Barbara Fairchild

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Fairchild, Barbara (text) & Con Poulos (photogs.). Bon Appétit Desserts: The Cookbook for All Things Sweet and Wonderful. Andrews McMeel. 2010. 689p. photogs. index. ISBN 9780740793523. $40. COOKING
Bon Appétit magazine has been a tried-and-true classic for over 50 years and still manages to stay relevant today. Fairchild, editor in chief since 2000, has gathered over 600 recipes from the magazine's archives into one gargantuan volume. Fans of the magazine as well as all levels of bakers are going to love the variety and depth of coverage. Recipes from the traditional (cakes, pies, and cookies) to the original (ice creams, flans, and soufflés) insure that there's something here for everyone. Especially useful are the extras like how to stock your pantry, techniques, conversion charts and equivalents, and two indexes: the traditional alphabetical index and one organized by difficulty rating.
Verdict This all-inclusive volume is practical, pretty to look at, and well constructed with thick, durable paper that should be suitable for a busy circulating collection.—Jane Hebert, Orange Cty. Lib. Syst., Orlando, FL… (meer)

Bon Apetit Desserts is a big, huge, beautiful book packed with recipes for every type of dessert you could ever want to make. More than 600 recipes are included, most from the archives of the magazines, but a few new ones as well. With that many recipes all in one place you will find every kind of cake, pie, pudding, tart, cookie, candy and cheesecake. Here are a few of the ones I tried out:

Chocolate -Peanut Butter Cake with Cream Cheese and Butterfinger Frosting
Wow! This is an over-the-top indulgent, special occasion cake. I made the cake 1 day ahead, then filled and frosted it the next day. It was everything I wanted, rich, pretty, and absolutely delicious.

Cranberry-Lime Tart

This pretty tart is the perfect ending to a Thanksgiving dinner. The cranberry and lime give it a nice, light flavor and the white chocolate cream sweetens it up a bit. It does require some planning ahead, so be sure to read the recipe carefully.

Lime Snowball Cookies

These are one of my all-time favorite cookies. They look just like regular snowball cookies, so the hit of lime comes as a surprise. You can make them with any kind of citrus. They always end up on my cookie trays because they are so unique and easy to make.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Crumble Squares

These were another big Thanksgiving dinner hit. They are four layers but really pretty quick and easy to put together. I loved everything about these bars, the crispy pecan crust, the sweet pumpkin filling, and the tangy topping. I will make these over and over!

I love this cookbook! Unlike many compilations that have mostly standard recipes with a few interesting ones thrown in, this book is packed with creative, unusual desserts and lots of beautiful photos. I have some many marked to try - Fig and Rum Squares, Chocolate Stout Cake, Pear-Cardamom Pie with Almond Crust, and Mexican Chocolate Cherry Rounds.… (meer)