Allyson Reedy - 50 Things to Bake Before You Die: The Worlds Best Cakes, Pies, Brownies, Cookies, and More from Your Favorite Bakers, Including Christina Tosi, Joanne Chang, and Dominique Ansel

The Worlds Best Cakes, Pies, Brownies, Cookies, and More

From Your Favorite Bakers

Including Christina Tosi, Joanne Chang, and Dominique Ansel

50 Things to Bake

Before You Die

Allyson Reddy

Text copyright 2022 Allyson Reedy. Design and concept copyright 2022 Ulysses Press and its licensors. All rights reserved. Any unauthorized duplication in whole or in part or dissemination of this edition by any means (including but not limited to photocopying, electronic devices, digital versions, and the internet) will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Published by:

Ulysses Press

PO Box 3440

Berkeley, CA 94703

www.ulyssespress.com

ISBN: 978-1-64604-331-6

ISBN: 978-1-6460-4334-7 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021946400

Acquisitions: Casie Vogel

Managing editor: Claire Chun

Project editor: Kierra Sondereker

Proofreader: Phyllis Elving

Front cover and interior design: Raquel Castro

Layout: Jake Flaherty

Interior photography: Greg McBoat except Courtney Perry

NOTE TO READERS: This book is independently authored and published and no sponsorship or endorsement of this book by, and no affiliation with, any trademarked brands or other products mentioned within is claimed or suggested. All trademarks that appear in this book belong to their respective owners and are used here for informational purposes only. The author and publisher encourage readers to patronize the quality brands mentioned in this book.

I know what youre thinking: What kind of morbid chick puts bakingthe sweetest, the most sublime of lifes pleasuresin the same sentence as death? Cant we just have our cake without being confronted with our ever-hastening mortality, too?

I get it. I, too, value baked goods and detest the fact that someday I will cease to exist. (And, therefore, taste.)

Which is exactly why this book is so critical. What if I took my last breath without experiencing the revelation that is Nutella stuffed into salty, brown-buttery, chocolate chip cookies? Would my life have been wasted had I not bit into the creamy coconut cheesecake with dulce de leche on ?

This collection of recipesgifted to us from the greatest bakers and chefs, from small-town cafes to fancy restaurants to TV show hostsis a call to arms, to action, to revolution! Or, at the very least, a call to turn on the oven.

This book is designed for baking mortals like myself. I cannot make a perfectly crimped pie crust, and my cakes dont look like works of art, or even works of a third grader. Some of the photos in this cookbook are of my creations, and others are from the creators of the recipes. You can most certainly tell the difference. The point of this book, though, isnt to make the most beautiful lemon layer cake but to make the tastiest, and that should be accessible to all levels of bakers.

Trust me when I say that if I can bake it, you can bake it. Im not what youd typically expect of a food writerI have no formal cooking experience. (OK fine, I dont have much informal cooking experience either.) I am a food enthusiast, not an expert, but I like to think that my intense passion for eating makes up for my lack of skill in the kitchen. What Im good at is making food fun; encouraging people to try new dishes and think about ingredients and restaurants differently.

In this cookbook, I hope to encourage you to try new things, too. Some of these recipes are easy and familiar, while others are super intimidating and will have you feeling like a superhero when you complete them. Bake them all! I mean, why not? Its not like your life is going to be worse for having a plate of fudgy brownies in front of you.

Ive grouped the recipes into five categoriesCookies, Cakes, Pies/Tarts, Things You Eat with Your Hands, and Things You Probably Shouldnt Eat with Your Handsbecause it seemed like that covered all of the dessert-y bases. I left out total recipe times because for one, theyre never accurate. It takes me a whole lot longer than a pro baker to level a cake or figure out how to pipe a cookie, and theres nothing worse than false expectations. Take the time you need. And for another, it forces you to read the recipe all the way through before beginning so you know what to expect. Some recipes require doughs to rest for hours, or overnight. By reading the recipes ingredients and steps before you start, you will be better prepared to rock it. (And to actually have that room temperature butter at room temperature!)

With our days and hours waning, its our right as human beings to fully indulge in the very best desserts the sweet, sweet confectionary world has to offer. Because we dont have time for the third-best brownie recipe, or for the easiest chocolate souffl.

Look. Were all on the clock here. Were all just spirits in a material world, or spiritual beings having a human experience, or whatever else the wise prophets Sting and Oprah told us about our lives. So why not be the beings who eat the red velvet cake to make the human experience a little more enjoyable?

All of this is to say that I encourage you to go for it. To bake with reckless abandon, no matter how many steps the recipe asks of you. Because life isnt measured by how many breaths you take, but by how many bites of Biscoff white chocolate blondies you take. So bake them.

Before You Die.

Joanne Chang, co-owner of Flour Bakery in Boston, MA

Amy Jason, owner of Cookie Fix in Homewood, AL

Chelsey White, baking blogger and content creator (Chelsweets)

Daniel Boulud, chef and restaurateur

Allison Robicelli, food writer and cookbook author

Clyde Greenhouse, owner of Kessler Baking Studio in Dallas, TX

Kate Wood, baking blogger (Wood & Spoon)

Robin Wehl Martin, owner of Hello Robin Cookies in Seattle, WA

Cambrea Gordon, baking blogger (Cambrea Bakes)

Courtney Cowan, owner of Milk Jar Cookies in Los Angeles, CA

Agatha Kulaga and Erin Patinkin, owners of Ovenly in New York, NY

Camila Arango and Tom Wellings, Pluma by Bluebird Bakery in Washington, DC

Joanne Chang, co-owner of Flour Bakery in Boston, MA

Before Joanne Chang was a James Beard Awardwinning baker, she was just another little girl dealing with the oppressive tyranny that is a mom denying her commercially-made treats. As is the case with many of us innocent victims of moms shutting down our greatest wishes, Joanne went on to become an adult who rebelled, creating her very own version of the cookie that eluded her as a child, the prized Oreo.