Zabar's Blog

Recipe for Chocolate Shortbread

from Desserts Illustrated by America’s Test Kitchen

Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

There are so many amazing recipes in this cookbook, I wasn’t sure where to start. I suggest you pick a chapter and start baking! Snack cakes was first for me. Pumpkin-chocolate, classic gingerbread, and applesauce were my choices. Then, on to pies. There’s a whole chapter devoted to variations of the beloved apple pie. After that, cakes, of course. Or try this simple and simply wonderful chocolate shortbread. Next on my list: cranberry-orange cake with olive oil. Happy baking!

Go to the recipe.

Recipe excerpted with permission from Desserts Illustrated by America’s Test Kitchen

Click on the book cover to buy:

Go to the recipe.

Recipe for Giulina’s Risi e Bisi: Rice and Peas from Veneto

from Pasta Grannies Book Two by Vicky Bennison
Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

Cook your way through Italy with some pasta grannies. I love this simple variation of risotto. It’s perfect for dinner on a cold evening. Next on my list: this Nonna Honey is going to make Anna Maria’s Ziti alla Genovese and Ida’s Chocolate Bunet, a pudding with caramel.

Go to the recipe.

Recipes excerpted with permission from Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking by Vicky Bennison, photos by Emma Lee, published by Hardie Grant Books.

Click on the book cover to buy:

Go to the recipe.

Recipe for Lille Bakery’s Raspberry Sugar Berliners

from New European Baking by Laurel Kratochvila
Cookbook review by Tracey Zabar

This lovely book will take you on a trip through Europe, via the baking kitchen. There are all sorts of recipes for breads, pastries, and cookies that will improve your baking skills. Celebrate Chanukah with these amazing doughnuts, which are filled with a raspberry whipped cream filling. There are recipes in the book to make alternative fillings, such as a pastry cream and varieties of fruit jam. These little doughnuts are the perfect treat for the holiday. Next on my list: Wild Fennel Bread, Brioche Bread Pudding, Lemon Meringue Danishes, and a Pistachio Cloud Tarte. Halva Flan? Yes, please.

Go to the recipe.

Recipe excerpted with permission from New European Baking by Laurel Kratochvila (Prestel, 2022). Text © Laurel Kratochvila, image © Małgosia Minta.

Click on the book cover to buy:


Go to the recipe.