'Tis the season to bake, and few things are easier than baking an entire batch of cookies in one pan. Convenience may explain why brownies and bar cookies top the list of holiday cooking projects.
Just in time for seasonal baking, a collection of new, innovative recipes rolls off the press.THE 55 BEST BROWNIES IN THE WORLD; Honey and Larry Zisman; St. Martin's Press; New York; paperback; 134 pages; $6.95.
From the pair that tackled the competition for the best chocolate chip cookies in America, comes a second chocolate-related volume - brownies.
More than 3,500 recipes were submitted to a national contest designed to discover the best of the brownie world.
Results of extensive brownie testing were published in a compact volume that would be the perfect gift for any chocoholic.
Variations on the basic brownie theme include such innovative ideas as Raspberry Truffle Brownies, Mocha-Almond Fudge Brownies, Caramelastic Fantastic Brownies or Kentucky Black Walnut Delights.
The collection contains no illustrations, but recipes are carefully detailed and easy to follow.
Amusing anecdotes and "brown-related" memorabilia accompany many recipes. Notes like "Brown Betty - A Pennsylvania-Dutch baked pudding of chopped or sliced apples, bread crumbs, raisins, butter, molasses, sugar and cinnamon, served with lemon sauce . . . but not nearly as good as brownies."
BROWNIES, BLONDIES AND BAR COOKIES; Laura Gates and Ann Binney; HP Books; Los Angeles; paperback; 120 pages; $8.95.
Whether a person is hungry or stuffed, there's always room for another brownie, contend the authors of a concise, creative volume of cookie recipes.
With recipes "guaranteed to please brownie lovers of all kinds," the collection contains traditional recipes like Cake Classics or Chocolate Pudding Brownies or imaginative alterations like Fig Fabulous Brownies, Health-Nut Hunks or Georgia Peachies.
The book is divided into sections featuring gourmet brownies, blon-dies or light bar cookies, special occasion cookies and quick and easy concoctions.
Recipes are presented in a straightforward manner, illustrated by simple black-line drawings, leaving the final product appearance to the imagination.
But it isn't difficult to imagine the wonderful indulgences to be enjoyed by experimenting with any of the suggested recipes.
HOLIDAY COOKING and CHRISTMAS COOKIES; Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications; Meredith Corp.; Des Moines, Iowa; paperback; $3.50 each.
Lavishly illustrated holiday recipe collections, including some magazine reprints, compiled in single volumes available at news-stands.
"Holiday Cooking" contains a feature story on former Deseret News food editor Winnifred Jar-dine and includes detailed instructions on her candymaking specialties.
"Christmas Cookies," appears to be a volume accurately subtitled "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas Cookies and More."
The publication contains a nearly exhaustive summary of cookie recipes, clever cookie decorating hints, storage and mailing instructions and ideas for personalized, purchased cookies.
Other sections include features on a variety of cookie molds, irons and presses with detailed instructions on Italian pizzelles.
- Ann Whiting Allen