The Golden Book of Chocolate: Over 300 Great Recipes

This book might easily be the most lavish, the most complete, and most beautiful book ever published on the subject of that most sensuous of all foods--chocolate. Filled with history, anecdotes, and recipes, and featuring hundreds of lavish full-color photos, The Golden Book of Chocolate is literally a chocolate lover's dream come true. A fascinating detailed account chronicles chocolate's origins among the Aztecs of ancient Mexico, its importation to Europe, and the development of the modern chocolate industry as we know it today. But recipes are at the heart of this book. Separate chapters are devoted to chocolate's central role in easy-to-follow recipes for:

• Cookies • Bars and Brownies • Muffins and Cupcakes • Pastries • Elegant Desserts • Pies and Tarts • Puddings and Creams • Tea and Coffee Cakes • Layer Cakes • Candy • Savory Dishes • Drinks • Basic Recipes

Each recipe includes a list of ingredients, step-by-step instructions, and a large, full-color photo of the finished item. The book's final "Basic Recipes" chapter shows how to prepare chocolate ingredients that go into the making of other chocolate-based delicacies. They include chocolate pastry cream, chocolate custard, chocolate sauce, and several other sumptuous ingredients. This beautiful book is embellished with a ribbon place marker bound into the spine and features golden-tipped page edges.
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A Capsule History of Chocolate
Among the Aztecs the drinking of chocolate was confined to the royal house, the lords, and the nobility. A report by Spanish conquistador Bernial Diaz del Castillo noted that Montezuma drank chocolate several times a day from beakers made of pure gold. The Spanish brought chocolate to Europe in the late 1500s, and by the 1660s it was a favorite drink of Renaissance Italian noblemen. In the 1800s it became a popular drink among the literary figures who gathered in London's coffee houses, and in the nineteenth century the world's first chocolate candy was produced in the city of Bristol, England .

The Golden Book of Cookies: Over 330 Great Recipes

Everybody loves cookies, but few are aware that the first cookie was baked thousands of years ago. It was probably invented in ancient Persia, and later, the Romans made fried cookies using wheat, water, and honey. In the seventeenth century, Dutch settlers in New Amsterdam (now New York) were baking little cakes, or koekje, a word that was later transformed into cookie. Here is the ultimate guide and definitive book on the art, the baking, and the enjoyment of cookies. It's filled with fascinating information, wonderful color photos, and easy-to-follow recipes for more than 330 different cookie varieties. Cookie connoisseurs will find recipes for--

Sugar cookies

Fruit-and-cream-filled cookies

Marzipan cookies

Chocolate chip cookies

Peanut butter cookies

Oat bran cookies

Date crunchies

Glazed cranberry squares . . . and many more delicious treats.

For holiday baking, cookie lovers will find heart-shapes for Valentine's day, frosted gingerbread people for Christmas, trick-or-treat cookies for Halloween, and red, white, and blue frosted stars for the Fourth of July. The book's added features include advice on ingredients, the four important golden rules for cookie making, and a quick-find index. Every dedicated cookie lover will want to own this lavish volume. Hundreds of color photos.

The Golden Book of Desserts

Sinfully delicious custards, mousses, trifles, meringues, cakes, pies, tarts, fritters, and many other desserts are the subjects of this recipe-filled volume. More than 250 recipes--each with a taste-tempting color photo--will inspire home chefs to treat family and guests with truly extraordinary desserts. The kitchen-proven recipes are categorized as follows:

Custards and Creams: chilled lemon soufflé, chocolate and hazelnut pots de crème, layered coconut and mango mousse, and many more

Trifles and Charlottes: raspberry and peach trifle, strawberry charlotte, apricot and ginger parfait, almond crunch with raspberry compote, and many more

Frozen Desserts: chocolate cherry ice cream bombe, chocolate spumoni, frozen raspberry liqueur cake, strawberry ice cream pie, and many more

Fruit Desserts: champagne strawberries, fresh fruit salad with lemon syrup, melon salad with mint and ginger syrup, and many more

Meringues: meringues with raspberry filling, chocolate pavlovas, meringue baskets with strawberries and mascarpone, and many more

Layer Cakes and Rolls: chocolate sponge with chantilly, chocolate cake with ricotta filling, jelly roll dessert cake, and many more

Pies and Tarts: peach and coconut pie, chocolate meringue pie, plum pie, golden macadamia tart, pear and almond tart, and many more

Crisps, Puddings, and Soufflés: blackberry clafoutis, Austrian apple delight, peach and cherry crisp, orange and lemon soufflés, and many more

Crêpes, Waffles, and Fritters: crepes suzette, waffles with baked plums, rice and apple fritters, and many more

Pastries: pecan baklava, apple turnovers, hazelnut cream puffs with chocolate sauce, ice cream profiteroles, and many more

Savarins and Brioches: raspberry cream savarin, rum babas with cinnamon cream, filled raspberry brioche, and many more

Basic Recipes: vanilla crème anglaise, Italian sponge cake, vanilla pastry cream, and many more

Recipes are graded on a scale of 1, 2, and 3 to indicate level of difficulty. Most recipes fall into categories 1 and 2, but adventurous home chefs will want to impress guests with creations from category 3. The book's introduction includes practical suggestions regarding ingredients, preparation methods, and baking equipment. This handsome volume features a ribbon place marker, gold-tipped page edges, and more than 250 color photos.

