BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts

I have really been enjoying this book. So far, I've made the oreos, twinkies, hostess cupcakes, buttermilk biscuits, chocolate chunk cookies, mcdonald's apple turnovers, donettes, milky way midnight, and am in the middle of making three musketeers. I will be making many more things from this book. With a lot of cookbooks, I wind up making only a small handful of the recipes. With BraveTart, I want to make almost everything. I have had very good results with the recipes. Any issues seem to come from my not following instructions to the letter and not from the recipes themselves. For instance, when I made the chocolate chunk cookies, it appears I didn't cream the butter long enough, and got a different result than expected. Still delicious, but thin and crispy instead of thicker and chewier. Trying it again, paying closer attention to the butter creaming instructions fixed the problem. Other recipes that seem like they should be tricky, like nougat and caramel for candy bars, worked without any troubles whatsoever. I really love the historical deep dives in the book -- tracing chocolate chip cookies back to the 1880s, describing the original three musketeer bars with three flavors of nougat, and so on. The food history seems really well researched. It's a great complement to the recipes, and the writing is excellent. Stella has also been a huge help with questions and troubleshooting on twitter -- first time I've had near-real-time tech support with a cookbook, even helping with "emergency" ingredient substitutions.

This wasn't quite the book I expected. Despite the full name of the book, including Iconic *American* Desserts, I had it in my head that this book would include her amazing instructions for macarons, plus a lot of other intriguing recipes. This was not that book. Instead, I received wonderful history lessons on some of the classic American desserts, both homemade and commercially produced, along with recipes that delivered nostalgic flavors with some updates for modern palates. I also appreciate the science she includes to explain why recipes work. So far, I've made the Chocolate Cream Pie. Stella won me over with this recipe alone. She suggested topping the pie with meringue, as this was both more traditional and a better compliment to the filling than the whipped cream topping we are used to. Chocolate Meringue pie happens to be my husband's absolute favorite. Her chocolate filling was rich with egg yolks, and included both chocolate and cocoa powder for a chocolately one-two punch. I had made a chocolate filling like this once before, by cobbling together a couple recipes, but had never been able to quite replicate it. This was my first foray into a cooked meringue. Stella made it easy with her clear instructions. The meringue was fluffy and made my house smell like toasted marshmallows when baking. I love how this meringue does not weep. I did have some issues with the pie crust. It came together easily, but my kitchen was a little on the warm side which made rolling the dough a bit tricky. The crust shrunk a bit too. I think this was mostly user error, so I'll try again and update. Next time I'll chill the dough before rolling if my kitchen is warm, and be more generous with the flour. Some folks pointed out that her measurements are in ounces instead of grams. I agree with this critique. My scale is sensitive to single grams, but only to 1/8th of an ounce (nearly 4 grams!).

So I've only made one recipe, but just the one recipe is worth the whole book!!! The apple pie recipe was amazing!! The best apple pie recipe I have ever made. The crust is crazy flaky and the technique actually resulted in a crispy bottom! No soggy mess from weepy apples. It actually took me several hours to make, however. I started the crust the night before because it needed to be refrigerated both before rolling out and after. The apples also needed to be desiccated over-night. But what a difference! I can't believe I didn't take a picture but the next time I make it I will post. Everyone was impressed! Can't wait to try the rest of the recipes!!

A very good cookbook! It is full of recipes, history, and baking tips. Even experienced baker are sure to learn something new. The book itself is sturdy, stays open as you work from the recipe, and has good pictures.

I made the pineapple upside down cake. Easy and delicious. Lots of good baking tips.

