Westmoreland - Good Housekeeping The Little Book of Baking 55 Homemade

Good Housekeeping

THE LITTLE BOOK OF

BAKING

55 Homemade Cookies, Cakes, Cupcakes & Pies to Make & Share

HEARST BOOKS
New York

HEARST BOOKS
New York
An Imprint of Sterling Publishing
387 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10016

Good Housekeeping is a registered trademark of Hearst Communications, Inc. Hearst Books is a trademark owned by Hearst Communications, Inc.

2012 by Hearst Communications, Inc.

Portions of this book were previously published under the title Bake It! Favorite Good Housekeeping Recipes.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-58816-977-8

Good Housekeeping
ROSEMARY ELLIS
Editor in Chief

COURTNEY MURPHY
Creative Director

SUSAN WESTMORELAND
Food Director

SAMANTHA B. CASSETTY, MS, RD
Nutrition Director

SHARON FRANKE
Kitchen Appliances & Food
Technology Director

Project editor: Sarah Scheffel

The Good Housekeeping Cookbook Seal guarantees that the recipes in this cookbook meet the strict standards of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute. The Institute has been a source of reliable information and a consumer advocate since 1900, and established its seal of approval in 1909. Every recipe has been triple-tested for ease, reliability, and great taste.

For information about custom editions, special sales, and premium and corporate purchases, please contact Sterling Special Sales at 800-805-5489 or specialsales@sterlingpublishing.com.

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www.sterlingpublishing.com

Do you remember the first thing you ever baked? Holiday sugar cookies that you cut out and decorated with your mom? Or maybe it was brownies, a project devised by your babysitter to distract you from missing your parents. For me it was shaping biscotti logs with my grandmother.

I have especially fond memories of those lopsided logs, and my sweet tooth has insured that my life in baked goods now includes myriad cookies, cakes, and pies, many of which I make again and again. Happily for me, The Little Book of Baking compiles many of these classicsfrom a downhome deep-dish apple pie to a rich chocolate layer cakealong with new favorite things. The nostalgia-steeped recipe for Hermit Bars was the hit of my sons school snack repertoire, while the Rich Chocolate Cupcakes got one of his first-grade classmates to declare, These are the best cupcakes Ive had in my whole life. To wow guests with a decadent chocolate dessert, I often serve Warm Chocolate Souffl Cakes or the Chocolate Caramel Walnut Tart, topped with dollops of whipped cream. And my freezer usually sports a few logs of cookie doughthe Lemon Slice-'n'-Bake cookie dough is a no-brainer, but the double chocolate chip, gingery snickerdoodles, and oatmeal-chocolate cherry doughs are all great freeze-and-bake options, too.

The Little Book of Baking provides you with these yummy recipes and many more, plus tips on making perfect cookies and bars, cakes and cupcakes, pies and tarts thatll help even a beginner baker turn out irresistible treats. From rolling out delectable piecrust to creating whimsical cupcakes, you will learn to become a better baker. We hope this book will encourage you to enjoy the simple pleasures of bakingand eating the results!

Susan Westmoreland
Food Director, Good Housekeeping

Crisp or chewy cookies, pretty frosted cupcakes, luscious pies and tartsrecipes for all of these are at your fingertips in The Little Book of Baking. For best results, before you begin, take a few minutes to peruse the following secrets to successful baking. In addition, see our tips at the beginning of each chapter ().

START WITH THE RIGHT INGREDIENTS

To ensure that your baked goods will taste delicious and have just the right texture, it is important to use the exact ingredients called for and to handle them properly.

* Butter vs. margarine. When a recipe calls for butter or margarine, we prefer salted butter. Do not substitute margarine for butter if a recipe does not list it as an option. For those recipes that do, if you prefer to use margarine, make sure it contains 80 percent fat. Dont substitute light margarine or vegetable-oil spreads for stick margarine, and dont use whipped butter, either. Those products contain more water than standard sticks and wont work in baked goods unless the recipes have been formulated especially for them.

* To soften butter or margarine, let it stand wrapped on a counter or unwrapped in a mixing bowl, at room temperature for an hour. You can speed up the process by cutting it into small pieces first. If youre in a hurry, the idea of popping cold butter or margarine into the microwave can be tempting, but the Test Kitchen has found that zapping butter either softens it unevenly by creating hot spots, or melts it in a blink. Butter that is melted or nearly melted will be too soft to cream properly, and will affect the texture of the finished baked goods.

* The type of flour is important. Most of these recipes call for all-purpose flour. Occasionally, a recipe will call for cake flour, which is higher in starch and will produce a more tender cake or treat. Cake and all-purpose flours are not interchangeable, so use the type of flour specified in the ingredients list. In either case, make sure the flour you are using is not self-rising.

* Baking soda vs. baking powder. Both products are leavening agentsthey make baked goods rise. Baking powder is a premeasured mixture of baking soda and an acid. (It takes twice as much baking powder as baking soda to leaven a product.) Do not substitute baking soda for baking powder or vice versa. Store both products tightly closed in their original box or tin, in a cool, dry place so they stay active. For best results, replace baking soda and baking powder after six months if you havent used them up.

* To test whether baking soda is still active, combine a teaspoonful with white vinegar; if it froths up immediately and vigorously, its active. To test whether baking powder is still active, stir a teaspoonful into a cup of hot tap water. If the water bubbles vigorously, its still fresh. In the case of both baking soda and powder, delayed, little, or no bubbling means the leavener is past its prime.

TOASTING NUTS

An easy way to make your cookies, cakes, and pies taste even better is to toast the nuts called for in the recipethis makes them more flavorful. Toast nuts whole and let them cool before chopping them, if thats specified in the recipe. These instructions work for toasting walnuts, pecans, almonds, macadamia nuts, and hazelnuts.

* Preheat the oven to 350F and position the rack in the middle. (If you arent already heating the oven for baking, you can use a toaster oven instead.)

* Spread out the nuts in a single layer on a rimmed baking pan such as a jelly-roll pan.

* Bake until the nuts are lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally so the nuts in the center of the pan circulate to the edges, where they will brown faster.