Allyson Reedy isn’t a professional chef or a baker. She’s just someone who loves food and writes about it for the Denver Post, celebrating the deliciousness she finds. And she’s taken all her best information about top baking recipes and compiled it into this book, 50 Things to Bake Before You Die.
These recipes come from all over the country. There are recipes from famous chefs, hometown bakers, and food bloggers, but each of these recipes is a unique celebration of flavor and texture. The recipes are divided into five sections: Cookies, Cakes, Pies and Tarts, Things You Eat with Your Hands, and Things You Probably Shouldn’t Eat with Your Hands.
There are excellent versions of the classics everyone loves, like Chewy Brownies, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Classic Apple Pie, Classic, Crème Brulee, and Lemon Bars, the recipes pulled from local bakers and food bloggers. And there are recipes from famous chefs, like Duff Goldman’s Chocolate Babka, Dominique Ansel’s Croissants, Daniel Boulud’s Madeleines, Christina Tosi’s Birthday Layer Cake, and Joanne Chang’s Homemade Oreos.
But when you want to try something a little different, a little more special, you can bake the Brown Butter Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies, Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes, Peanut Butter Pie, Biscoff White Chocolate Blondies, Grapefruit Tiramisu, or Chocolate Soufflés with Chocolate Sauce.
While some of these desserts sound like they’d be difficult recipes, or they look challenging (like that Ultimate S’mores Cake on the cover), they are written for beginning and intermediate bakers. Reedy herself has tried to make all these recipes herself, and she says repeatedly that she is far from a master baker. There are some recipes that are easier than others, or that have fewer components, so if you are just starting out or you’re pinched for time, you still have options for deliciousness.
I love 50 Things to Bake Before You Die. There are recipes from some of my favorite bakers and even a recipe I am so stealing from my favorite local bakery. I probably won’t try to make all these recipes, as I stay pretty true to the flavors I like most, but there are a lot of really interesting things in my wheelhouse. And if you know someone who is look for a baking challenge, then this might be the perfect book for that.
I love that there are photos of all the beautiful finished desserts, but I find it disappointing that there aren’t any photos of the recipes in progress. I think that’s especially helpful for less experienced bakers, or for anyone trying a new technique. But this is still a fun cookbook with lots of amazing recipes, and we all have Allyson Reedy to thank for putting this collection together.
Egalleys for 50 Things to Bake Before You Die were provided by Pacific & Court publicity and digital marketing firm, with many thanks.
