Think Caramel Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting, Strawberry Banana Muffins, Lemon Meringue Pie, and Sour Cream Coffee Cake. These old-fashioned comfort sweets are among those that Jennifer Appel turns out at her Buttercup Bake Shop. And while The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook evokes lazy afternoons in small towns, white picket fences, well-worn aprons, and warm fruit pies cooling on the window sill, the Buttercup Bake Shop is actually in Manhattan. Appel has included 80 bakery favorites in this little gem of a book, and the recipes are easy to follow and easy to make, and read like a list of favorite American desserts: Rice Krispies Treats, Gingersnaps, Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Pie, Glazed Pumpkin Squares, and Rice Pudding. Keep this wonderful cookbook in the kitchen, close at hand, so that with just a moment's notice you can whip up a special sweet something that'll make everyone smile. --Leora Y. Bloom


Book Description
Not one to rest on her sugary laurels after cofounding and running the famed Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village, Jennifer Appel headed to midtown Manhattan and opened the Buttercup Bake Shop. Already praised across the country in publications ranging from Glamour to The New York Times, the Buttercup Bake Shop offers a creative and mouthwatering selection of old-fashioned dessert delicacies. Revealing the secrets of luscious homemade treats to bakers of all skill levels, Appel invites readers to return to the comforts and rewards of baking from scratch. Including a chapter of seasonal and holiday delights and a delectable assortment of breakfast treats, The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook serves up more than eighty old and new classic recipes, including Oatmeal Butterscotch Cookies, Whole Wheat Maple Syrup Muffins, White Layer Cake with Chocolate Chips (try it with Peanut Butter Icing), German Chocolate Pie, and White Fudge with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries.


About the Author
Jennifer Appel is the proprietor of the Buttercup Bake Shop on the east side of Manhattan. Along with Allysa Torey, she founded the Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village and coauthored The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook. She lives in New York City.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Hermit Bars, Thumbprint Cookies, Icebox Summer Pie, Banana Pudding with Nilla Wafers...aren't homey desserts the best? When all the bittersweet chocolate curls are put away, we love to whip up silly goodies just like we made in our Easy-Bake Ovens. And in this cookbook, Jennifer Appel coaches us to make comforting, homemade treats with a masterful finish.

Appel, the successful owner of two Manhattan bakeries, can even give panache to Peanut Butter Mud Pie. Her soothing, smart style has won over everyone, from homebodies to sophisticated city dwellers: "Customers tell me they feel embraced by childhood memories of their neighborhood bake shop," Appel writes. "These classic desserts are satisfying the midtown neighborhood folk as well as the most prestigious of clients." And Appel's recipe books are as appealing as her goodies; with recipes that are easy as, well, pie, and generous helpings of professional hints. "The important thing to remember when baking muffins," she explains, "is to gently mix the batter until the dry ingredients are just moistened by the wet ingredients. Overmixing or using too strong a hand will result in deflated, dense muffins." Appel also offers up plenty of advice about ingredient swapping, so that we home bakers can improvise our own classics.

Experienced bakers will enjoy this book for its unique take on traditional favorites; novice bakers will find it a delicious introduction to their favorite desserts. Appel's recipes are a delight: short and sweet, just like her cupcakes. (Jesse Gale)

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Not one to rest on her sugary laurels after cofounding and running the famed Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village, Jennifer Appel headed to midtown Manhattan and opened the Buttercup Bake Shop. Already praised across the country in publications ranging from Glamour to The New York Times, the Buttercup Bake Shop offers a creative and mouthwatering selection of old-fashioned dessert delicacies. Revealing the secrets of luscious homemade treats to bakers of all skill levels, Appel invites readers to return to the comforts and rewards of baking from scratch.