Genevieve Ko - Better Baking: Wholesome Ingredients, Delicious Desserts

T his book started with butter balls, those nutty rounds coated with powdered sugar that are also known as Russian tea cakes, Mexican wedding cookies, or Greek kourabiedes. When I was making a big batch for the holidays a few years ago, I found myself short on white flour and butter. I happened to have whole wheat and rye flours in my freezer, and I always keep extra-virgin olive oil on hand, so I decided to use them instead. Ill admit I wasnt sure how the cookies would come out. But when I tasted them, I went from apprehension to eye-rolling bliss. I hadnt imagined they could taste any better than the classic version, but they didmuch better, in fact. The whole grains highlighted the toasty nuts, while the olive oil introduced a complex richness, making the cookies even more melt-in-your-mouth. My kids, always my most honestand, therefore, harshestcritics, gave me their verdict by begging for more. Once the cookies had passed that high bar, I served them to chefs and food editors to get their professional opinions. They unanimously declared them the best theyd ever hadand requested the recipe.

I had incorporated nutritious ingredients into baked goods before, but this was the first time I realized how many of my friends prefer them that wayand wanted more recipes like them. And although Id never consciously thought about it, I realized that I hadnt been enjoying traditional desserts the way I once had. They tasted one-dimensional, like little more than butter and sugar.

After a lifetime of baking at home and more than a decade of doing so professionally, Ive discovered that wholesome ingredients make desserts more delicious when used in the right proportions and with the proper techniques. In this book, Ive taken my favoritescomforting American classics, elegant European sweets, and treats inspired by my Chinese heritageand introduced fuller flavors and more nuanced textures by adding nuts and seeds, fruits and sweet vegetables, whole grains, and good fats and dairy.

Whenever possible, I swap out butter for oil, in whole or in part. I still love butter, but I add only as much as needed for the milky taste and the tender crumb. Because oils are pure fat (butter is a mixture of fat and liquid), I can actually use less to deliver just as much richness. In other recipes, I swap in dairy products like cream and sweet cheeses for butter or oil, resulting in especially soft and flavorful pastries. Sometimes desserts made with lower-fat milk, buttermilk, or yogurt turn out even better than their full-fat counterparts. For one thing, their higher water content keeps the crumb moist and less gummy. And in lemon pudding cakes, for example, low-fat milk brightens the taste of the fruit and brings it to the fore.

Whole wheat flours, ancient grains, and gluten-free cereals and seedssometimes balanced with just enough all-purpose flour for lightnessdeliver nutty notes, especially when paired with fruit. Buckwheat makes juicy blueberries shine in a buckle, and rye in a flaky piecrust highlights the sweet-tartness of the apples in the filling. To accentuate the taste of the star ingredients, other recipes drop the grains altogether, relying instead on ground nuts. Peanut butter cookies taste more peanutty without any flour. The flavor of chocolate, in both solid and cocoa powder form, becomes even more pronounced in flourless sweets like brownies and mousse cake. And intensifying flavor had the side benefit of making many of my desserts gluten-free or even dairy-free.

Cane and beet sugar are unparalleled in their ability to add sweetness and moisture to baked goods. As much as possible, though, the recipes in this book use a variety of less-processed sugars, from fruits to honey or maple syrup to raw sugar or coconut palm sugaringredients that add bigger, deeper flavors while delivering vitamins and minerals.

I love efficiency nearly as much as I love baking, so I cut out extra bowls and appliances wherever I can, streamline steps, and make cleanup easier. The better in Better Baking refers just as much to the foolproof techniques and shortcuts in this book as it does to the tastier treats themselves.

Theres nothing more satisfying than biting into a warm chocolate chip cookie (there are half a dozen different ones here!), unless its knowing your indulgence is full of good-for-you ingredients. The act of bakingand of eating and sharing baked goodsis all about pleasure, and this book is an abundant celebration of that.

INGREDIENTS

GOOD FATS

All oils can go rancid, so they should be stored in a cool, dark place. If you can buy them in opaque containers, all the better, to protect them from light. Since you also use these oils in savory cooking, you should be able to finish a bottle of oil before it turns. If you dont use much oil generally, buy small bottles.

TYPE	TASTE	PREFERRED VARIETY
olive	ranges from mild and savory to intense and bitter	Spanish Arbequina, for its fruity notes
neutral	tasteless	grapeseed, for its clean neutral taste; sunflower seed is good too
nut	nutty, full-bodied, rich	toasted, especially for walnut oil
coconut	tropical, nutty	virgin or extra-virgin in solid form (will melt at warm room temperature)

FLOURS AND GRAINS