Basic Cookbooks

 

The frosting is always the best part  

 My daughter Amy didn’t have time to make cupcakes for my great grand daughter’s Birthday and was going to buy some. I said I would bake some if she would pick up a small cake mix. Then I decided to make them from scratch. 

 Here is where cookbooks are handy. I wanted to use what I had on hand and that was slim. No sour cream, which I could fake I know, or cream cheese or cake flour. 

 So out came the trusty cookbooks and after checking several and having no luck I pulled out the Red Plaid Better Homes and Gardens. There it was, a simple chocolate cake with all purpose flour, cocoa and nothing I didn’t have added.

 I made cupcakes instead of the 8” pan as they are easier for small hands to handle. I was after a small amount of cake that would get eaten up and it made 12 cupcakes. A simple buttercream frosting from the same book and they turned out well.

 This is where you need to have at least one of the basic cookbooks. The Food Channel stars and Foodie magazines just don’t cover basic cooking that most of us do day after day. A good basic cookbook will have advice on cooking and baking, amounts per serving, and shopping hints. How to measure and usually an explanation of baking terms. If you are looking for a cookbook for a gift, why not give that younger person a good basic cookbook that will last her for many years.