Book Review Small Batch Baking

Small Batch Baking 60 Sweet and Savory Recipes to Satisfy Your Craving by Saura Kline

Rockridge Press Paperback – 2021

Have I ever said it is hard to cook for two?  It is!  Sometimes I crave something sweet when I am by myself and it is so hard to bake a million cookies or a great big cake. My hubby and I both have a big sweet tooth each.  My first reaction is to give all the extra to our grown children (who resent it because they are on diets!).   I hate to waste. So I often end up going without.  Not a good solution.  And it isn't just the small family, sometimes big families have different tastes, so why bake a large amount of something when you can do two different dishes to satisfy everyone's cravings?  The title of this drew me, because I've found it hard to find cookbooks for the smaller sizes.  

This cookbook has it.  Okay, yes you can take a recipe and scale it down, but why when someone else has done it for you? I've often tried to scale down and gotten the measurements wrong and ruined the whole thing.  The recipes included in the book are pretty good too.  Interesting and not too hard to follow.  And it isn't just sweet dishes, but a few savory breads are included too.  Recipes range from breads and biscuits to muffins and cupcakes, to cookies, pies, pastries and turnovers.  My favorite was the mini pumpkin pies.  I had just frozen my own pumpkin puree and it was easy to use the 1/2 cup pumpkin puree.

The author states, "I've been working in restaurants for more than a decade, and it's literally my job to come up with new and exciting desserts.  I also create and share recipes on my dessert blog Home - Sweet Saura, and in the past couple of years, I've written two pie cookbooks.  Dessert is my passion, and sharing my creations with the world has been a dream come true."

So if you are in need of smaller baking sizes you might want to try this out.  It is handy to have on your shelf when that craving hits.  I also like that you don't have to buy special equipment or kitchen supplies. The author assures you that you can do it with what you have on hand.

I will have to go right now.  There's a recipe I must try from the book, 6 Earl Grey Cupcakes with Rosemary-Honey frosting.  Doesn't that sound divine?