Perfect
Pies & More: All New Pies, Cookies, Bars, And Cakes From America’s Pie-Baking
Champion is exactly as promised by the title. Plenty
of recipes with few pictures are found in this over 240 page book. Broken into
nine chapter sections the recipes run the gamut and feature varying amounts of
prep time and difficulty.
After a short introduction the book opens with
“Crusts & Toppings.” First up is the author’s “Traditional Pastry Piecrust”
on pages 4-7. Along with the list of ingredients and instructions there are
suggestions on other recipes to use this pie crust for as well as tips on how
to do it well. This same format
continues throughout the book as well as with the other four crust recipes and
three topping recipes of this chapter.
“Fruit Pies” begins on page 16 and opens with “Apple
Carmel Crunch Pie” I’m partial to blueberry
as well as cherry pie and they are present here in the combined form of
“Blueberry-Cherry Sugar-Free Pie (pages 28-29) as well a couple of other
variations. A “Sugar Free Pumpkin Pie” (pages 52-53) is one of 13 other
suggestions in this chapter.
If you prefer a cream filling in your pie that
chapter appropriately titled “Cream Pies” comes next. “Blueberry Cream Pie” (pages 59-60),
“Chocolate Silk Pie” (pages 63-64) and an “Oreo Cream Pie” on pages 73-75 among
nine other pies are in this chapter.
Maybe you prefer nuts in your pies. Six recipes make
up the “Nut Pies” chapter section and include the “Candy Bar Pie (pages 89-90)
and the “Turtle Pecan Pie (pages 98-100).
“Whimsical Pies” comes next and is all about celebrating
anything and everything. Items such as the “Birthday Cake Surprise Pie” on page
106-109) blends a vanilla cake with a pastry shell. Or you could make the
“Cannoli: Party Dip Pie” on pages 110-111 or the “Thin Mint Chocolate Cookie
Pie” on pages 116-117. There are seven
more choices for your consideration in this chapter.
Moving on from pies of various types, “Cookies &
Bars” comes next starting on page 132. Recipes for biscotti, cookies, and lots
of treats are present in this chapter. “Snicker Doodle Cookies” (pages 162-163)
and other favorites such as “Fudgy Brownies” (pages 170-171) are here.
If you are looking for a little booster in the
middle or the afternoon with a cup of coffee or tea there are 11 suggestions in
the section titled “Perfect for a Cup of Tea.” It could be “Banana Tea Bread” (pages 182-183)
or “Double Chocolate Bundt Cake” (pages 188-190) among others.
“Lovin’ Spoonful” comes next with “Apple Crisp” on
pages 206-207 and “Old Fashioned Bake Rice Pudding” on page 215-216. There are
four other recipes in short section.
The final chapter considers toppings with “Top This.”
Along with “Hot Fudge Sauce” (page 223) and “Whipped Cream” with several
variations (pages 228-229) there is one for “Royal Icing” (page 231) and
others.
The book closes with a short acknowledgement section
and six page index.
Using her experience winning 27 first place awards
in the “National Pie Championship Awards” author Michele Stuart’s cookbook is another
treat for the pallet. Lots of good ideas in Perfect Pies & More: All New
Pies, Cookies, Bars, And Cakes From America’s Pie-Baking Champion featuring
plenty of variety not only in terms of ingredients but also in terms of skill
levels.
Perfect Pies & More: All New Pies, Cookies, Bars, And Cakes From America’s Pie-Baking Champion
Michele
Stuart
Photographs
courtesy of Ben Fink Photography
Ballantine
Books (Division of Random House)
October
2013
ISBN#
978-0-345-54419-3
Hardback
(also available for the Kindle)
256
Pages
$26.00
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Public
Library System located in Plano, Texas.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2013
Author of Mind Slices and
contributor to Carpathian Shadows, Volume II
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