When a new book comes out from the author of Bless Your Heart: Saving the World One Covered Dish at a Time, you KNOW we have to review it! AND that it would be a great Christmas gift for any foodie in your life!
Synopsis: You know how those Southern dessert recipes go—a cup of sugar here, a stick of butter there, eight squares of baking chocolate, or a pint of the season’s juiciest fruit. That recipe for blueberry cream pie—it’s been passed around the church for so long nobody can quite remember who made it first. Or how about the one for red velvet cheesecake you’ve been trying to coax out of your sister-in-law for years? She serves it every Christmas Eve, but so far her lips are sealed.
These are the types of food traditions that inspire You Be Sweet—a celebration of Southern dessert recipes and the people who cherish them. In this compilation of stories and sweet treats, Patsy Caldwell and Amy Lyles Wilson peek in on those occasions special enough to demand something decadent, and memorable enough to be repeated time and again. You’ll find the strawberry jam bars that always make an appearance at the neighborhood picnic. The German chocolate cake roll that pulls in the big bucks at the charity bake sale? That’s here too. The blackberry jelly recipe that has graced Mason jars all over the South for decades? It’s here, and it’s just about the best hostess gift you can offer up. Be sweet? You won’t be able to help it!
Review: Love love love this cookbook! it's rather like being at a family get together- if you're Southern, family get togethers ALWAYS mean food- it's an inherited way that we show love! And this book showcases that love of family and food very well! The stories are endearing and true, and any Southerner will recognize different family members in the tales! Not a Southerner? No problem, this book will immerse you and get you going!
In fact, I highly recommend this book as 'primer' for Southern baking for new cooks, newlyweds, or for anyone interested in cookbook collecting! I just wish there had been more photos, as if you aren't familiar with some of the recipes, you might be concerned that they came out right, with no visual reference. The book would also be excellent for a mother-daughter cook along, making recipes from the book every weekend- it would give you a chance to share memories along the way and share handed down cooking traditions.
The book has everything we like as a family, with some new variations. it is NOT a from scratch cookbook, but uses shortcuts, like cake and pudding mixes, to get the same results, with less fuss. With our hectic schedules (and budgets), that can be a great thing! I highly recommend this book for Christmas gift giving!
In fact, I highly recommend this book as 'primer' for Southern baking for new cooks, newlyweds, or for anyone interested in cookbook collecting! I just wish there had been more photos, as if you aren't familiar with some of the recipes, you might be concerned that they came out right, with no visual reference. The book would also be excellent for a mother-daughter cook along, making recipes from the book every weekend- it would give you a chance to share memories along the way and share handed down cooking traditions.
The book has everything we like as a family, with some new variations. it is NOT a from scratch cookbook, but uses shortcuts, like cake and pudding mixes, to get the same results, with less fuss. With our hectic schedules (and budgets), that can be a great thing! I highly recommend this book for Christmas gift giving!
I saw these two recipes and new I needed to share them with you, as they are perfect for making for LAST minute gifts, especially for hostesses for holiday parties and family Christmas festivities! In fact, I urge you to get BOTH of the books and give them as a set, Bless Your Hearts!
Chocolate Spoons
Ingredients:
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chipsIngredients:
16 heavy plastic spoons
1/2 cp white chocolate chips
1. Prepare baking sheet by covering with wax paper.
2. Place dark chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. heat on high for 10 second intervals, stirring mixture in between, until melted.
3. Dip spoons in melted chocolate, then place on baking sheet, chill for one hour until firm
4. Place white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. heat on high for 10 second intervals, stirring mixture in between, until melted. .
5. Dip half of spoons into white melted chocolate, place on baking sheet, chill for one hour until firm
6. Wrap spoons in plastic wrap, or in holiday baggie, tie with ribbon and gift away! Goes well with package of Spiced Coffee mix!
Note: we like to crush up peppermint candy canes or Ande's mints and add on top of the melted chocolate, after Step 2, before chilling. Just for that added oomph!
Hot Spiced Coffee
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups instant coffee granules, regular or decaffinated
2 1/2 cups powdered non-dairy creamer
1 1/2 cups hot cocoa mix
1 1/2 cups sugar, or sugar substitute
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground gloves
Instructions:2 1/2 cups powdered non-dairy creamer
1 1/2 cups hot cocoa mix
1 1/2 cups sugar, or sugar substitute
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground gloves
1. Mix first 3 ingredients in blender. Blend til it becomes a powdery consistency.
2. Pour blended mix into large bowl and add remaining ingredients, stir to combine..
3. This amount will make 64-80 cups of coffee, so you may want to half and then half again to make 4 jars for gifts.
4. Store in air tight container.
5. Add tag with instructions for use to each container: Add 1 1/2-2 tablespoons of mix to one cup of boiling hot water.Stir to dissolve.
See? EASY, and you may have everything you need already in your pantry!
About the Authors:
Patsy Caldwell is the owner of WaterTown Food Concepts, a cooking school in Charlotte, Tennessee. She has been a culinary professional for more than forty years.
Amy Lyles Wilson is a writer with more than 25 years of editorial experience, including co-authoring Cooking with Friends and appearing on National Public Radio’s This I Believe.
Disclosure / Disclaimer: I was sent this ebook, free of charge,from Thomas Nelson Publishing, via their Book Sneeze Blogger Program,, for review purposes, and as on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told what to say about it.
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