked these a great deal but next time would omit the basil. Guess I am a garlic bread purest.

  • Potica

    • Lepa on April 13, 2020

      This turned out well, even if it was a bit different than the potica I grew up eating. The dough was lovely to work with. I don't believe the cocoa in the filling is traditional but it tasted good. My family rolls potica as a simple roll but I tried the method in the book and ended up with a gorgeous loaf. I couldn't wait until it was completely cool and the loaf was a bit fragile when I cut the warm loaf but that's a problem with me- not the recipe!

    • Waiting4him18 on April 16, 2020

      I found it difficult to work with and directions for folding the bread were confusing. The taste for me wasn’t worth the effort. Perhaps someone else will have better luck.

  • Apricot and orange blossom lekvar

    • Lepa on December 24, 2021

      This is unbelievably delicious! I followed the recipe with no alterations and it turned out very well. I made a half batch for the kolacky and have a ton left over but I'm going to eat it with crepes or toast so I'm happy to have leftovers.

    • ashallen on August 25, 2021

      The orange blossom water adds a really nice flavor note to this lekvar. However, after baking in cookies, it's pretty subtle so if you don't have orange blossom water on hand, don't let it stop you from making this recipe. Like most lekvars, it has an intensely concentrated, fruity flavor. I left a bit too much moisture in mine (yielding 980 g vs. 800 g) but it was still very flavorful and thick enough to use as a kolacky filling.

  • Peanut butter blossoms

    • Lepa on December 23, 2021

      "Not spectacular but a solid cookie" is how my husband described these. I agree. Good but maybe not as good as the peanut butter blossoms I grew up eating.

  • White fruitcake

    • Lepa on December 13, 2021

      I was hoping this would be like the cherry/pecan pound cake my mom made for the holidays when I was growing up. This was a bit more complex and full of dried fruit. We like it and I anticipate making it a yearly tradition.

  • Apricot and orange blossom kolacky

    • Lepa on December 24, 2021

      I made these with my kids and mom for Christmas Eve and they are just delicious! My mom advised me to put less than 1 tsp of filling and that turned out to be good advice.

    • ashallen on August 25, 2021

      Very nice fruity-buttery cookies. At first I wasn't sure how exciting they were and then noticed that if I wasn't paying attention, I'd hoover down a small pile in a sitting! I used ~240g lekvar - next time I'd use a bit less. Its flavor is concentrated and, if you use a lot, it's harder to taste the pastry. Also, the few cookies that unfurled a bit during baking had larger filling amounts. Those also softened more during storage. When making the lekvar, I didn't boil off quite enough moisture and ended up with 980g vs. 800g. Flavor was still very good, though, and it was still thick enough to stay inside cookies during baking. Orange blossom water flavor is very nice, but subtle - cookies would still be delicious without it. I baked these without parchment paper and they slid off pans easily. Note that Midwest Living online version is not a precise copy of the book's recipe - it doubles the dough quantity relative to lekvar and specifies a shorter baking time.

    • ashallen on December 27, 2021

      When I made the recipe in Midwest Made, it yielded 48 cookies as stated in the book. The Midwest Living online recipe is not a precise copy of the Midwest Made original recipe (unclear why...perhaps they tested it and made changes based on their preferences??? "Midwest Living" is cited as the source rather than Midwest Made/Shauna Sever.). The Midwest Living online recipe doubles the pastry dough quantity relative to the Midwest Made recipe and, per the instructions, will result in pastry wrappers that are twice as thick as those in the Midwest Made recipe. The online recipe also calls for a shorter baking time than the Midwest Made recipe.

    • jimandtammyfaye on December 27, 2021

      Note that the book's recipe appears to only make 24 pastries, even though the stated yield is 48. The provided link to the recipe, as it appeared in Midwest Living, provides a yield of 48 but the dough ingredients are doubled. There are also some helpful tips in the Midwest Living link that are not included in the book.

  • Cleveland-style cassata cake

    • Smokeydoke on June 21, 2020

      I made this around February because I've never had cassata cake before, it was lovely, it's similar to a strawberry cake you can find at a Chinese bakery (at least the Cleveland-style is, I'm not sure about the Italian style). I didn't follow her instructions, I've had problems with stabilized whipped cream before, so I made my more stable SMBC with whipped cream. I think the cake I ended up with was close to the original idea. It's a light refreshing cake, akin to a strawberry shortcake and should be eaten soon after being assembled.

    • Laurel21 on July 10, 2021

      In some editions, (I have the digital book), there is an error in the amount of flour for cake it says: 2 cups/120g. it should say 2 cups/240g

  • Lebkuchen

    • Maefleur on December 24, 2021

      Plan ahead. Both the dough and the baked cookies need time to season. A lovely dough to roll and cut, and the finished cookies are nicely spiced and perfectly chewy.

  • Glazed apple slices

    • KaraCooks on October 07, 2020

      This is super easy to make and absolutely delish, just glazed apple goodness. My pic did not look the same but I am trying again Thanksgiving and will post a better one.

