Book Review & Interview: One Bowl Baking
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A new baking book, just in time for holiday cookie exchanges and feeding houseguests.
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Every now and then a cookbook comes along that suits you just right. When I first heard about One Bowl Baking, Simple From Scratch Recipes for Delicious Desserts by Yvonne Ruperti, I was skeptical. I was concerned I’d find short cut or gimmicky recipes that were more focused on the  “one bowl” concept than on the outcome.
When I started flipping through the pages, my skepticism quickly turned to interest and after trying a few recipes, I am a fan. One Bowl Baking is one of those books that will earn a treasured spot on my small kitchen bookshelf rather than filed in my culinary reference library on my basement bookshelves. Pages are sure to be tattered and soiled with batter over the years and family favorites will even possibly be committed to memory. The photography is beautiful, the typesetting easy to read and the recipes are approachable.
Though I am willing to dirty a number of dishes as collateral in the creation of delicious treats, it sure is nice if you don’t have to. Each of the recipes from layer cakes to cookies truly require one dish, sometimes it is all mixed right on the baking pan. The first thing we tried was the Apple Crisp Mix-in-the-Pan Bars that are pictured above. They were easy to make and disappeared quickly.
Another “not necessary” but “nice” feature of a book is when you truly like the author and want to support her work. Initially, Yvonne contacted me personally about her book. And, when I decided to host this giveaway, she was kind enough to answer some interview questions. (see below)
If you are interested in winning a copy of One Bowl Baking, leave a comment on this post about your favorite holiday treats. I’m interested to know what you are indulging in this season! A winner will be chosen at the end of the day Tuesday, Dec. 10th.
*THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. CONGRATULATIONS DONNA, THE WINNER!
Check out the fun book trailer here.
My Interview with Yvonne Ruperti, author of One Bowl Baking:
What dessert do you request on your birthday?
I have two desserts that I love to request. One is an ice cream cake–my birthday is in the summer and my family would always buy a Carvel cake. I loved the chocolate crunchies that were inside the cake! The second cake is a simple refrigerator cake made of Famous chocolate wafers layered with whipped cream–so simple but so yummy!!
Which cooking tool do you have the biggest love affair with? You know, the one that feels almost sensual in your hands, the one with which you couldn’t barely live without?
My favorite tool is my small offset metal spatula (I have small hands so it feels really comfortable). I use it for so many things, from spreading batter into a pan, to icing absolutely anything. I could fill and frost a wedding cake with this small tool. The thought of frosting anything without it puts me into a panic.
You have been living in Singapore. Will you describe one of your favorite foods that you’ve discovered?
I have an addiction to a dish called “prawn paste chicken”. It’s chicken that’s been marinated in a pungent and slightly sweet shrimp paste and then twice fried. It may not be the healthiest dish, and the flavor of shrimp paste sometimes puts people off, but it’s the best fried chicken that I’ve ever had.
You’ve developed so many recipes! What do you do for fresh inspiration?
I like to think of new flavors/names for classic recipes. For example, we’re all familiar with lemon meringue pie, so how about a lemon meringue cake or donut? The hardest part is that you come up with what you think is a unique idea, only to google it to find that it’s already been done! It’s incredibly difficult to come up with totally original ideas these days–especially with baking because there is only so much leeway that you have with ingredient ratios.
What’s next from you? Any projects in the works?
Well at the moment I’m still concentrating on getting everyone to know about One Bowl Baking, and crossing my fingers that there will be a sequel (I’ve got some great ideas up my sleeves for that!). In the meantime, you can see some of my holiday recipes that are featured in the December issue of Redbook!
My favorite treats for Christmas include snowballs and peppermint white chocolate ANYTHING. Thanks so much for the giveaway! One Bowl Baking looks like a wonderful cookbook!
I love Christmas cookies, mostly gingersnaps.
I like baking super buttery shortbread type cookies, frosting them with my girls, putting on sprinkles, silver balls, etc. and sending them to my BFF in Chicago.
I’m having molasses cookies.
I still like cutting out sugar cookies with cookie cutters and painting them with royal icing. Some of them come out almost inedible but I love doing it anyway.
Gathering this weekend with family to decorate Christmas cookies and dream of the baking to come in the weeks ahead.
hiya,
my favourite seasonal treats from home (spain) are polvorones and turrón. here, where I live (the netherlands), I’m currently indulging in speculaas and kruidnoten.
This weekend I’m going to try and make, for the first time ever, an upside down cranberry cake. bring it on december.
january will obviously be spent eating green leaves and beets ;)
cheers for this!
son (aka la ninja)
My favorite Christmas cookie is Linzer Heart, hard choice, so many great ones to
choose from…..and I always look for Torrone to bring back childhood memories and
satisfy my sweet tooth.
