title: Butter Baked Goods: Nostalgic Recipes from a Little Neighborhood Bakery
author: Rosie Daykin
publication date: October 15, 2013
publisher: Appetite by Random House
My recipes were not created to impress people – they were created to spoil them, to celebrate them and to comfort them when needed.
— Rosie Daykin (Butter Baked Goods)
With it’s pastel colours, rosy interior and pale-green ribbon bookmark, Butter Baked Goods is a girly book. Really girly. But hidden inside this delicate shell is one heck of a cookbook.
Rosie Daykin opened up Butter Baked Goods, a tiny bakery in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 2007. Today their treats are carried throughout North America and many of their most in-demand treats are presented in this book.
The Homemade You-Know-What
the first nibble:
As I started reading the first pages, certain phrases jumped off the page at me and within minutes I knew that I would love baking from this book. Why? Because Rosie is just the kind of baker I adore, one who uses phrases like: “In my world, there is no substitution for butter” and “I have only three things to say about milk, buttermilk, sour cream or heavy cream: full fat, full fat, full fat”. I could go on, but I think you get the picture.
On my first pass through the book, five recipes that jumped out as ‘must try’:
- Pineapple Coconut Scones, pg. 45
- The Nanaimo Bar, pg. 108
- Peanut Butter Marshmallow Slice, pg. 112
- Raspberry Custard Pie, pg. 216
- Butter’s Famous Marshmallows, pg. 227
the nitty-gritty:
number of recipes (as stated by book): “More than 100 recipes”
recipe list? Yes, at the start of each chapter, there’s a list of recipes contained in that chapter
table of contents: The Table of Contents is grouped into bakery categories
photography: Full-page colour photographs of almost all of the recipes makes this book something to drool over. Since I’ve never had the pleasure of going to the Butter bakery in person, this is the next best thing. The lovely pastels, creamy confections and very feminine feel of the book is carried throughout the photographs.
Some of the recipes have step-by-step photos and there is an abundance of how-to photos in the info sections, like “How to Frost a Cupcake”.
photo to recipe ratio*: out of 96 total recipes**, 86 recipes had at least one accompanying ‘finished dish’ photo or step-by-step photo (photo : recipe ratio = 1 : 1.1)
notes:
* this is a manual count, so numbers may be slightly off due to human error (mine)
** only ‘main’ recipes are counted – recipes that appear as part of another dish are not counted
recipes:
– separate ingredient list? yes
– serving info given? yes
– prep/cook time given? no
– recipe format: numbered steps
With so many “how-to” and step-by-step photos, this book is definitely easy on the eyes for bakers of any level. The fact that Rosie includes some of Butter’s most popular treats is a treat in itself. Recipes like their “Twice-a-Week (Morning Glory) Muffins”, “The Homemade You-Know-What” and “Butter’s Famous Marshmallows” will have you pretending you’re at the bakery itself
Each recipe is introduced with a short personal story – anecdotes that include how a particular cookie was named, why Butter’s customers love a certain muffin or why a particular recipe was included in the book.
A particular feature that I really appreciate – under the ingredients list for each recipe, Rosie includes a list of “You Will Need” items – so that you can make sure you have the right baking tools before you get started. So helpful!
Some recipes include suggestions for ‘variations’ so you may get 2 or 3 different versions with the same basic recipe.
Icing Techniques
the last bite:
I literally want to bake everything in this book. Then I want to hop on a plane and go to Vancouver so that I can step into the bakery itself and eat all their treats! But seriously, there is almost nothing in this book that I haven’t bookmarked to try making for myself.
There are special sections on what to stock in your pantry, what tools to own, how to prep for baking and even a special how-to-frost tutorial, which makes this cookbook incredibly useful, especially for beginner bakers.
With it’s pretty design, gorgeous photography and handy bookmark, Butter Baked Goods is already becoming one of my favourite cookbooks. But don’t let its pretty looks fool you – inside is a tremendous offering of useful tips and tempting recipes.
cooking the book
Vanilla Shortbread
what worked: The cookies came out exactly as expected. They were buttery, light and the instructions were easy to follow.
what didn’t work: It was a little difficult to roll this dough out – it stuck to both the counter and my rolling pin and I had to constantly dust with flour. This wasn’t the easiest thing for someone (like me) who isn’t that confident with rolling out cookies.
did your dish look like the one pictured in the cookbook? Mine turned out a bit thin, but that was totally my fault as I still haven’t mastered the rolling pin yet
ease/expense of ingredients: I had all the ingredients on hand, which was one reason I decided to make these cookies.
would you make this again?: Yes, definitely. I want more practice with rolling out cookies and cutting out shapes, plus the cookies were really good.
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Oh, You Nutty Tart!
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