The Rosie’s Bakery No Apologies Butter, Cream & Sugar Baking Book

Those looking for fat-free, gluten-free, sugar-free, or even low-calorie baked goods won’t find it with Rosenberg’s title—an updated and revised version of her two previous, bestselling baking titles, along with 40 new recipes. The owner of the Boston-area Rosie’s Bakery chain makes “no apologies” for the sweet indulgences in this tome, including cakes, cookies, bars, pie, tarts, and puddings. The author’s goal (“to demystify baking through common sense”) and assurance (“if you can count, none of the recipes in this book are beyond you”) makes this an accessible title for new and nervous bakers. Sidebars (with helpful instruction on everything from splitting cake layers to storing cookies), numbered recipe steps, and a primer on ingredients and equipment, as well as informative headnotes, will up anyone’s baking IQ. Bake sale favorites are included, such as Rosie’s award-winning brownies, All-American apple pie, and chocolate cupcakes, as well as unique concoctions like “Nectarine Synergy,” a fruit-filled pie, and “Soho Globs,” a cookie-brownie hybrid. Retro fonts and illustrations make the book visually appealing, but lack of photos—for recipe or ingredients—requires imagination on the reader’s end. (Jan.)