Stella knows her stuff and is super-helpful on social media but some of these recipes made me question my sanity. First, there are some amazing ones in here -- cinnamon rolls and red wine velvet cake come to mind -- and I've made maybe 9 or 10 recipes so far. Her copycat recipes are supposedly terrific but I haven't gotten deep into those yet. There are some considerations for beginner bakers, though. First, there's the specialized equipment and ingredients -- custom cheesecake pan, 3" tall cake pans, oat flour, potato flour (for yellow cake!), rum extract, vanilla beans, organic powdered sugar, orange blossom water, malt extract, golden syrup, and all sorts of chocolate percentages. Not to say these are unreasonable but definitely research your recipe before you make it to make sure you have everything or to find substitutes. Second, there's the alchemy for some of these. There's a good bit of candy making and precise temperatures so if you don't have an instant thermometer AND a clip-on, get them. I've made the fudge frosting for the yellow cake twice now and still not sure I'm getting it right. That leads to the third. I wish there were more step-by-step pictures, especially for the less familiar recipes. How soft is "extra soft" peaks for the angel food cake? What should the fudge frosting look like at different stages (this isn't fudge-flavored frosting, this is FUDGE mixed with butter, so you're making candy, basically)? Obviously that one's bugging me. To summarize, there are some truly delectable recipes in here that are next-level and amazingly delicious. Then there are some in here that make you wonder whether it's really worth it -- and I don't mean the copycat recipes like Oreos or Pop Tarts -- I think the people who review "why would you do those if you can buy them" just don't get it. What I mean is buying a bag of potato flour to add one tablespoon to yellow cake and wondering if it's really *that* different; or getting three types of premium chocolate to make cookies (otherwise you're not *really* following the recipe). I don't expect Stella to compromise her recipes but I think beginner bakers might want to be ready for this. I'll tell you what though, after making a few of these recipes, you'll feel like you just graduated from boot camp. I mean, this is next-level stuff but still very accessible to home bakers. You will get to know techniques and flavors that you're baking buddies don't. I'll also add that Stella is a great storyteller. I love the history of the different recipes and products. She really brings together the provenance of these bakes in a way that's both entertaining and informative and makes you feel like you're a part of history. All in all, get this book. It's like no other and will definitely up your game. Just have a straitjacket standing by just in case.

I was SOLD when I saw all the previews of what the book had to offer. All of these famous/popular store bought candy and desserts, but a HOMEMADE version! Goodbye preservatives, goodbye artificial crap that comes from buying those delicious snacks. Now- you CONTROL what kind of ingredients go into this highly popular snacks! Glancing through the pages, I was not expecting to see that she would go as far as including a highly detailed information about the history and origin of all these “iconic” desserts. It’s not just a book of recipes, but a legit book to read about random interesting things about all of our favorite brand candies & desserts! The book is thick & filled with lots of information and lots of recipes. I do wish that there were more pictures, but its still not all that bad with the photos that are included. Such a cool cook book, probably going to end up getting my sister one if the recipes turn out legit and delicious! I suppose the rating can go down if the recipes dont work out well.. Hoping that it wont disappoint me. I am SUPER excited that try them! 9/12 I’ve made the homemade OREOS, the flavors were not even close to the flavor of an oreo, but it was still DELICIOUS. Like a high-end version of an oreo to me! (As seen in photo) I’ve also made the Mcdonald’s Apple Pie, & that was delicious as well! I used her recipe for pie crust for these apple pies, & they were phenomenal! Flaky, crispy, apple pies! Yummy! (As seen in photo) 8/30/18- First time making and baking the upsidedown pineapplecake! First time tasting an upside down pineapple cake! Omgosh- it was heaven! Stella- you are awesome!

I first learned about Stella Parks through the Serious Eats website and loved the recipes she was posting so I had to get my hands on her cookbook when it came out. I've since made many a recipe from this book and love it so much I have gifted it to my mom and brother so they to can enjoy the genius that is Stella Parks. I just made her Ultimate Chocolate version of the Rice Krispie treats and they are the Bomb.com! I love the many different variations on the same recipes in her book to help keep it interesting. The recipes I've made from the book so far are the: Rice Krispie Treats (Ultimate Chocolate and Malted Milk) versions, Cinnamon Rolls (the smell of the cinnamon mixture is to die for and the taste is the same), Snickerdoodles (Bacon-Bacon version), Glossy Fudge Brownies, English Muffins (I love the crunch from the cornmeal on these so much), Pecan Sandies, Chopped Chocolate Chip Cookies (Brown Butter Malted Milk Chocolate version...OMG!!!!) Honey Roasted Peanut Butter Cookies (amazing peanut butter flavor), No Stress All-Butter Pastry Crust ( the flakiest ever!), Malted White Chocolate Cream Pie with Marshmallow Meringue (I made this for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit), Crispy Whole Wheat Graham Crackers (Totally worth the effort), Homemade Oreo cookies (OMG!!!!), Homemade Lofthouse-Style Cookies ( They taste exactly like the ones in the store), and last but not least Homemade Cracker Jack (this recipe was the hardest for me, but I suck at making caramel and I think if you show weakness the sugar knows it and won't play along. I did get it to turn out, but I definitely think it should have been better. I was having issues with hot spots in my pan that made some of the sugar burn before the other sugar was at the right temp. All in all I think any home baker can enjoy this book and have fun making multiple recipes to wow their friends and family. I look forward to tackling more recipes from this book in the near future! Thanks Stella:)

