BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts by Stella Parks

BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts Reviews

• 
  Jenny

  I don't usually read cookbooks, I just skim through for recipes I might like to try. This one is full of history, and the reasoning and science behind the recipes. I learned, for example, why certain flours work better than others, and why using a kitchen scale is better than a measuring cup in a lot of instances. The author also just has an engaging way of writing.
  
  I made the Apple cider variation of the white cake, with bourbon marshmallow buttercream frosting. The recipe was easy to follow, with the potential pitfalls spelled out in advance, along with how to troubleshoot problems. This made me confident in trying it, and the result was way too good. Thank goodness cake freezes, or I would be adding five pounds in a couple of days.
  
  I recommend this for new and experienced bakers, or anyone who just wants to make their own Oreo cookies or Snickers bars. Next recipe for me is the one for English muffins.
• 
  LAPL Reads

  It is that time of year when many of us want to serve up homemade sweets for family and friends, but the clock is ticking, and what are you going to do? Is it too late? No, it is not and you can trust CIA-trained, award-winning pastry chef, Stella Parks, who is Senior Editor at SeriousEats.com. She loves desserts and is here to help all of us make good tasting ones from scratch, and have fun doing it: "And that's my deal--I love American dessert, in all its cozy splendor, every messy, unpretentious bite." She wants us to enjoy the process and the product. There are recipes for classic American desserts, many of them commercially produced, name-brand products that we remember tasting oh-so-good years ago. Parks' recipes revive the wonderful flavor, texture and aroma.
  
  Chapters cover the following: Cookies & Candy; Pies; Doughnuts; Classic American Brands (commercially produced, but these recipes produce a better tasting product) that cover cookies, snacks, puddings, breakfast treats, candies & candy bars; an entire section on Classic American Ice Cream. Each dessert has the basic recipe, with several variations added, and gluten-free versions where applicable.There is a section on professional baking techniques, ingredients and equipment. She adds her advice on how to measure, sift, incorporate ingredients and prepare baking pans. The book includes a notable bibliography, an index, and is illustrated with color photographs.
  
  This is a cookbook and a history about classic American desserts. Parks is as passionate about food history as she is about baking. S'mores may be fun around a campfire, however "the chocolate never fully melts." There is a simple solution for making them especially yummy at home, and not that difficult. Perfect fudge? In the book. She pooh-poohs the idea about the history of cheesecake going back to ancient Greece, and roots it in19th century America. Red Velvet Cake, Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies and Cracker Jack are among the commercial products for which she has developed her own recipes. The book can be read sequentially or at random. The writing is humorous and serious, and the recipes have been tested many times over by Parks. This book is a must for those who love to bake and for foodies.
  
  If all copies of the book are checked out, and you are in a pinch for some recipes, there are many other recipes on this website: BraveTart's Recipe Box. Stella Parks says, "I hope you bake like crazy."
  
  Reviewed by Sheryn Morris, Librarian, Central Library
• 
  Chandra

  I bought this book (along with some others) in an attempt to educate myself on the ins and outs of baking. Of all the books I own on baking, this one hands down has the most enticing looking recipes. The approach here is, as the title suggests, 'Iconic American Desserts'. But, of course, with the chef/author's personal touch. The are 9 sections and at least a hundred recipes (way more if you include the variations she suggests). It is a *very* visually appealing book - something that is extremely important to me in a cookbook. I'm not personally super interested in the ice cream section, and I'm mildly intrigued but unsure if I'll tackle the candy recipes, but I'm very excited about the cookies, cakes, pies, etc.
  
  As for the contents - I appreciated the explanation of weighing vs. measuring in baking, and I also liked the guide on ingredients and equipment. I bought some of the things she suggests and, so far, I've been pleased with their usefulness. But the real treasure are all the detailed and entertaining-to-read histories she includes for each dessert. That alone feels worth the price of admission!
  
  But...it is a cookbook so the recipes must be easy to follow and taste great! So, I tackled my first recipe today: White Chocolate Butterscotch Blondies.
  