The Golden Book of Baking: Over 300 Great Recipes

This brand-new title in Barron's lavish series of palate-pleasing and recipe-filled Golden Books conjures up those wonderful pastry shops of Paris--rich with heavenly aromas and delights that gratify both the eye and the taste buds. The Golden Book of Baking presents 300 glorious recipes and color photos that guide home chefs toward perfection in the art of creating and enjoying the very finest baked delicacies. The kitchen-proven recipes are categorized as follows:

Cookies, Bars, and Brownies: raspberry delights, Bavarian apple cones, marbled cream cheese squares, and many more

Small Cakes: apple and pecan cupcakes, strawberry cream cupcakes, pecan and banana friands, and many more

Butter Cakes: basic pound cake, double chocolate pound cake, pecan crunch yogurt cake, upside-down apple cake, and many more

Layer Cakes: tricolored cake, Black Forest cake, strawberry cream gâteau, and many more

Pies and Tarts: lemon and lime meringue pie, chocolate and hazelnut tart, fruits of the forest pie, coconut cream tart, and many more

Pastries: almond bows, coffee éclaires, almond and walnut baklava, peach puff, and many more

Yeast Cakes: apple crumble kuchen, stollen, brioche, chocolate chelsea buns, and many more

Savories: scones, spicy Thai rolls, pepper and olive tart, ham and onion spirals, and many more

This book's team of three expert authors have graded their recipes for classic and modern baked delicacies on a scale of 1, 2, and 3 to indicate level of difficulty. Most recipes fall into categories 1 and 2, but adventurous home chefs who think they can match the expertise of Paris's finest pâtisseries are invited to test their skill by attempting challenging recipes like the Red Fruit Dacquoise layer cake, or a baking sheet filled with authentically French Chocolate Éclairs! The book's introduction includes important recommendations regarding ingredients, preparation methods, and baking equipment. More than 300 full-page, taste-tempting color photos show each baked delicacy, fresh from the oven and ready to serve and enjoy. This handsome volume features a ribbon place marker and gold-tipped page edges.

The Golden Book of Baking: Over 300 Great Recipes

This brand-new title in Barron's lavish series of palate-pleasing and recipe-filled Golden Books conjures up those wonderful pastry shops of Paris--rich with heavenly aromas and delights that gratify both the eye and the taste buds. The Golden Book of Baking presents 300 glorious recipes and color photos that guide home chefs toward perfection in the art of creating and enjoying the very finest baked delicacies. The kitchen-proven recipes are categorized as follows:

Cookies, Bars, and Brownies: raspberry delights, Bavarian apple cones, marbled cream cheese squares, and many more

Small Cakes: apple and pecan cupcakes, strawberry cream cupcakes, pecan and banana friands, and many more

Butter Cakes: basic pound cake, double chocolate pound cake, pecan crunch yogurt cake, upside-down apple cake, and many more

Layer Cakes: tricolored cake, Black Forest cake, strawberry cream gâteau, and many more

Pies and Tarts: lemon and lime meringue pie, chocolate and hazelnut tart, fruits of the forest pie, coconut cream tart, and many more

Pastries: almond bows, coffee éclaires, almond and walnut baklava, peach puff, and many more

Yeast Cakes: apple crumble kuchen, stollen, brioche, chocolate chelsea buns, and many more

Savories: scones, spicy Thai rolls, pepper and olive tart, ham and onion spirals, and many more

This book's team of three expert authors have graded their recipes for classic and modern baked delicacies on a scale of 1, 2, and 3 to indicate level of difficulty. Most recipes fall into categories 1 and 2, but adventurous home chefs who think they can match the expertise of Paris's finest pâtisseries are invited to test their skill by attempting challenging recipes like the Red Fruit Dacquoise layer cake, or a baking sheet filled with authentically French Chocolate Éclairs! The book's introduction includes important recommendations regarding ingredients, preparation methods, and baking equipment. More than 300 full-page, taste-tempting color photos show each baked delicacy, fresh from the oven and ready to serve and enjoy. This handsome volume features a ribbon place marker and gold-tipped page edges.