My favourites are stollen and Russian tea cakes – low sugar tea cakes too using agave and Stevie. Taste b better then the original.
My mom made spritz cookies every Christmas when I was growing up. So they will always hold a special place amongst Christmas Cookies.
My fav’s are mexican tea cakes, rolled in powdered sugar…and I love gingerbread and molasses cookies, although they are not favs of my kids. And snickerdoodles. I like to make marshmallow creme fudge for hubby and son loves just plain old chocolate chip cookies. I love enjoying food gifts that others give to us.
my favorites are my mom’s classics….sweet meats, fudge, and of course, fluffy (homemade!) sugar cookies!
Well our family tradition is to bake sugar holiday decorated cookies with grandma…those would have to be my favorite!
Ooh, we just learned how to make peppermint, pecan, chocolate brittle. It’s delicious and now at the top of my list.
sugar cookies!
sufganiyot-donuts I make once a year,for Hannukah.so good !!
I’ll be making gooey butter cake – either in cookie form or the actual cake if I’m feeling adventurous.
We love eggnog cheesecake bars and we also love chocolate mint brownies.
My great grandma had a recipe for these toffee bars with cheerios, cornflakes, peanuts, peanut butter, and caramel. It is impossible to eat just one.
That’s a tough one! I do love puppy chow. And spritz cookies. And anything with molasses. :)
I love those Norwegian butter cookies, sprinkled with coarse turbinado sugar. My grandmother always had a huge tin of them around the holidays. Thanks for asking us to think about our favorite holiday treats! I hadn’t thought of those cookies in years, now I need to find a good recipe and try to make them.
I love holiday decorated sugar cookies.
I’m a sucker for peanut butter balls (peanut butter, powdered sugar, butter and Rice Krispies enrobed in chocolate).
i love pistachio wedding cookies and pretty much any holiday baking.
Mexican wedding cookies. Can’t get enough if them this time of year.
Many kinds of cookies … but my favorites are sugar cookies. :)
One of my best friends and I always make holiday cookies–and we have SO MUCH FUN doing it! This year we’re making shortbread, cowboy cookies, and something tbd…
I like sweet/tart treats. Lots of citrus and cranberries in everything. Lemon tarts, quick bread with orange zest and cranberries. That sort of thing.
My favourite is shortbread. I got my grandma’s recipe for it, so now I’m responsible for baking the family supply.
My favorite holiday baking are sugar cookies, your white chocolate macadamia cookies, and toffee over saltine crackers. Happy Holidays:-).
We go into cookie frenzy mode at our house! Russian Tea Cakes and Lemon Bars are always on the list. Then it’s time to try new recipes!
Love homemade salted caramels!
christmas sugar cookies!!
Still a fan of traditional sugar cut-out cookies. I remember decorating them as a kid with my Mom.
This looks like a wonderful book. And while I probably have too many cookbooks, I don’t have that many baking ones.
I am a huge cranberry fan so I like to bake cranberry breads and cookies this time of year. I also love simple buttery cookies like russian wedding cookies and thumbprints (with jam or nutella).
Merry Christmas to you and your family. My son says it is pretty @*! cold in Chicago. Yes, he is from California. ;-)
Biscotti & pizelles! And of course chocolate chip cookies (made today during our Philly snowfall) and cut outs for the boys.
Hi! It’s a tradition in our family to bake stollen for Christmas and give them to neighbours as gifts! We live in Singapore too (like Yvonne!) and there’s a festival we celebrate close to Christmas called Winter Solstice (although there’s no winter in Singapore…), where it’s a tradition to make little glutinous rice balls, sometimes filled with peanut, black sesame or red bean paste in a sweet pandan flavoured soup!
Not sure if this giveaway is open internationally though?
My girls and I always make cookies and candies for friends and family. I think my favorite are the caramels which take all day to make but taste oh so good. It feels like Christmas once the caramels are made.
My mom makes a square with a shortbread base, red and green glace cherries plus coconut and raisins in the filling and the simple name of Marg’s Special Bars. Seeing those means it’s Christmas! My tried-and-true is Mincemeat Brownies–really just a moist square with mincemeat and no chocolate. Tradition trumps logic!
Must make these for the holidays: miniature mince pies, a proper British steamed Christmas pudding, rich German butter cookies cut out into shapes, deep dark molasses gingerbread cookies, and date-nut cake made with no fat of any kind.
I love a good sugar cookie during the holidays!
I love making cookies (especially the slice&bake variety) and candy (fudge and marshmallows — mmmmm!)
But really, I’m not picky — if there’s baking in front of me, I’ll eat it!
I love apple crisps and cobblers, especially when they take only 1 bowl!