Tate's Bake Shop: Baking for Friends

Well confess I collect cookbooks..now I read them after years of midnight cookie panics from one of my kids..5 dozen for tomorrow ordered at bedtime! I could easily be a cookbook critic and know pictures sure sell a lot of mediocre cookbooks. I paid an outrageous amount for Kathleen's Cookies...eye watering but worth it. My chocolate chip cookies are the same as hers...the Better Homes and Gardens book from 1965 is a gem. What I like about her books is the experience since age 11...I started young too. After time you can do them in your sleep...her recipes are melt in your mouth, not merely sweet. Many of these recipes came from the 50's and 60's when food was still food and flavor lit up eyes around the table. This last book had two recipes I wanted...Cherry Chip Cake and Pecan Shortbread..and they are spot on. The book has 7 chapters, 1 muffins, scones, shortcakes 2 tea loaves and quick breads. 3 pies, tarts, crisps 4 cookies. 5 party cakes , cupcakes. 6 health and lifestyle baked goods and 7 icings, frostings,and sauces. Pecan shortbread melts in your mouth with taste of roasted pecans...oooooo. Chocolate Key Lime Pie...the combination is addictive. Irish Soda Bread muffins...brilliant idea for St Patrick's day...no cutting required. Maraschino Cherry Chip Cake...some things are just required if you love those red kiddie drink things..Shirley Temple addicts. There is s recipe from a friend's Mom called Flour Icing that tastes like Marshmellow but no Fluff in sight. Maple Bacon Date scones...can smell them from upstairs and brings them running. Kathleen built a million dollar business because she loved to bake and learned from anyone who made something that tasted good. I read she sold the business last year with 200 employees and it has gone international. The buyers are keeping it smart and the cookies still taste good..the recipe for the original Choc Chip is in the first two books...this one has the chubby version as she calls them...thicker and probably taste same just thicker and chewy. The woman knows how to bake...any or all of her books are worth a spot on your shelf..direct clear recipes and brilliant results. Thank You Kathleen for all these yummy recipes!

Returned because it doesn’t contain the original crispy chocolate chip cookie recipe. That was the only reason I purchased it in the first place.

A friend of mine sent me the recipe for the pecan bars from this book. Everyone who tasted them was blown away. I decided I must have this book because 1. We love Tate’s cookies, 2. I love to bake, 3. There is no downside.

Very helpful tips and good recipes. They all work and taste good. If you like to bake and want to try these recipes,you will not be disappointed. Mrs. King has been honing her craft for a long time and is well respected. Of course, that doesn't mean anything if you don't like her food. But you will!!!

Kathleen King's recipes always deliver. There are definitely recipes from this book I look forward to trying. If you love pies then you'll have a varied collection to choose from. The health & lifestyle chapter is a bit measley. My greatest disappointment with this book is the chocolate chip cookie recipe. I chose to buy Baking with Friends thinking that she had repeated the recipe from her earlier one in this new book. But alas, she shared the "Chubby Tate" recipe in the new book and I am a complete addict of the thinner ones. So now I have both books. Both this and Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook have chocolate chip cookies on their front cover so don't be deceived.