Kid Chef Bakes

I love it when fellow bloggers get cookbooks published, and I'm usually willing to do a review of their books, even if the book isn't totally in my wheelhouse.

When it came to Kid Chef Bakes by Lisa Huff, I said YES even though I don't happen to have any small humans living with me. I mean, it was a baking book. I'm perfectly happy to bake some easy recipes. Not everything needs a bazillion hard-to-find ingredients.

At worst, I figured I'd have some recipes I could make when I have an urge to bake at 8pm and I don't want to think too hard about it.

The book is better than I hoped for, with a wide variety of recipes and an easy-to-follow format. While it's marketed for kids, this would be an awesome baking book for anyone who is a little skittish about using their oven for breads and desserts.

One thing I particularly love about this book (and that is handy even in books for adults) is that it lists the required tools and equipment. While most of the tools are pretty simple - bowls, spatulas, and measuring cups, for example - it's still nice to know that I should grab two bowls at once rather than grabbing one, then going back for the second one after I'm partway through the recipe.

While the recipes are written with an eye at making them easy for kids to follow, they're certainly more sophisticated than anything that I was eating when I was a kid. Scones, for example, are something I didn't encounter until I was an adult.

One recipe that's going to be a must-try for me (as soon as it's strawberry season, which is not now) is the old-fashioned strawberry pie. I remember making this as a teenager, after going strawberry picking. I have no idea where I got the recipe, but I suspect it was from a newspaper, since I couldn't find anything like it in any of my mother's cookbooks.

The recipe is fairly simple, with fresh strawberries covered in a cornstarch-thickened strawberry glaze. I can still remember that pie, even though I only made it once.

I'd write more about this book, but honestly, I'm feeling the urge to go make the cinnamon nut coffee cake. Oh, yum!

If you've got kids who are interested in cooking or baking, this is highly recommended. But I'd also recommend it for adults who aren't comfortable with baking. Just ignore the cover, and dig in.