Reviews Cooking, Food And Wine Book

Product Details

Amazon.com Review
Growing up in a close-knit, Italian American family, Maria Bruscino Sanchez was surrounded by tradition: food, customs, and celebrations from the "old country" were lovingly observed, and if the original meaning was sometimes hidden beneath the patina of a new culture, the respect and desire to stay connected to the past remained. As an adult, Sanchez turned family tradition into her livelihood, opening Sweet Maria's bakery in Waterbury, Connecticut, where she re-created the cakes and cookies of her youth--but with a distinctly American twist. With Sweet Maria's Italian Cookie Tray, Sanchez offers her culinary treasures to an even wider audience; recipes range from drop and molded cookies to filled ones, biscotti and biscuits, taralle and pizelles, and many more. Cookie lovers will find plenty to devour in this compilation of Italian American favorites.

From Booklist
A few years ago, only a handful of Americans appreciated Italian cookies beyond the familiar amaretti. An explosion of interest in Italian cooking has changed all that, and biscotti and pizelles now appear in restaurants and bakeries from coast to coast. Sanchez, bakery owner from Waterbury, Connecticut, has built a business based on production of Italian cookies, and she now shares her recipes. Some Italian cookies, such as nut-studded biscotti, require special techniques, being twice baked (the literal meaning of biscotto). Others, including bar and drop cookies, more directly recall typical American cookies. Frizzelle, spiked with both fennel seeds and a prodigious quantity of black pepper, add a new dimension to the cookie baker's art. Sanchez's precise directions ensure consistent results in the home kitchen, but not all her required ingredients may be readily available in areas lacking Italian markets. Mark Knoblauch

About the Author
Maria Bruscino Sanchez lives in Waterbury, Connecticut where she is the owner and baker at Sweet Maria's bakery.

Customer Reviews

Italian Bakery at Home
Having grown up in Connecticut amid its wonderful Italian bakeries, I was thrilled to find this cookbook. The fact that the author owns an Italian bakery in Waterbury was enough of a recommendation for me. So far, I have made seven of the cookie recipes, and have enjoyed them all. The only problem I had was running out of pine nuts for the Pignoli cookies. I'll buy twice as many, next time!
One reviewer complained about the lack of photos in the book, so I am posting my own.

Italian Cookie Heaven
I love this book. I have always wanted to know how to make these authentic Italian cookies...and here they are all rolled up into on great book! I think its great!

GREAT RECIPES-EASY
SWEET MARIA'S ITALIAN COOKIE TRAY COOKBOOK IS WONDERFUL. VERY EASY RECIPES BUT QUITE A SELECTION. AMUSING LITTLE STORIES WITH THE RECIPES MAKE IT FUN TO BAKE FROM THIS BOOK. I HAVE THIS BOOK AND HAVE BOUGHT SEVERAL FOR GIFTS - RECIPIENTS VERY GLAD TO RECEIVE IT.