Sweets: Soul Food Desserts and Memories [A Baking Book]

This book is my very favorite of all my cookbooks now! In fact, it's even just one of my very favorite books, period. But it's not just a collection of great, old fashioned, nostalgic, honest-to-god soul food dessert recipes; it's a beautiful history of a large Black family written by someone who loved each and every member. By the time I finished my first reading ( and yes, I've read it all the way through again even though I've only had it a short time ) and bookmarked the recipes I wanted to try, I felt like I really knew every single aunt and uncle, every "Cud'n" ( even the "Po" one! )in the author's family. Filled with lovely photographs, not just of delicious home cooked food, but of real people I grew to love as each page turned, as each chapter was finished, like a well written serial one hates to put down and dreads to end. Being of Native American heritage myself, I still began to feel like one of the African American family in the book and the memories seemed like my own!I've only tried two of the book's recipes so far, one pound style cake and one sweet pie, and both turned out so darned good I couldn't believe I was the one who actually made something so mouth-watering and delectable! I'm excited to try many of the others and have recommended the book to several friends. If you are looking for a nice thick cookbook with some unique, yet old-timey type southern style dessert recipes with plain and easily found ingredients "done up" the right way, than this book is the one to buy! But if you're also interested in the rich history of a loving Black family, beautifully written, lovingly and painstakingly chronicled, then you can't go wrong with this story-book style recipe collection!

I love to cook, but I'm not much on baking. I usually don't even care for sweets; but when I saw this cookbook, I had to add it to my massive collection. I thought it'd be like most other cookbooks: nice, with some great recipes, but just an item I "had to have" that I seldom--if ever--would actually use the recipes. I received the book late yesterday afternoon and by bedtime, I was half-way through reading it. I am enjoying the stories of Ms. Pinner's family so much and the recipes are so tempting. I'm already gathering ingredients to try my hand at some of these delectable treats. My father's family were country folk from the rural panhandle of Florida who had immigrated from Ireland a couple of generations before. Soul food and southern cooking are alike in many ways and I recognize several of the desserts from my childhood while visiting my dad's family "back home." My mother's family were Mexican (talk about a blending of cultures!) and so I grew up with corn bread, banana pudding, tortillas, and rice. The result was a fondness for the diversity of food and a love for a family's stories. Ms. Pinner gives us both in this wonderful book and I particularly enjoy the snippets of info about a person just before she shares one of their recipes with us. It helps us to see the importance of that member's personality and how they are an ingredient in the family that Ms. Pinner so fondly remembers. Bravo on a job well done! I hope she soon releases a cookbook chock full savory meals and complemented by more narratives.

I'd been making the peach cobbler recipe from this book for years without paying attention to where it came from. The recipe appeared in a magazine a few years ago and I've been making it every since. For some reason I decided to see where the original recipe came from and that brought me here to buy the book. I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised. This isn't just a cook book, but almost like part family history as well. I'm very eager to try the recipe's in the book...especially the Dr. Pepper cake (I've never heard of) and of course the sweet potato pie (I've always bought frozen and passed it off as my own). There's other recipes that I've heard of, but never knew what they were (egg pie). This book is a good addition to your library. While I haven't made all of the recipes in the book, I can attest that the peach cobbler recipe is perfect. Some recipes require you to add a little extra sugar, butter, etc. This recipe is perfect as it is. The only thing I did differently was buy refrigerated pie crust instead of making it from scratch...delicious!

Enjoy this, nice stories & recipes.

I'm Southern. Born and raised. I moved to the West coast and missed my granny's cakes...this book is charming and has a ton of good recipes for you to try, I'll warn you, the strawberry cake with real strawberry buttercream icing will make you friends all over town, so be ready! :). The recipes are all the "from scratch", real-deal. No light, lite or fat free in this volume...I hate it because I can literally see my waistline expand when I crack it open....what a sweet conundrum to be in! Have fun with it!

Within the past year, I have grown increasingly interested in recipe cookbooks. Judging them by reviews and prepared dishes, I quickly was able to decipher those that I should keep or donate. I must say this is by far the B-E-S-T!!! Dessert cookbook ever made. Not only are the desserts delicious; the stories shared or also very heart warming. I've had this cookbook for over a year and use the recipes quite often. Family and friends absolutely love the desserts that I prepare from this book, and ask for them again and again. Some of the recipes I have made from this cookbook are: Banana nut pound cake, Brown Sugar Pound Cake, Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Sweet Potato Pound Cake, Peach Cobbler, Strawberry, Chocolate cookies, and the list can continue lol. Like you, I've read many reviews and wasn't sure, which way to go; nor felt compelled to create a review. But because I love this cookbook so much, I felt it was only right to share my thoughts. Patty Pinner, you did an EXCELLENT job with this, and hope you make many more.

Came in great condition, better than I expected

The mix of family history and recipes related to (non-fictional) characters is absolutely charming; it's amazing how it has all been kept though the decades.And the recipes are charming as delectable.But the strawberry layer cake, the one shown on the book cover, is terrific, absolutely killer. It alone would justify buying the whole book: it has stunned everybody everytime since the first time I made it; and it is very versatile as well, as I started from replicating the cake on the cover and went on to elaborate new presentations of my own including a fresh strawberries covered mother's day cake, to a birthday cake decorated with fresh strawberries and heart shapede white chocolates. Always deliciuos, no way, and very easy.