The New Good Cake Book: Over 125 Delicious Recipes That Can Be Prepared in 30 Minutes or Less

"With its unfussy instructions and interesting variations, this book could lure cake-mix aficionados toward real home baking." — San Francisco Chronicle

"Let them eat cake" takes on mouth-watering proportions in Diana Dalsass's guide to baking made easy. Forget those fluffy layers, those hard-to-find ingredients and complicated cooking instructions; here are more than 125 recipes for cakes that can stand alone, requiring no icings to make them appealing. Whatever your mood, the occasion, or the season, Dalsass has the cake for you. Try tempting your guests or delighting yourself with Peach and Plum Cake, Guinness Spice Cake, or the elegant Ribbons of Chocolate Cake. In plain language, Dalsass gives a thorough treatment to every imaginable aspect of the baking process, delivering both innovation and simplicity. You'll find rich and hearty cakes, reduced-fat cakes to please even the reluctantly health conscious, and as an added attraction, sections on biscotti and bar cakes. "Ms. Dalsass' recipe for what she considers the world's best brownie comes close." — The New York Times "Home cooks should find these cakes as gratifying to make as they are to munch." — Publishers Weekly

Also available: New Chocolate Classics A selection of the Good Cook Book Club.

Vinegar: Over 400 Various, Versatile, and Very Good Uses You've Probably Never Thought Of

Vinegar is a health remedy, a neutralizer, a cleaner, a condiment, and a preservative. It can kill bacteria, mold, and germs, yet it is environmentally safe. This comprehensive guide covers all types and uses of vinegar, including how to make flavored varieties and using it as the basis for kids' science projects. A full index and whimsical illustrations make the book informative and fun.

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 .

Baking with Agave Nectar: Over 100 Recipes Using Nature's Ultimate Sweetener

If you haven't discovered agave nectar, you're in for a delectable surprise. This natural, low-glycemic sweetener is a revelation for diabetics, parents of young children, and anyone else who wants to cut down on refined sugar but still enjoy deep, real, satisfying sweetness.  Baking with Agave Nectar is bursting with more than 100 recipes for muffins, sweet breads, cookies, cakes, ice creams and sorbets, pies and tarts, sauces and frostings, and other special desserts. With scrumptious gluten-free, vegan, low-fat (or nonfat), and whole foods–based treats, as well as healthier (but still decadent tasting) versions of old favorites, there is truly something here for everyone. An ample glossary and resources section--with ingredients used in whole foods, vegan, and gluten-free baking--will help you make all your desserts a little (or a lot) healthier.  Once you start baking with agave nectar, you'll find endless possibilities for adding utterly delicious sweet treats to a healthy diet.

Mary Berry's Baking Bible: Over 250 Classic Recipes

Filled with 250 foolproof recipes of every variety, this comprehensive cookbook is packed with delicious baking ideas. Tempting muffins, scones, and breads are included along with Marry Berry’s famous cake recipes, including Victoria Sponge, Very Best Chocolate Cake, and Hazelnut Meringue Cake. Full-color photographs and illustrations that detail trickier steps are accompanied by easy-to-follow instructions and handy tips, making this an ideal resource for kitchen novices and more experienced cooks alike.

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.

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda: Over 100 Helpful Household Hints

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda: Over 100 Helpful Household Hints is a handy reference guide that offers more than 100 ways to use baking soda throughout the home and yard. Whether in the kitchen, the laundry room, or the garage, you'll be amazed at what baking soda can do. The book is divided into 10 sections to make it easy to find the household hint you need:

• Clean and Fresh Kitchens suggests solutions for tackling grease and eliminating odors in the kitchen.
• Baking Soda Throughout the House offers tips on cleaning walls and washing windows.
• Beautifying Your Bathroom features a recipe for a basic bathroom cleaning, plus ways to tidy up the toilet, bathtub, and sink with Arm & Hammer Baking Soda.
• Care for Clothing covers the ways baking soda can help in the laundry room, such as pretreating stains and boosting detergents.
• Health and Beauty with Baking Soda gives tips on soaking tired feet and freshening teeth.
• Dogs, Cats, and Other Critters provides suggestions for cleaning up accidents and bathing pets.
• Baby Care features ways clean and deodorize all things baby, including accidents, toys, and bottles.
• Baking Soda for Kids Big and Small offers Arm & Hammer uses during kid play, from clay projects to jewelry making.
• Cooking offers recipe substitutions and food preparation tips.
• Outdoors and the Open Road suggests ways to test garden soil, clean lawn furniture, and deodorize sleeping bags.

Arm & Hammer Baking Soda: Over 100 Helpful Household Hints has a thick, coated cover that stands up to spills and heavy use. A durable spiral binding allows the book to lie flat when open, making it easier to follow each helpful hint or recipe.

Baking Soda: Over 500 Fabulous, Fun, and Frugal Uses You've Probably Never Thought Of (Lansky, Vicki)

Baking soda gets its due in this fun collection gathered by Vicki Lansky and her readers over more than twenty years. From making an omelette extra fluffy or deodorizing those musty household smells, to improving flossing and mouth freshness or washing clay flower pots without leaving residue, the book offers hundreds of tips for making the most of this environmentally friendly and inexpensive product.

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.