Baker Bettie’s Better Baking Book
Are you familiar with Kristin “Baker Bettie” Hoffman? She’s a trained chef and baking educator, runs the popular blog Baker Bettie, and just authored her debut cookbook. Publishing a cookbook, as you can guess, is an enormous feat but publishing Baker Bettie’s Better Baking Book is an accomplishment like no other. This unique cookbook is broken into 2 extensive parts. Part 1 lays the groundwork for baking success. You’ll find step-by-step methods, carefully explained tutorials, and information on the role different ingredients play. Having this knowledge brings you into Part 2 where you’ll find dozens of customizable master “foundation” recipes such as master bread doughs, sweet quick bread, savory quick bread, scones, biscuits, muffins, cakes, cookies, fruit pies, brownies, and more. Kristin shares her base recipes for these popular items and endless ways to customize them with flavors, add-ins, spices, herbs, and/or garnishes. You have flexibility and creative control! This cookbook is perfect for beginners and seasoned bakers alike and you can read more about Kristin’s book over on her website. (While you’re on her website, you’ll find an abundance of baking tutorials and recipes. Her bread making tutorial is excellent.) No baking detail has been spared! In her book, you’ll find step-by-step photos, plus images and weight + volume ingredient measurements for every recipe. And guess what? I authored the foreword for this book! It’s been a few years since I wrote a cookbook (I’m actually working on a proposal for my 4th!!!) so I was very honored that Kristin asked me to be part of this incredible project. I value her approach to teaching others online—she does so in such a familiar and friendly way—and have been a fan of hers for years!
Let’s Make Kristin’s Blondies!
There are 36 master recipes in this book and 100s of variations! Her blondies stuck out to me because they looked so rich, so buttery, and so irresistible. Kristin hands us plenty of options for flavoring our blondies including extracts, spices, nuts, oats, and other mix-ins. My mind swirled with possibilities, and I chose dark chocolate, dried cranberries, + orange zest. What a delicious combination and especially this time of year! These dark chocolate cranberry blondies were an instant hit.
Here’s What We Thought: Taste testers and I loved the base flavor—brown sugar, butter, and extra vanilla. I love these white chocolate cranberry cookies, so I originally tried them with white chocolate and dried cranberries. Here however, we all loved the dark chocolate version more because it toned down the sweetness. (Just like it does in these dark chocolate cranberry almond cookies.) Orange zest adds a little fruity freshness—and its flavor really stands out on day 2—but you could definitely skip it if desired. The texture is dense and chewy with slightly crisp edges. Truly like a vanilla version of a chocolate brownie.
Kristin explains that we use the One Bowl Method for Cookies to make these blondies. She says, “The One-Bowl Method is typically utilized for cookies and bars with a chewy texture, which includes brownies and blondies as well as some forms of drop cookies. This method is extremely forgiving due to the fact that butter and sugar are not being creamed together, which requires much more attention to the process.” Since Kristin’s cookbook recipes are so versatile, I thought it would be fun to show the blondies baked in a round cake pan instead of the traditional square pan. Bake time was the same and the wedge pieces are like blondie slices of pizza. You’ll love it. I use this same wedge method for my shortbread cookies, too! If you like to get creative with baking recipes, this book is a goldmine! I hope you enjoy these flavorful blondies and if you have a moment, check out Kristin’s new cookbook. I know many of you appreciate learning the science behind baking recipes and this cookbook is full of it! 🙂 By the way, this recipe joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes—ready in 1 hour or less!
