The Complete Book of Baking

Sensible counsel on low-fat baking and the means to a more healthful diet can be found scattered through the pages of these 200-plus recipes for old-fashioned baked goods. Given the widespread success of low-fat commercial baked goods sold in supermarkets, there should be an equally wide audience for Pillsbury's compendium of cakes, tarts, quick breads, cookies, muffins and more. From the savory Gorgonzola biscuits, soft and crumbly with bits of the blue-veined cheese, to the delicately moist ``Apricot Sunshine Muffins,'' many of the recipes can be mixed and baked in just under half an hour. Among the more flavorful and imaginative concoctions are the coriander corn muffins and the garden batter bread, with a rough crumb enhanced by chopped carrots, parsley and wheat germ. Too bad so many of the sweet bakery items seem somewhat repetitious: carrot drops, carrot raisin cookies, and carrot raisin and bran cookies each take a page, though the recipes are quite similar. Use of tropical fruits, such as mango, papaya and kiwi could have added more diversity to the sweet baking and pastry selections. However, this well-researched and informative book provides a welcome alternative to the rich indulgences of the usual holiday baking cornucopia. (Dec.)