Baked: New Frontiers in Baking is currently one of my favorite baking books. I recently checked this book out from the library and liked it so much that I decided to purchase my own copy. I can tell this cookbook is really popular because when I tried to renew it at the library they wouldn’t let me because someone else had already placed it on hold. This hardly ever happens except for really popular books!

I usually say that if you can get 3 good recipes out of a cookbook it’s worth your money and so far all 4 recipes produced from this book are worth repeating! There’s only a couple recipes here that don’t sound appetizing to me, including Almond Green Tea Cupcakes and the Green Tea Smoothie. Sorry, I guess I’m not hip or chic enough to enjoy green tea let alone desserts and drinks that taste like green tea. Also, there are quite a few recipes that have an espresso or coffee theme which I’m not quite into.

You will also find some of the recipes in this book include flavoring from liquor–although I’m not sure how much omitting the liquor would affect the final results. Their Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie contains 3 tablespoons of bourbon which is quite a bit. However, I already have a favorite recipe for pecan pie, so skipping this one isn’t going to hurt my feelings.

The authors of this book own a coffee shop and bakery located in “Red Hook” Brooklyn called Baked. Baked opened its doors on January 11, 2005. In the introduction the authors describe how their business began and take us from their testing phase to construction of the store, opening, and how the book was developed. It may contain more information than you need to know, but it’s interesting nonetheless. You’ll discover how Baked received the Holy Grail of advertisement when their brownie recipe was awarded a prime positive in Oprah’s magazine (yes, the brownie recipe is included in the book). They also hit pay-dirt when their Sweet and Salty Cake (recipe also included) appeared on the Martha Stewart Show. It kinda makes you wonder: Where do they go from here??

Nevertheless, Matt and Renato are nice enough to share some of their recipes with us. They write, “The greatest compliment a neighborhood bakery can receive from a customer is a request for a recipe . . . The recipes in this book are for you, It is our collection of greatest hits, customer favorites, and a few of our own obscure obsessions.” Before tackling the recipes in this book you will probably want to have a few hours of baking experience under your belt, although the authors write, “In writing each recipe, it was our goal to make baking fun and approachable for everyone.” The first chapter, A Field Guide to Baking, explains some of the baking tools, terms, techniques, and tips mentioned in the recipes in case you’re not familiar with them. Although I dived right into the recipes you might want to read through this chapter if you’re still a little intimidated by baking.

Otherwise, the recipes themselves are divided into seven sections which are outlined below:

1. Breakfast

Sour Lemon Scones
Maple Walnut Scones
Orange Almond Blueberry Muffins
Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins
Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits
Marble Bundt Cake
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Lemon Lemon Loaf
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf
Sour Cherry Loaf
Easy Homemade Granola

2. Cakes and Cupcakes

Flourless Chocolate Cake
Red Hot Velvet Cake
The Whiteout Cake
Grasshopper Cake
Milk Chocolate Malt Ball Cake
Lemon Drop Cake
Sweet and Salty Cake
Banana Cupcakes
Coconut Snowball Cupcakes
Almond Green Tea Cupcakes
Icebox Towers
German Chocolate Cake
Upstate Cheesecake
Root Beer Bundt Cake

3. Pies and Tarts

Classic Apple Pie
Classic Pie Dough
Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie
Tuscaloosa Tollhouse Pie
Peanut Butter Pie with Cookie Crust
Classic Diner-Style Chocolate Pie
Butterscotch Pudding Tarts
Lemon Almond Meringue Tarts
Pear Plum Crisp

4. Brownies and Bars

The Baked Brownie
S’More Nut Bars
Lemon Lime Bars
Baked Bars
Millionaire’s Shortbread
Honeycomb Bars
Brewer’s Blondies
Raspberry Crumb Breakfast Bar
Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

5. Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies
Black Forest Chocolate Cookies
Monster Cookies
Oatmeal Cherry Nut Cookies
Hazelnut Cinnamon Chip Biscotti
Classic Sugar Cookies
Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
Baked Tricolor Cookies

6. Chocolates, Candies and Confections

Vanilla Marshmallows
Pecan and Almond Chocolate Toffee
Vanilla Bean Caramel Apples
Honey and Dark Chocolate Truffles
Milk Chocolate Almond Truffles
Chocolate Raspberry Truffles
Banana Pecan Piloncillo Ice Cream
Mocho Fudgesicles
Dark Chocolate Ice Cream
Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce
Malted Milk Chocolate Sauce

7. Drinks

Vanilla Bean Affogato
Espresso Martini
Baked Brown Cow
Chocolate Stout Milkshake
Cinnamon Mocha
Adult Hot Chocolate
Green Tea Smoothie
Almond Granita
Iced Raspberry Tea Granita

(Out of those 72 recipes, 37 have photos–not bad for a cookbook.)

The recipes I made from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking included the Monster Cookies, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf, and Millionaires Shortbread. A friend of mine also made the Root Beer Bundt Cake, which according to her tastes even better the second day. All recipes are worth repeating although I’m quite fond of the pumpkin loaf. After making the recipe for the first time, I adapted it slightly by omitting the chocolate chips and making muffins instead of loaves. These muffins make a quick and portable breakfast for me and my husband. I’m a big pumpkin fan and without the chocolate chips the muffins remind me of carrot cake.

Three weeks really isn’t enough time to experiment with all the fun recipes in this book. If it wasn’t for Thanksgiving, I wouldn’t have a reason to make so many baked goods like I did in a short amount of time. Unless you want to burden your friends, family, and coworkers with thousands of calories in a short amount of time, I would just bite the bullet and buy this book. It will keep you and your kitchen busy for a long time.

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