  I will admit that I started out feeling a bit disgruntled because one ingredient was not super easy to locate - Malted Milk Powder. I had to hit five different stores. I wish she'd explained why this particular ingredient was necessary or perhaps offer subs, but that's really quibbling because I did find it, and Malted Milk Powder truly isn't exotic - just hard to locate in Chapel Hill, NC for some reason! All that aside, the ingredients and instructions are detailed and clear. The mixture came together easily and made my kitchen smell heavenly. The final product was absolutely divine - chewy and decadent!
  
  As with all my cookbook recipes, I'll keep at it and report back with any changes!
  
  **Update 7/3/22
  
  My love affair with this book continues. I've now tried the following recipes with great success: snickerdoodles (best I've ever had and a new favorite), marshmallows (an intimidating recipe made so easy!), and brownies (I've really botched homemade brownies in the past, and these were divine).
• 
  Grace

  Incredibly detailed and comprehensive, this tome takes you through the history of classic American desserts, providing detailed recipes complete with troubleshooting and optional variations. Most (I think maybe even all?) have notes on how to make the recipes gluten free and most (if not all?) are obviously vegetarian, though not a ton of vegan options here, which is to be expected. Lie-flat binding and most recipes have pictures, though I could have used a few more. You'll learn how to make everything from homemade snickers bars & pop tarts, to vanilla cake, cherry pie, and ice cream. Personally, I found this to not be a particularly useful book in terms of my own baking, as most of these baked goods I either already have a solid recipe that I love, or they're too fussy to realistically plan on making. But I did bookmark several, and it's absolutely a masterpiece of a cookbook.
• 
  Steph Granillo

  I discovered Stella Parks through Serious Eats after realizing that every single one of my favorite recipes was created by her. I then started following her on Instagram after seeing her photos of the creation process behind the most drool-inducing desserts. I then received this cookbook for my birthday and proceeded to drool and squeal with excitement at every recipe I saw.
  
  Stella Parks didn't write just a typical recipe book with beautiful photos and perfect American desserts(from cherry pie to Little Debbie's oatmeal cookies!). Stella Parks wrote a book complete with the histories of said desserts (I didn't even know banana pudding had a history), variations of these desserts (gingerbread graham crackers... brown butter and sage marshmallows?!?!), and troubleshooting tips in case your desserts don't come out as perfectly as Stella's.
  
  This is the ultimate bakebook, and you should stop reading this immediately and go buy it!
• 
  KC

  A great book! Even vegan options.
• 
  Lauren James

  January quarantine baking. I plan to make: apple spice white layer cake, Boston cream pie, Grasshopper devils food cake, key lime pie, twinkies with tres leches malted spice filling, lofthouse cookies, malted banana pudding, butterscotch hostess cupcakes, raspberry chiffon pie, eggnog yellow cake, brown butter Carrot cake and oatmeal lemon creme pies. Phew, wish me luck!
  
  November quarantine baking: Baking at the 20th Century Cafe (
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
  December quarantine baking: Dessert Person (
  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
  
• 
  Julie Davis

  I really enjoyed slowly reading my way through this cookbook, especially the carefully researched introductions and histories of each item in American cooking. Stella Parks is a personable writer who holds your attention. I know a lot of food history but she dug deeper and considered history more broadly than a lot of what I'd read before so there was a lot of new info for me.
  
  I didn't get a chance to try any of the recipes even there were several techniques and recipes that looked interesting. Possibly because it is deep summer right now, I am also not really in the mood for a lot of baking. This book is also popular enough that it is due back with no renewals since there's a request line for it. I will check this out again though — at the very least I want to give the homemade Nestle's Crunch Bars a try!
• 
  Lara (luellabella✂️) Motta

  4 delicious stars. Disclaimer: I am not American. This meant that the imperial measurements irked me, the brands of many of the ingredients are not available, and many of the recipes are things I’d never heard of like Cracker Jack, Nutter Butter Cookies, Animal Crackers, to name just a few (because of this reason, I would have liked more photos). Nevertheless, Americans are renowned for their sweet treats and this book did not disappoint.
  
  Unlike your typical cookbook, this book invites you to read it from cover to cover, with fascinating histories of many of the desserts featured obviously painstakingly researched. Parks explains WHY you must (or must not) use a certain type of ingredient, follow a certain method, use a particular type of utensil, and then follows many of the recipes with customisable variations.
  
