Cookbook review: One Bowl Baking
Are you one of those bakers who inadvertently uses an inordinate amount of mixing bowls, baking 鈥ㄢ�╥mplements, the odd saucepan or double boiler and too many baking pans just to make one cake? Or 鈥ㄢ�╝re you space constrained and have to alternate precious counter space with a mixer, a food processor, 鈥ㄢ�╝ mise en place of ingredients and a baking pan? Or somewhere in between and you end up defaulting 鈥ㄢ�╰o that refrigerated roll of ready-made cookie dough because you don鈥檛 want all the fuss and bother of 鈥ㄢ�╰oo much prep and cleanup but still crave warm, freshly baked cookies?
Well, you may want to put that 鈥ㄢ�╯tore-bought cookie dough back in the refrigerator and reach for instead. Whether you鈥檙e a novice baker just looking to make a pan of brownies or an experienced one 鈥ㄢ�╥ntending to bake multiple, crowd-pleasing treats, "One Bowl Baking" rises to the occasion.
As the title suggests, the premise is you can make a variety of desserts without using every baking 鈥ㄢ�╥mplement in your kitchen and without needing massive amounts of space. Simple is best but simple 鈥ㄢ�╠oesn鈥檛 mean you have to sacrifice flavor. The recipes are straightforward and very easy to follow, 鈥ㄢ�╮egardless of your baking level. All the recipes contain weight measurements as well as volume 鈥ㄢ�╩easurements. As a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Ruperti knows that weight 鈥ㄢ�╩easurements are more accurate than volume measurements. One cup of brown sugar does not always 鈥ㄢ�╡qual 1 cup of brown sugar, depending on how firmly you packed it in the measuring cup each time. But 鈥ㄢ��4 ounces of brown sugar is always 4 ounces of brown sugar when using a food scale. Still, many baking 鈥ㄢ�╞ooks only use volume measurements and their recipes come out just fine.
But what sets "One Bowl Baking" apart from the crowd isn鈥檛 just having weight measurements and, oddly 鈥ㄢ�╡nough, it isn鈥檛 just that it keeps its promise of offering a variety of recipes that can be made using one 鈥ㄢ�╞owl. For me, it鈥檚 the recipes themselves that make this book a gem.
Just reading through the book 鈥ㄢ�╯hows the variety of desserts that can be made, from Strawberry Cheesecake Muffins and Toasted 鈥ㄢ�–oconut Lime Bars to Warm Apple Pudding Cake and Satiny Chocolate Tart with Sea Salt. I鈥檝e personally 鈥ㄢ�╰ested several recipes and they鈥檝e all turned out well. I did one find weight/volume measurement error 鈥ㄢ�╥n the Lunchbox Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies (the volume measurement is the right one) but even 鈥ㄢ�╠one correctly and incorrectly, both versions of the cookie were delicious. If you鈥檝e been searching for 鈥ㄢ�╰he ultimate chocolate chip cookie that doesn鈥檛 spread, has crisp edges and a chewy middle, then the 鈥ㄢ�–lassic Chocolate Chip Cookies aren鈥檛 to be missed. The Fluffy Yellow Sheet Cake is for the vanilla lovers 鈥ㄢ�╥n your life who want something delicious while you want little cleanup and fast prep time. The Fudgy 鈥ㄢ�╓alnut Brownies are just that: fudgy. Bonus is they鈥檙e easy to make and definitely only in one bowl.
There are some recipes where you don鈥檛 even need a bowl but just a mug, such as the Warm Mix-in-a-鈥∕ug Chocolate Cake where you can mix, microwave and eat a decadent one-serving dessert, all in one 鈥ㄢ�╩ug. The same concept goes for the Warm Mix-in-a-Mug Chocolate Chip Cookie for those single-serving 鈥ㄢ�╥mpulse desserts you want to make in 5 minutes or less and still only have a mug and a spoon to wash 鈥ㄢ�ˋnd it isn鈥檛 just cookies, cupcakes and brownies that can be simplified into being made in one bowl.
The 鈥ㄢ�╞ook also offers more fancy desserts such as Triple Chocolate Blackout Cake with Espresso Ganache and 鈥ㄢ�≒umpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust, all with the same easy mixing, baking and clean up process 鈥ㄢ�╝s their more traditionally-one-bowl-anyway counterparts. So don鈥檛 think you鈥檒l be limited to just "easy鈥� 鈥ㄢ�╠esserts. They鈥檙e there too but one bowl only means simple mixing, not simple desserts. You can turn 鈥ㄢ�╫ut something fancy and still brag how easy it was to make.
I鈥檝e earmarked this book as a present for two friends on opposite ends of the baking spectrum: one is 鈥ㄢ�╝n expert baker who I鈥檝e baked with over the years and the other is a less experienced baker who has 鈥ㄢ�╝ busy work/home schedule and has been known to text me pictures of cookies in the oven to ask if 鈥ㄢ�╰hey were done and whether she should take them out then. There鈥檚 something for both of them in One 鈥ㄢ�˙owl Baking and for all the bakers in between.
Lunchbox chewy peanut butter cookies
From by Yvonne Ruperti
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (7 ounces) packed light brown sugar听
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/3 cups (12 ounces) creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
[1 cup peanut butter cups, chopped, optional]
1. Place oven racks in the upper-middle and lower-middle positions.听 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, stir the butter, sugar and salt until creamy.听 Stir in the peanut butter and then the egg and vanilla.
3. Add the flour and baking soda to the bowl, then stir until combined. Add chopped peanut butter cups, if desired.
4. Scoop the dough into 18 balls, spacing evenly on the sheet pan (9 per pan).听 Using a fork, press a crosshatch onto each cookie, pressing to about 1-inch thick.
5. Bake until light golden, puffed and just beginning to crack, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking.听
6. Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Carol Ramos tests dessert recipes on her blog .
