Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts: Quicker Smarter Recipes

Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts: Quicker Smarter Recipes

Author: Alice Medrich

Publisher: Artisan Publishing (2012)

Now that the school year is in full swing once more, many PTAs and fundraising groups are going to be pushing bake sale participation onto parents and children alike. Unfortunately, the story of the child who comes home from school claiming they "need something for the bakesale... tomorrow" is all too real and parents are hesitant to use a packaged mix or swing by the bakery the next morning can find themselves up till 2AM mixing and decorating something sellable. Even if bake sales are not an issue, impromptu dinner guests and holiday parties tax the already busy individual looking to impress, and sometimes simply having a sweet treat after a Saturday night dinner is desired! Dessert guru Alice Medrich has compiled a book of recipes that are just what the doctor ordered for the harried sweet tooth. From packable, individual cookies and cupcakes to standout pies and bread puddings, Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts: Quicker Smarter Recipes has something to savour.

Medrich follows the philosophy of keeping things simple in the sweet kitchen, and like her previous Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies the square book is easy to read, clear and concise, with full colour photos of many recipes. Beginning with an incredibly useful listing of "basic dessert pantry" items and helpful kitchen tools (p. 9-13), novice bakers are given a perfect go-to guide for their first shopping trip, including a list of treats in the book that can be made with bare-bones essentials. An extra glossary of both ingredients (p. 270) and equipment (p. 274) prefaces the American resource listing (p. 277) and a well-organized complete index. The recipes in Sinfully Easy are also interspersed with "un-recipes" for basics like meringue (both crunchy and crisp-chewy, my personal favourite) (p. 160), yogurt cheese (p. 114), crostini (p. 16), vanilla sugar (p. 53) and toasted nuts (p. 256). Medrich ups the approachability factor of this book by including "generalized" tutorials as well. Whether the occasion calls for cake (p. 170), chocolate and cocoa (p. 97), cookies (p. 236) or nuts (p. 256), help is offered in a simple to understand and apply format that doesn't preach to nor bore the reader.

True to it's title, offerings in Sinfully Easy are fairly quick and uncomplicated which makes it a boon for parents with fledgling cooks in the kitchen. While I question the need for actual recipes like Cinnamon Toast (p. 28), Lightly Sweetened Whipped Cream (p. 130), Chocolate Shards (p. 232), Grilled Chocolate Sandwiches (p. 254) and Chocolate-Dipped Fruit (p. 264) rather than simply including them as "ideas" in one of the many other sections, most are gems that are simple without being inane. Go-to items like the The Best One-Bowl Chocolate Cake (p. 174) and Bill's Food Processor Chocolate Mousse (p. 90) can be prepared by older children or used as measurement and preparation teaching opportunities for parents, and with the options for many frostings, compotes, and other garnish recipes Medrich includes even the most basic of items can be made into a showstopping dessert. For those with a posher palate, items such as Carrot Almond Torte (p. 206) and custards (including a decadent Bittersweet Cocoa Souffle (p. 126) and French Chocolate Mousse (p. 93)) are more complex alternatives to the Classic Carrot Cake (p. 209) and Chocolate Pudding (p. 88).

I had the pleasure of making several of the items in Sinfully Easy over the Summer, and not a single one disappointed in the flavour department. While the cupcakes I made using the One-Bowl Vanilla Cake (p. 222) recipe sunk horribly in the middle (despite being cooked through), I used it as an opportunity to fill them with thick, rich Mocha Fudge Frosting (p. 180) and cap things off with the lighter but still indulgent Extra-Good Vanilla Bean Frosting (p. 181, sidebar). The result was incredibly well received by those I served them to and no one ever suspected the cake portion had a problem at all. For my bread-pudding (and banana) loving dad, I made a variation of the Salted Caramel Banana Bread Puddings (p. 118) in coffee mugs (as I did not have, nor could I find, any 6-ounce ramekins) using Medrich's Butterscotch Toffee Sauce (p. 25). A word to the wise regarding the toffee sauce: ensure the cream (or coconut milk in my case) is warm before stirring into the sugar, or it will separate and curdle. I found that this step allowed me to use even a lower-fat dairy product (whole milk) than the heavy cream called for without separation problems.

Probably the two most valuable portions of Sinfully Easy are Medrich's "[T]hings to do with..." sections and her wealth of variations for a set basic recipe. Not only does the book include the chapters Starting with Ice Cream (p. 15) and Starting with Fruit (p. 47), but ideas for using vanilla ice cream, ripe strawberries, yogurt, gingerbread, and chocolate bars are included as well - allowing even the most rushed person to enjoy a sweet treat. Almost every recipe includes variations for flavour, texture or application, from 10 Ways to Flavour Whipped Cream (p. 131) to turning the dense mousse of the Chocolate Marquise (p. 95) into a pie. These variations raise the economic value of this book immensely while keeping the reader interested by providing several recipes in one, and in times where budgets are tight it can be an excuse to justify an otherwise frivolous sounding dessert cookbook.

Whether you are baking for your family, a special occasion or those sudden fundraisers, Sinfully Easy Delicious Desserts: Quicker Smarter Recipes can fit the bill. It is a good first "sweet kitchen" book for teenagers and adult baking neophytes alike and is so rich in variety that it is virtually impossible to make the same thing twice in a year. Even if you normally take a pass on the sweet table, this book by Alice Medrich will convert you at first taste.

