A cookbook for chocolate lovers? When I heard that a chocolate cookbook had come in for review, I knew I needed to read/review it! After all, how can you not love chocolate? And this book brings that love right into your kitchen in a delightfully yummy way.
The Chocolate Lover's Cookbook begins with a bit of the basics about chocolate - things such as how to properly melt chocolate, using the right knife as well as different types of chocolate. Do you know what 'blooming chocolate' is? Be sure to read about it before beginning your chocolate adventure.
The recipes are broken down into six chapters - brownies and bars; cakes and pies; cookies; desserts; candy; and sauces, fillings and frostings. I loved that the author included so many different brownies, from the ever common fudge brownies to her Grandma Joyce's 24-hour brownies. Brownies are a good, quick option for all sorts of outings, from school events to church potlucks and while everybody seems to favor the boring store-bought box version, next time I'm going to bring some yummy homemade mint brownies. They are gooooooood!
The first think you'll notice when you get your hands on this book is the salivation inducing photos spread throughout. Close-up pictures of all the gastronomical delights make it hard to choose what to prepare first. Normally I test prepare/cook three of the recipes in a cookbook but this time, I went a little overboard. It was just so hard to choose what to make (and eat!) that I decided not to limit myself. I started with a simple recipe, the 'Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cookies.' I've made plenty of peanut butter cookies in the past but haven't combined the two ingredients before. The recipe was easy to follow and while the cookies came out a bit gooey (my fault), they didn't last very long. Next up were a couple of different types of brownies - mint and the author's grandmother's brownies. The mint ones were awesome and again didn't last long. Grandma Joyce's brownies were a bit more involved - they take several hours to 'set' so they're not a good last minute,'gotta make something for Johnny's school event tonight' choice, although the author assures her readers that they can be made 24 hours in advance (thus the name) so as long as you plan accordingly, they're a good choice. They were, like the other things I made, quite tasty.
What I really enjoyed about The Chocolate Lover's Cookbook (besides the chocolate, of course!) was that there were no recipes that required a master's degree in cooking. The recipes are all fairly easy, instructions are clear, and for those of us with little time to spend in the kitchen, there are plenty of tasty things to make that won't keep us chained to the kitchen all day. Overall, this was one of the most enjoyable cookbooks I've reviewed in a very long time. Well done, Ms. Dymock!
Quill says: Love chocolate? You'll love this cookbook!