  I loved that everything is made from scratch, including marshmallows, condensed milk, rainbow sprinkles and even Oreos! And who knew that ‘Graham’ as in Graham Crackers is just another way to say whole wheat! Well I never. A brilliant book with a wealth of baking knowledge and delicious recipes.
• 
  Allison Lange

  I’ve only had a 50% success rate with these recipes. Three other friends and I have compared notes and shared problems with Oreos/thin mints burning long before the suggested cooking time, brownies and blondies that were the consistency of ganache at the end of their cooking time, and a sage marshmallows addition that doesn’t include the entire recipe. For aiming to be so precise, I am disappointed with these issues. Maybe she will post recipe updates to her website?
• 
  Lauren

  Stella Parks' research of the history of iconic American desserts is on par with some of the best historians out there. I'm incredibly impressed with the amount of care she took in researching each recipe. I haven't had a chance to make any of her recipes but if her research is any indication her recipes are going to be AH-MAZING.
• 
  Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)

  This needs to go back to the library, but I would definitely come back to it to finish reading the historical background for each recipe. I didn’t find any recipes I was inspired to try yet, but I liked the overall approach, so there may be some later in the book I’d want to try.
• 
  Sarah

  My husband is absolutely beside himself that he didn't know about this one in time to buy it for me for Christmas. Selfish... but kind of sweet, don't you think? I was most interested in her cookie and cake recipes; he was gaga over the reinvented American classics. There's something for everyone. I *really* need to try toasting sugar...
• 
  Maureen

  My daughter gave me this book out of the blue, and it's great. Interesting takes on classic recipes - I handed out the most awesome - yes, really - totally from scratch rice krispies treats for halloween. Not for the faint of heart, lots of steps, lots of calories, but I've made several recipes and no duds yet. I'm going to attempt a recipe a week, not sure my waistband can handle it though.
• 
  Nostalgia Reader

  A fun look at the history of iconic American desserts, from traditional cakes and cookies, to brand name sweets and ice creams (many of which seem to have started out as pseudo-health foods!). I mainly read the historical parts, not the recipes themselves. The histories were, for the most part, well written, but I felt like the book would have worked just as well if it were split up into the all-history section, allowing for easier weaving of company tales and history across desserts, with the recipes following later.
  
  Parks adapts and adjusts recipes to reflect the history of the dessert, not just trying to replicate that brand-name taste. She has done plenty of deep dives into recipe history, weaseling out the true first references to and recipes of classic desserts, shooting down the many myths about food inventions that we've come to take as fact today. By delving deep into the historical roots, she has created recipes that harken back to the original late 1800s or early 1900s recipes, while still incorporating the flavors we know now, but eliminating the processed ingredients (in a ways, also adding to the "harkening back" aspect) and adding very specific (one might say quirky) ingredients that mimic the processed flavors we know and love.
  
  Much of the explanation as to why certain ingredients are used over others can get a bit complicated for the uninitiated baker, but there's enough history to captive those like me who just like to learn about food. Parks provides tons of flavor variations for many of the recipes, and applicable recipes have gluten free options as well; she's also hip on adding a bit of Southern flair to a few of the recipes (e.g. Strawberry Shortcake being made with biscuits instead of cake). Not only are recipes included for the main dessert, but many essential components have recipes too, such as chocolate syrup, marshmallows, buttercream frosting, nougat, and caramel--even homemade condensed milk!
  
  The pictures that there were included were lovely and simple, but I really wanted to see more. I know cookbooks can't include pictures of every recipe, but this felt like a narrow enough focus to warrant pictures of all the goodies.
  
  It just struck me, as I was proofreading this, that there is no recipe for homemade waffle cones. There are vanilla wafers and graham crackers, but no cones, despite the chapter on ice cream! (It focuses on floats, sodas, sandwiches, and sundaes.)
  