    • senzler on May 30, 2022

      Delish and as pies or slab pies go, a cinch to make.

  • Caramel apple dapple cake

    • anya_sf on January 17, 2020

      This cake won't win any beauty pageants, but it tasted very good. Mine was done a couple of minutes before the stated baking time. Gala apples worked well. As stated in the head note, the cake was super moist, almost like bread pudding. It was very sweet, but the coffee and brown sugar did help temper the sweetness. I expected the glaze to be more icing-like - I'm not sure if I glazed the cake too soon (I let it cool for 20 minutes prior to making the glaze), or if I didn't thicken the glaze enough, but it was pretty runny, although it set quickly.

  • Ozark skillet cake

    • anya_sf on March 09, 2020

      I made 1/2 recipe in a 6" skillet, which took about 30 minutes to bake. I used nearly a whole apple (as much as would fit on top) but only about half the pecans, which was enough for us. The cake was delicious with ice cream, although it's plenty sweet on its own.

  • Watermelon sherbet

    • anya_sf on July 17, 2021

      Light and refreshing with an icy texture. My watermelon was fairly flavorful, so the sherbet was also fairly flavorful. With a really good watermelon this would probably be even better.

    • Jviney on August 18, 2020

      This is lovely, with a nice combination of watermelon and lime. A nice end to a summer meal.

  • No-churn heavenly hash ice cream

    • anya_sf on August 05, 2022

      Super yummy and easy to make (1/2 recipe). I used roasted, salted almonds. Marshmallow toasting instructions were not provided, and I did not attempt to try toasting them for fear of melting and/or burning, so just used them plain and they were good (and I don't even like marshmallows).

  • Big, soft pretzels

    • anya_sf on October 09, 2020

      I never knew pretzels were so easy and relatively quick to make! These were big and soft, as promised, not quite like Bavarian pretzels, which are crisper on the outside and chewier within, but really delicious nonetheless. Next time I won't bother brushing them with butter as they don't need it and it made them kind of greasy to hold, and I may try brushing with egg white rather than whole egg to see if that gives a crisper exterior.

    • Xyz123 on February 20, 2022

      These were so simple to make and very good! I didn’t add the butter after baking, they didn’t need it. Sprinkled with alaea red Hawaiian sea salt. Perfection!

    • Jviney on March 22, 2020

      Excellent. Served with Julia Turshen’s nacho cheese sauce. Delicious.

    • KitKatCat on April 02, 2021

      Very good and simple to make.

    • Running_with_Wools on May 25, 2021

      This is a fun little project I enjoyed with my 8-year old son. And they were really good.

  • Brown Irish soda bread

    • anya_sf on March 18, 2020

      I used graham flour (whole wheat pastry flour) instead of regular whole wheat. The dough was sticky, so it was hard to shape and slash neatly. We enjoyed this savory soda bread fresh from the oven, and also toasted with butter the next day.

  • Coffee caramel monkey bread

    • anya_sf on October 01, 2020

      I made 1/2 recipe using 1 whole egg in the dough, baked in a 6-cup bundt pan. Proofed overnight in the fridge, it turned out perfectly. So good, I couldn't stop eating it!

    • amandabeck on June 11, 2022

      this was a hit at brunch; make sure to really coat each dough ball in butter and cinnamon because the ones in the middle didn't get as much moisture.

    • Waiting4him18 on April 16, 2020

      This monkey bread is easy to do and fantastic! My mouth dropped from the delicious taste! It’s on my top five for this book.

    • taste24 on May 26, 2021

      Holy cow, SO delicious. Quite a bit of work, but worth every bit. The coffee flavor isn't too forward, but is noticeable (in a good way of course).

  • Dakota fruit kuchen

    • anya_sf on September 05, 2021

      I made 1/2 recipe in an 8"x8" pan. The batter-like dough was too soft to form a border, but it didn't matter. Frozen berries worked fine. Baked 35 min, the cake was slightly overdone (my fault - should have checked early) which made it a little dry. The amount of topping wasn't enough to cover the top - maybe that's how it should be, but I would have liked a bit more since it was tasty and added moisture. Made the night before serving, stored in the fridge overnight, the kuchen made a very nice breakfast, although I'm sure it's better fresh.

  • Giant, awesome peanut butter cookies

    • anya_sf on January 16, 2021

      Quick and easy. My scoop may be slightly small as I got 9 cookies from 1/2 recipe. Still baked them 12 minutes - at that point the edges were barely set. The cookies were super soft (rather than chewy) and very good, but next time I might bake them slightly longer.

    • taste24 on July 10, 2020

      These cookies were super easy and very delicious. They are huge!! Also very soft, which is preferred in my family

  • Scott's chocolate cake

    • leilx on August 03, 2020

      Excellent. Cake is thick layers and chocolate without being fudgy or super rich. Cake is very tender and needs some care. Good buttercream too. Made it and it held fine after crumb coating in the heat for 2 hours. Gave it a quick beating before using the rest and it went back to mousse-like. The chocolate chunks make it impossible to have a smooth frosting.

