Fat Witch Brownies: Brownies, Blondies, and Bars from New York's Legendary Fat Witch Bakery (Fat Witch Baking Cookbooks)

The author, Patricia Helding, doesn't seem to have neglected a single detail in Fat Witch Brownies: Brownies, Blondies, and Bars from New York's Legendary Fat Witch Bakery. The book is well-organized with clear directions and many color photos. I love that the book was designed to fit within a 9" x 9" baking pan for gift-giving purposes.The author begins with brownie and bar baking basics. No special equipment is needed and all the recipes can be baked in a 9" by 9" pan. Tips on baking and ingredients are included as are tips on serving and storing the finished product. There are photos of gift-packaged brownies/bars throughout the book to give the reader ideas (cellophane bags tied with ribbon, paper cartons like those used in Chinese restaurants, parchment paper tied with twine, etc.).Each recipe includes a note about her history with it (sometimes how or when she came up with it), suggested toppings, and/or possible substitutions (for example, other flavors of tea for the Earl Grey Brownies and other nuts in the White Chocolate Almond Bars). There are color photos of more than 30 of the finished brownies/bars.Chapter One, Updated Classics, includes recipes for:* Fat Witch Brownies* Cocoa Brownies* Cakey Brownies* Blondies* Lemon Bars* Gingerbread Bars* Pecan Bars* Espresso Brownies* Frozen Cream Cheese Brownies* Congo Bars* Peanut Butter Bars* Butterscotch Bars* Coconut Bars* Date and Almond Bars* Hermit BarsChapter two, Delicious Decadence, includes recipes for:* Caramel Witches* Triple Chocolate Brownies* Raspberry Brownies with White Chocolate Chips* Intense Chocolate Brownies* Hazelnut Cream Cheese Brownies* Rum Raisin Bars* Cappuccino Brownies* Pecan Shortbread Brownies* Maple Oatmeal Bars* Toffee Bars* Whiskey Brownies* White Chocolate BarsChapter three, Grown-Up Kid Stuff, includes recipes for:* PB&J Bars* Milk Chocolate Brownies* Cherry Oatmeal Bars* Bumpy Highway Brownies* Berry Good Bars* Apricot Bars* Raspberry Bars* Apple Spice Bars* Candy Cane Brownies* No-Bake S'More Fun Brownies* Banana Bread BrowniesChapter four, Delightfully Different, includes recipes for:* Butterscotch Flip* Cinnamon-Ginger Brownies* Cranberry Blondes* Emerald City Brownies* Cardamom Bars* Pumpkin Plus Bars* Orange Walnut Blondies* Lemon Cheesecake Brownies* Molasses Brownie Bars* Lavender Treats* Earl Grey Brownies* Zucchini-Carrot Bars* Breakfast Brownie Bars* White Chocolate Almond BarsAlthough the author asserts that the brownies and bars are yummy on their own, she provides recipes for nine toppings. She suggests her favorite combinations (such as the Orange-Lemon Glaze with the Cardamom Bars and the Caramel Frosting on the Apple Spice Bars) but encourages readers to experiment. She even provides a tip of what to do if you end up with lumpy frosting (throw on some chopped nuts). The last chapter, Over-the-Top Toppings, includes recipes for:* Easy Chocolate Frosting* Cocoa Frosting* Vanilla Buttercream Frosting* Cream Cheese Frosting* Caramel Icing* Champagne Icing* Coconut Icing or Filling* Ganache* Orange-Lemon GlazeEven the index shows the thought put into it. The author used underscoring to indicate when the ingredient/topic is referenced in the headnote and bolding to indicate when the ingredient/item is photographed. Like other indices, you can search by ingredient (almonds to zucchini) or finished item (apple spice bars to zucchini carrot bars). You can search by tip topic such as ovens (note about convection and preheating) and butter (storing).I will update this review as soon as I try any of the tempting recipes. I didn't want to wait to share the recipe list for people who weren't sure if this book has different recipes than other cookbooks.

If you can read, you can cook, and if you have a copy of Patricia Helding's "Fat Witch Brownies" you can bake, too. Every time I open this little book, I find a recipe that calls for ingredients I have in my kitchen. All require a 9x9 inch brownie pan, a few basic baking tools and about an hour in the kitchen. So far, I have baked:Blondies with Chocolate Chips: soft, sweet and faster than making chocolate chip cookies."Cakie" Brownies: lighter texture than traditional brownies, with a bold, dark chocolate, not-too-sweet taste. I might add frosting next time.Lemon Bars: delightfully tart. Fabulous with black coffee.Maple Oatmeal Bars: nice, chewy texture. This recipe requires no eggs.Apple Spice Bars: taste like my mom's Apple Cake. These are tricky to cut into squares, but too delicious to miss.Pecan Shortbread Brownies: just came out of my oven, and they smell heavenly! I found an error of omission in the recipe directions (pp. 75 - 76): it does not say when to add the melted butter & chocolate mixture. I recommend that you add it to the sugar/egg mixture, then add the dry ingredients.Take Helding's advice: buy a 9x9 inch brownie pan and a copy of this book and make it a gift for anyone on your list who deserves a little indulgence. You might get a stack of brownies for a thank-you gift in return!Update on the Pecan Shortbread Brownies: I tried to cut the first brownie while the batch was still warm. It was so crumbly it would not hold together. I needed a spoon to eat it. I let it cool overnight, and was able to cut the remaining batch into proper brownie squares. It still has a crumbly texture, but holds together. The taste is nicely bittersweet.

I have the cookbook for two weeks and so far I've tried out 4 recipes: Fat Witch brownies, apple spice bars, white chocolate bars and cranberry blondes. All of these turned out delicious. The Fat Witch brownies were indeed a bit cakey, but I'm not an American and I've only had a proper brownie at Starbucks, so I'm not sensitive about the density of my brownies. I found them very good and so did my family. At first I was not thrilled with the apple spice bars, but they got tastier in time: they were perfect the second day afternoon. The white chocolate bar were a hit in my house, but for me they were a bit to greasy (which may be my fault), although the taste was very good. And they were chewy! Cranberry blondes are a dream! It seemed to me that they are going to be a bit on the dry side so I added juice of one orange. They turned out perfect! All of the recipes are very easy and quick to prepare.The down side of the book are, in my opinion, the measures: they are all in cups and spoons what is very confusing for a European with a metric scale, but a bit of math won't kill anyone.