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Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies

Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies
Author: Alice Medrich
Publisher: Artisan (2010)

As a baker, whenever I make cookies for a group I know that it’s always asking for trouble in one form or another. There’s always those that want their cookie treats soft, others chewy, and still others want a good crunch when they bite in. The contents (or lack thereof) filling the bakes are another sticky point – do you want to be presented with a quarter pound of chocolate, peanut butter, pretzels, oats and fruit? Or are you more the “less is more” type, who is perfectly content with a graham cracker or a simple sugar cookie? What about bar cookies – where do they fit in on the spectrum? For any cookie-lover or cookie-baker with a spectrum of tastes comes a book from one of the queens of cuisine, Alice Medrich. Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies is a title enough to make your mouth water, and Medrich covers all those categories, and more.

With all the other baking and dessert “bibles” out there, with a good amount authored by Medrich herself, do we really need yet another cookie book? The unique aspect of this book is that it is incredibly inclusive of all kinds of cookies. Organized by texture, the chapters encompass crispy, crunchy, chunky, chewy, gooey, flaky, and melt-in-your-mouth offerings, sure to win over anyone. With a highly cross-referenced appendix and index, Chewy even includes cookies perfect for those on wheat-free diets or are trying to lose weight. If not inherently low-fat or wheat free (like meringues), many of the recipes have fairly easy modifications included. There are even whole-grain cookies included in the book – a rarity in any other “mainstream” baking manual... but do not be fooled – this is no diet cookbook! Fat and sugar are still in abundance, and there is no hiding of the fact that cookies are a treat. Medrich also gives a comprehensive list of recipes for special "[c]omponents" (p. 335) of her cookies such as flavoured sugars, fillings and glazes in the back of the book, most of which are equally at home in any baking application.
 

The one thing Medrich’s book does not contain is a gluten-free recipe modifier, so while there may be no wheat in her Golden Kamut Shortbread p. 332 they are not the Christmas cookie of choice for your celiac best friend. There are also few vegan cookies in the book, but Medrich is not out there to proclaim Chewy as a book for any specific diet. The very fact that specific modifiers for several of her recipes should be applauded as a move towards accepting the variety of special needs out there.

My only pressing issue with Chewy is that Medrich’s book is fairly tricky to bake from if money’s tighter than you’d like it to be (like around Christmas, for example!) and you don’t want to shell out for expensive ingredients. While many of the recipes are fairly simple in their design, is there no lack of somewhat more “gourmet” goods, nor is there skimping on the quantities of rich ingredients. Your butter and egg bills, for example, will be significantly higher than normal if you’re not in the habit of purchasing them often! Medrich also seems to adore calling for chocolate and all kinds of nuts in Chewy. Most of the brownies (a weakness of both my taste-testers and I) contain half a pound of unsweetened chocolate for an 8” square pan, though she does (thankfully) include two cocoa-based recipes as well. For everyday bake sales or home snacking, her Cocoa Brownies (p. 222) and Less is More Overnight Brownies (p. 206) are more than passable... in fact, I preferred them to the melted-chocolate filled ones.

One thing I absolutely adored about Medrich’s latest work is her creativity with such an old bake sale treat. Cookies are the kind of dessert or after-school snack that are subject to becoming tiresome, since there really are a finite number of ways to re-purpose your old chocolate chippers. I thoroughly enjoyed picking out some goodies in Chewy to try, though it was agony not to make almost all of them! Luckily for me, I do have a (very) well-stocked pantry and basically had my pick of the lot when it came to selecting my Christmas giveaways. With the nutritionists at school clamouring for something yummy and energy-packed during exams, when I happened upon Medrich’s Honey Hemp Bars (p. 157), I knew I had to try them out. While it took up twice the room (filling the bottom of a 9x13” pan instead of an 8” square), the recipe only gave me 12 bars, rather than her stated 16-20. They were definitely worth the bake though! However, I would definitely exercise caution with these! Expensive ingredients aside (for me the pan came to almost $8), hemp seed and some of the other additions to these rich bars are a bit of an acquired taste. I couldn’t get a single child to try it, but then again when the cereal aisles are chock-full of little more than candy bars I wouldn’t expect puffed millet and date paste to exactly draw them in. As for the adult set? Well, the ones who got a taste certainly enjoyed them – and I say those who got a taste because as soon as the word was out that a bar better than the school’s storebought ones was on the table they disappeared!

The award for the prettiest cookies I’ve made from Chewy to date, though, has to go to an “upgrade” Medrich gives for her (also to die for) Peanut Butter Clouds (p. 296) using tahini and sesame seeds. A basic egg-white and sugar meringue gets made, then the decadence of the seed paste and seeds are folded in and the mixture is piped into cute little kisses. If you are a sesame lover at all, you must try these crisp morsels... and being nut- dairy- and gluten-free (not to mention great keepers!), they are a good bet for a holiday potluck or office party.

If you are an experienced baker with a yen for discovering the vast world of cookie-making, Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies is one of the most unique, well-referenced and inclusive baking bibles currently out there. It’s a book so detailed and complex in it’s offerings that completely novice chefs may feel overwhelmed by, and it’s sometimes pricey additions can further stall them for fear that they might fail. The benefit of any cookie-making experiment is that you can usually still eat the “failures” – and Medrich make a point to educate and help in any way possible though her glossary entries and resource list. No matter what kind you fancy, I’m confident you’ll find something sweet!

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