Notes about Recipes in this book

• Blueberry muffins

  • jzanger on July 29, 2012

    I was really unimpressed by these. Just mediocre. It needed a little cinnamon or nutmeg and some whole grain flour for interest. Probably won't be making these again.

• Blueberry cobbler with gingered biscuits

  • stacey on August 29, 2010

    Recipe calls for lemon zest and juice, not lemon curd

• Banana bread

  • mfto on February 26, 2011

    p 24 Finally I have found a banana bread recipe that is easy and really works for me. You would think that all such recipes are easy but they are never successful for me. I followed the recipe exactly except I had to use sour cream instead of yogurt. Also I baked it 5 minutes longer in my oven. The bread was OK 2 hours after baking but improved dramatically overnight. At first I thought I would add cinnamon the 2nd time but now I will leave the recipe as is because the banana flavor comes through.

  • SpatulaCity on October 03, 2023

    Very nice, classic banana bread. I would have liked it a touch sweeter, so next time may let my bananas get more ripe, or adjust up the sugar a touch. Often I’m using bananas from the freezer, which become purée at the slightest touch, but for this batch I used counter bananas. I loved how they retained a few chunks of banana throughout. Really lovely texture! Used 1C of the toasted walnuts in the battere, but left 1/4 cup un toasted and used to top the banana bread. They come out so wonderfully toasty that way and really add another dimension of texture and flavor!

• Bakery-style french baguettes

  • jtodes on May 31, 2020

    Wonderful. Not difficult. Lost the seam, not a problem

• Date-nut bread

  • hillsboroks on January 31, 2016

    I think this is my new favorite date recipe. The bread is rich, tender, moist and loaded with luscious dates. There are a couple of unusual steps and more than one bowl involved but the final result makes it all worthwhile. Originally I looked this recipe up to email to a friend who was traveling through the date growing area of S Calif. in an RV and wanted a date bread recipe that didn't require too much equipment or too many odd ingredients. This recipe really fit the bill. All you need besides a couple of bowls are a rubber spatula and a whisk. After emailing the recipe off I just had to try it and now I am very glad that I did.

• Yule log cake

  • Medamida on January 28, 2014

    I use the Yule log cake recipe from The Cake Mix Doctor but the filling and ganache recipes from this book. Next I am going to try making homemade Mascarpone from Make the Bread, Buy the Butter.

• Chewy, fudgy triple-chocolate brownies

  • TaffyDeb on January 16, 2015

    This will be the only brownie we will ever make from now on. When they say let it cool, they really mean it. If you cut it before it cools it will ooze. You will think that you undercooked them but when it cools they solidify. Also they are so rich the 1"x1" serving is valid.

• Classic Irish soda bread

  • TaffyDeb on March 17, 2022

    In addition to the cupboard staples, one will also need cake flour and buttermilk. These are things that I don’t usually have on hand. P41-44

• Vanilla cream pie

  • LisaO on January 02, 2020

    Making this base, then using it for the banana cream pie is delicious. I use banana liqueur instead of brandy.

• Banana cream pie

  • LisaO on February 17, 2015

    I make this every Thanksgiving. (Don't know why I don't make it more often.) I use Banana Liquor instead of the brandy from the mother recipe the vanilla cream pie. I didn't like the crust so I use a traditional graham cracker crust.

• Rosemary focaccia

  • lawrencecharcuterie on July 04, 2023

    Took about 4 hours from start to finish. I think next time I'll cook it on the medium low rack for 20 and pop it up to the center rack for about 5:00

• Lemon bars

  • lawrencecharcuterie on April 24, 2022

    Have all the ingredients prepped and laid out. Watch the temperature when making the curd, it's very easy to exceed 170 and get scrambled eggs.

• Snickerdoodles

  • SpatulaCity on December 18, 2023

    Perfectly delicious! I added a touch of nutmeg to the cookie dough, and cardamon to the cinnamon sugar topping. Divine!

• Banana coconut bread with macadamia nuts

  • SpatulaCity on April 17, 2023

    Very good - the recipe yields a pleasantly dense and moist cake, with delicate banana flavor, which I’d happily remake, as-is, again. This recipe is a variation on their standard banana bread, so I have faith that a plain version would be just as good. That said, I only had unsweetened Coconut, so added a touch extra sugar to compensate. I also rounded the baking soda up to 1ts to help with leavening. I think I’d like to experiment by adding pineapple, a touch of coconut extract (probably a terrible idea but I love coconut so much!) and maybe subbing in some coconut oil for the butter. While the cake was balanced for sweetness, I did miss some of the caramel-like notes that have been present in other banana breads I’ve tried (brown sugar?) Overall though, a solid and well received recipe!

• Zucchini bread

  • IowanCorn on September 01, 2023

    I raised an eyebrow at the call for a pound of zucchini, but it worked. I used a mix of yellow summer squash and zucchini since I needed a full pound, and that's what I had out of my CSA bag. You do need to follow the instruction to toss the shredded squash with sugar and let it drain, then squeeze it to get as much liquid out as possible. Even after I did that, this is an extremely moist bread. Very tasty, and it vanished very quickly.

• Golden northern cornbread

  • IowanCorn on April 09, 2023

    This may have been user error, as I misread the 4 teaspoons of sugar as 4 tablespoons, but this made a very crumbly cornbread, and one that I wasn't terribly fond of. I should probably make it again and put the correct amount of sugar in it to see if it makes a difference.

• Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

  • TBipp on December 26, 2023

    Family favorite with no changes. Very easy as no mixer needed. All the work is done in a food processor. Perfect for gatherings as it bakes in a 13 x 9, and I often use a disposable aluminum pan. Frosting is excellent and one of the best cream cheese frostings as it is not too sweet.