  There is something about this book that makes me long for it deeply. The inevitable sugar high, of course, but also the history introduction it looks like each recipe has. OH EMM GEE, MUCH NERD.
• 
  Sandra

  Took this out from the library. A lot of the recipes look delicious and the historical background details are interesting. Tempted to buy a copy, but I did find it annoying that the weights are not given in metric. She explains this as a "cultural quirk" in her essay about the benefits of baking by weight.
• 
  Alaina

  i loved all of the fascinating (and well-researched!) dessert history that stella shares in this cookbook. however, when i tried to bake the banana bread variation of her snickerdoodles, i had to go off book and dump in extra flour to turn what was a runny batter into a hand-shapeable dough. (to be fair, i don't yet have a stand mixer – mentioned in many of these recipes sans workaround – and i measured ingredients by volume which is less accurate than measuring by weight.)
  
  that being said, i really appreciated this cookbook for its fun trivia and baking tips. most recipes didn't speak to me because i don't share stella's enthusiasm for fashioning homemade versions of branded sweets from scratch, but i do find her bakery-style propositions to be worth a try: english muffins, buttermilk biscuits, and maybe one of her suggested cookie, brownie, or muffin varieties. i'd also be down to use this book as a reference whenever (if ever?) i bake and frost a layer cake because stella offers much first-time cake baking advice.
  
  tl;dr this cookbook isn't a perfect match for me and my baking interests, but i enjoyed reading it and would consider it a good one to own when i have a stand mixer and scale.
• 
  Ellen

  I don't normally read cookbooks, although I have browsed my fair share of them and own way more than I need. This book is different. Yes, it is filled with hundreds of baking recipes and gorgeous photos but it is all the in-between stuff that piqued my interest. Parks delves into the rich histories of America's well-loved deserts and some of them are quite surprising. Included are many store-bought treats as well: Pop tarts, oreos, milky way bars and fig newtons to name just a few. The author has painstakingly recreated recipes for all of these goodies promising that anyone can bake them to perfection. Unfortunately for me there seem to be many ingredients that are both difficult to find or outlandishly expensive, and the recipes are a bit labor-intensive. I admire the author and anyone who tackles this amazing baking project.
• 
  Maria

  I didn't know that a cookbook could be and do so much more than show me some cooking tips or in this case baking tips and recipes.
  
  Parks is a true lover of desserts as she gives readers the history behind some of the best and most iconic brands and treats at the beginning of every chapter before giving me the goods on the recipes and alternatives!
  
  This is definitely a book that I recommend to read in a physical format vs. an ebook and not just because of the gorgeous pictures within but because this is something that I could totally see myself wanting to flip through on repeat.
  
  Parks has completely bewitched me with baked goods and history!
• 
  Jessica Furtado

  Yuuummmm! Definitely going to try a few of these recipes when I'm feeling more ambitious. The chocolate chip cookies, glossy fudge brownies, Baltimore fudge, and Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies are just a few of the recipes I've set my sights on. I love that this book offers recipes for homemade versions of some of America's favorite junk foods and desserts. While not exactly "healthy," these homemade versions can be baked up without many of the artificial ingredients and preservatives so often found in processed foods. Why not take a bit of the guilt out of guilty pleasures?
• 
  Dominika

  I can see how this book has become an instant classic of sorts. It has some good basic recipes for classics, variations that you can implement, and a touch of history as well. Admittedly, I prefer more European desserts (less sweet, different textures) and this is not the best book to buy when you've just declared that you're on a diet (lol), but this is a joy to look through and should be great for parties/celebrations.
• 
  Emma

  Not only does this book tell you how to make the recipes, but it tells you why. Stella also provides history on each of these classic American desserts and snacks. Oreo is a copycat, three musketeers used to have a vanilla and strawberry bar included, and oatmeal raisin cookies are just a result of Quakers effective advertising.
• 
  Jane

  There are amazing cakes and cookies in this book, as well as interesting bits of culinary history. Before I return the book I will probably read it again, and copy a recipe or two. Most of the recipes are beyond my skill level, but I’d like to give them a try.
• 
  Amy

  An absolutely amazing book of desserts. A required read for all those who love to bake, although I think it’s quite approachable for novices, too! I loved the historical stories throughout the book! I’ll be purchasing this book and using it for years and years to come.
• 
  Beth

  Loved the chapters on angel food cake, doughnuts and puddings, especially since grocery stores generally do such a poor job on these treats. I’m less interested in making my own snickers or heath bars when I can buy the original so cheaply.