  • Butter pecan layer cake

    • Pewins on December 26, 2020

      Really good and easy. Half recipe is perfect for 6” double layer cake. Put the nuts between the layers and on top instead of all in the frosting as it makes it messy to spread.

  • Salted double chocolate chewies

    • Jviney on August 10, 2020

      These were very good. The European butter adds a richness to them, and they were crisp on the outside and soft in the centers. I did not have bittersweet chocolate on hand, so used white chocolate chips. Really good. Note they do go flat as pancakes.

  • Jammy winter fruit and browned butter bars

    • Jviney on February 29, 2020

      These are excellent. The jam was easy to make and the brown butter delicious in the crust. Not greasy but buttery; not too sweet, just a little nutty and oat-y. Maybe a drizzle of cream wouldn’t hurt to dress them up...

    • taste24 on June 11, 2020

      Fantastic bars. If you're a fan of the crumble on top of fruit crisp desserts, you're going to love these.

  • Scotch-a-roos

    • Jviney on April 25, 2020

      Scotch-a-Roos are relatively common in these parts (central Illinois) but none of the church cookbook versions direct you to keep a light hand while pressing in the Krispy mixture. This made a huge difference...I have not made these often, but both my husband and I felt this was by far the best batch I’ve ever made.

    • taste24 on June 16, 2020

      Agree with Jviney - lightly pressing the crispy mixture into the pan is KEY to soft, chewy bars. These are fantastic - I haven't met anyone who doesn't go crazy over them.

  • Aunt Marge's birthday cake

    • Jviney on July 03, 2020

      I made this for a Father’s Day dinner and it seemed mediocre - a surprise from this book. Probably would seek out other recipes before trying this one again.

    • MollyPellecchia on March 05, 2022

      Baked in a glass dish so done at 45 min & tented the last 20 min. Frosting from p306 - Silky, Creamy Chocolate Frosting. Will have to wait until tomorrow to report on taste but was not disappointed licking the batter & frosting beaters!

    • senzler on May 30, 2022

      I am a huge fan of a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. My mother would make them for birthdays. From the picture it looks like a yellow cake but as I make it I realized it was in fact a white cake. I thought if was a good white cake and very moist. Loved the frosting but still in search of the perfect yellow cake.

  • Forgotten cookies

    • hbakke on November 25, 2019

      I made these because they sounded simple to make, and they were. I'm usually not a fan of meringues but these were quite tasty. The outside is firm and the inside is chewy and delicious. I was unsure of the chocolate because I thought the pieces would be too firm in a soft meringue, but they kind of get melty and stay a nice texture inside the cookie. I used a Ghiradelli 60% cacao bar. I probably should have made them a bit smaller too. I would make these again. Probably would be excellent floating atop a cup of hot chocolate.

    • senzler on May 30, 2022

      Identical to my mothers recipe for forgotten kisses. A Xmas must in my family

  • Black raspberry chip ice cream

    • jimandtammyfaye on October 01, 2022

      Delicious but would have been much better if I could have found black raspberries instead of subbing blackberries, which don't have quite the same vibrant flavor.

  • Chocolate éclair dessert

    • senzler on May 30, 2022

      This is an absolute favorite in my family but be sure to have a crowd because it is best on the date you make it.

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Reviews about this book

  • Simply Recipes

    An interview with the author.

    Full review
  • Eat Your Books by Jenny Hartin

    The author’s headnotes are worth the price of admission and make you feel as if she is sitting at the kitchen island with a cup of tea while you measure flour and cream butter.

    Full review
  • Joy the Baker

    I adore this book! The recipes are so heartfelt, so well explained, so reliable!

    Full review
  • Bake at 350

    ...is a love letter to bakes of the Midwest...The recipes and stories are written in Shauna's engaging voice.

    Full review
  • ISBN 10 076246450X
  • ISBN 13 9780762464500
  • Linked ISBNs
  • Published Oct 22 2019
  • Format Hardcover
  • Page Count 256
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Running Press Adult

Publishers Text

When it comes to defining what we know as all-American baking, everything from Bundt cakes to brownies have roots that can be traced to the great Midwest. German, Scandinavian, Polish, French, and Italian immigrant families baked their way to the American Midwest, instilling in it pies, breads, cookies, and pastries that manage to feel distinctly home-grown.

After more than a decade of living in California, author Shauna Sever rediscovered the storied, simple pleasures of home baking in her Midwestern kitchen. This unique collection of more than 125 recipes includes refreshed favorites and new treats:

• Rhubarb and Raspberry Swedish Flop • Danish Kringle • Secret-Ingredient Cherry Slab Pie • German Lebkuchen • Scotch-a-Roos • Smoky Cheddar-Crusted Cornish Pasties

and more, which will make any kitchen feel like a Midwestern home.



Other cookbooks by this author