Starred review from August 18, 2014
Baking-competition juggernaut Bryson has won over 200 national and regional baking competitions, so she knows her way around a stand mixer. Rather than keep all those amazing recipes to herself, she generously shares them with home bakers in this imaginative and practical collection. Opening strong with pies (Bryson’s a member of the American Pie Council), readers can opt for butter, lard, or even Bryson’s simple five-ingredient crust as the base for classics like coconut cream pie, the creamy blackberry blow-ya-away pie, or her winter fruit pie, a toothsome combination of apples, pears, cranberries studded with a crumb and pecan topping. Then it’s on to cookies (classic chocolate chip, and her grandmother’s Iced Oatmeal Cookies)before she moves on to cakes and cheesecakes, the latter of which get their own chapter (deservedly so: her prizewinning apple caramel cheesecake is a keeper). Bryson is an eager and enthusiastic teacher, more concerned with instructing readers on how to get things right (they will do well to heed her many tips sprinkled throughout the book) than waving ribbons in their faces. She’s not above including a classic like soda pop cake, peach cobbler, or store-bought cake mix to achieve her results. It adds up to a warm and welcoming collection that’s sure to get plenty of use. Home bakers might as well pick up two copies, as the first one’s likely to get dog-eared and butter-stained in a short amount of time.