A única coisa q me incomodou no livro foi o fato de não usar gramas como medidas

Compre la versión digital hace varios años, pero recientemente adquirí la versión física por que es uno de mis libros de cocina favoritos y fue uno de los que me ayudo a aprender a hornear. Los postres presentados son clásicos en la cocina americana, recetas para bocadillos americanos como las galletas oreo, recetas de helado, recetas para manjares como crema batida o leche condensada, y, además, cada receta incluye variantes para jugar con distintos sabores o su versión sin gluten. Por ejemplo, la receta de pay de coco incluye una variante para hacer pay de chocolate blanco, mientras que la de rollos de canela incluye variantes para rollos de chocolate y sticky buns. El libro no sólo incluye recetas, también incluye el contexto histórico (citando varias fuentes) de varios de los postres presentados en el mismo, además de técnicas y explicaciones precisas sobre porque usar ciertos ingredientes, cierto equipo o utensilios de cierto material. Un ejemplo, es malo batir mezclas con jugo de lima o limón con o en utensilios de metal ya que los mismos añaden un sabor metálico a la receta. Un pequeño detalle es que ciertos ingredientes pueden ser difícil de conseguir en el país. Entre ellos están: brown sugar (se puede encontrar con ese nombre o azúcar rubia, la azúcar morena no es buen sustituto y es mejor un azúcar mascabado de color café claro, como la zulka, si la receta pide light brown sugar), cake flour (se vende como harina extra fina, el mismo libro menciona que sustituir con harina normal y maizena no funciona), malted milk powder o kinako (no he encontrado un sustituto exacto, pero me ha funcionado la leche de soja en polvo), dutch porcessed cocoa powder (hoy en día es más común, se puede encontrar como cocoa alcanina o alcalinizada) o bien, buttermilk (aquí un buen sustituto que menciona el libro es yogurt griego sin grasa y sin endulzar). Los puedes exportar o pedir a un tercero, claro, pero a veces terminando siendo demasiado caros. Considerando esto, me parece un excelente libro.

This is my favourite baking book. I had never heard of this book or Stella Parks until recently but I now recommend her book to everyone and follow her work on Serious Eats closely. Every recipe I've made out of this book has turned out (I know right, a cookbook with recipes that turn out!) and to be honest I enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoy baking from it. Stella goes into a lot of detail about the historical origins of different baked items and the pictures are beautiful. Highly recommend.

Received book in good condition, yet to look thru. Hope it is interesting,it is quite a thick book. Thank you very much seller.

Beyond containing the tastiest recipes I’ve made in memory, this book provides such an invaluable knowledge foundation on which you can build the rest of your baking life. Need the perfect white cake recipe? It’s in here. Want to take that recipe and make it completely your own with all the tools you’ll need to modify? It’s all here. I made Stella’s coconut cake last year from her post on Serious Eats and figured I’d peaked as a baker. I thought I’d buy the book as a thank-you for being so generous in sharing it with such an incredible level of detail. In the back of my mind I figured even if there wasn’t anything in the book as good I’d still be ahead. This whole book is that good. How, Stella?! I’m not even that interested in making my own Oreos or Snickerdoodles (but obviously I will). So, better-than-copycat recipes aside, and with no small amount of awe at the historical research that went into this book, I just hope that my six-year-old continues to love baking with her dad and that we can tear through these recipes together for years.