Baking with Cookie Molds
Secrets and Recipes for Making Amazing Handcrafted Cookies for Your Christmas, Holiday, Wedding, Party, Swap, Exchange, or Everyday Treat (Second Edition)
by Anne L. Watson
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Pub Date Sep 15 2015 | Archive Date Mar 04 2017
Description
"Expert instructions guarantee readers a frustration-free experience when using decorative metal, earthware, and wooden molds . . . After reading this, you'll want to snatch them up." -- Lisa Campbell, Library Journal, Sept. 15, 2015 -- STARRED REVIEW
"A tasty treat of practical cookie making, historical cookie-mold information, and a wide range of recipes, all served with appetizing sides of baking history and great photographs." -- Kirkus Reviews
Beautiful to look at but hard to use. That's the reputation of cookie molds. But should it be?
In this groundbreaking book, Anne L. Watson restores cookie molds to an honored place in the baker's kitchen by revealing long-lost secrets of their use. With Anne's techniques and recipes, tasty cookies with lovely, detailed designs will literally fall from the mold into your hand.
Learn how to make traditional molded cookies like speculaas, springerle, and shortbread, as well as modern ones like White Chocolate Lime Cookies and Orange Blossom Wedding Cookies. Learn the tricks of sandwich cookies, layer cookies, chocolate backing, and exhibition cookies. And learn about the molds themselves -- the many kinds, their history, the best places to find them, how to treat them, what makes a good one, and which to avoid entirely.
With nearly two dozen recipes and almost a hundred photos, Baking with Cookie Molds will quickly have you making cookies that both amaze and delight.
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Anne L. Watson is the author of several craft books, including the bestselling beginners book Smart Soapmaking, as well as several novels. In a previous career, she was a historic preservation architecture consultant. Anne lives with her husband and photographer, Aaron Shepard, in Friday Harbor, Washington.
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"Anne L. Watson deserves big hugs from bakers everywhere for resurrecting the beautiful and tasty art of baking with cookie molds. Loaded with practical advice on everything from the care and cleaning of molds to proper recipe formulation and molding technique, 'Baking with Cookie Molds' provides all the know-how one needs to put retired molds back where they belong -- off walls and out of cupboards, and into action in our kitchens." -- Julia Usher, author, Cookie Swap, and Director, International Association of Culinary Professionals
"Cookie molds are lovely to admire but often end up as part of your kitchen decor rather than as a baking tool. 'Baking with Cookie Molds' will inspire you to use those molds as they were intended -- to create strikingly beautiful cookies -- and shows that those cookies can be delicious as well! Detailed instructions and photographs make it feel like the author is right there in your kitchen, baking alongside you and guiding you through each step." -- Christina Banner, author, How to Build a Gingerbread House
"A must read for novice and avid bakers! Anne's story and vast knowledge of cookie molds keeps you entertained from beginning to end." -- Karen Giamalva, President and CEO, LetsBakeCookies.com
"Friendly, warm, and inviting." -- Ken Hamilton, The Springerle Baker
"A 'honey' of a collection of old and new secrets for shaping edible-art cookies -- with less effort and more success. Will do much to keep this tradition alive!" -- Gene Wilson, HOBI Cookie Molds
SPECIAL NOTE! -- ANNE WILL PERSONALLY ANSWER ANY READER QUESTION. ASK ON HER WEB SITE, AND YOU'LL NORMALLY HEAR BACK WITHIN HOURS!
A Note From the Publisher
HOW I STARTED
When I began making molded cookies, I had no intention of writing a book about it. I wouldn't have even guessed you could write enough to fill one.
No, I just wanted to make cookies. I had a beautiful wood mold with an image of Saint Nicholas. I had recipes and directions. I was ready to bake!
Well . . . .
The directions I'd been given told me to oil and flour the mold. I did that. But it wasn't nearly as simple as oiling and flouring a cake pan. I found that out on my first try. I used too much flour and didn't spread it evenly, so my saints were spotted with white. Then I tried preparing the mold with just oil, and I got blurry, nearly faceless saints.
So, I decided I'd used too much oil, and I tried a little less. Those saints stuck in the mold, and many lost their arms or head. I tweaked amounts of oil and flour, tried different techniques and different tools. I tried pan spray, vegetable shortening, and several different oils. I substituted cornstarch or confectioners' sugar for some of the flour.
None of these experiments worked. Further batches produced a motley crowd of Nicholases. Some were hunched or stretched. A few of them flattened into unrecognizable blobs in the oven. The cookies tasted good but looked terrible. Since my reason for buying the mold in the first place was the making of beautiful Saint Nicholas cookies, I was very disappointed. For all I knew, so was Saint Nicholas.
But I was determined to master the art, and before long I was doing much better. By then, I was thoroughly intrigued. There was much more to making molded cookies than I'd thought. I experimented with different pieces of equipment and even worked out some new and helpful techniques of my own.
Finally, I discovered a long-forgotten fact about the earliest traditional recipes that made the whole process about fifty times easier.
But the idea of writing a book didn't come until I started sharing my cookies with other people. Then their stories tumbled out.
"My grandmother made these. I just loved them. I still have her molds, but I don't know how to use them."
"I bought a mold like that when I was in Europe. I never could make it work. I think I still have it somewhere."
"For years, I've asked all the bakers I come across if they know how to make windmill cookies. But none of them do."
Baking with cookie molds, I came to realize, had become a lost art, and it shouldn't have. It really isn't difficult. Like so many things, it's just a matter of knowing how. Most instructions you'll see, though, give you methods requiring much skill and practice while also leaving out a lot. That's why so many people who try cookie molds give up in frustration.
You don't have to be one of them. There are easier and better methods than the ones in common use today.
That's what this book shares with you -- what I've learned from my mistakes and successes. Things that will work. Techniques and pointers. Equipment you need and equipment you don't. Plus loads of tasty, doable recipes.
In other words, everything you need for molded cookies to be fun and rewarding.
Advance Praise
FULL REVIEW FROM KIRKUS REVIEWS, June 16, 2015
A tasty treat of practical cookie making, historical cookie-mold information, and a wide range of recipes, all served with appetizing sides of baking history and great photographs.
Watson (Island Women Trilogy, 2015, etc.) adds to her collection of how-to books on soap and lotion making with a colorful collection of recipes, decorative cookie lore, and clear, practical advice for bakers of all levels. Starting with honest descriptions of her own failures -- some cookies were "flattened into unrecognizable blobs" -- she provides historical context for molded cookies of all types, along with her secret ingredient to ease the unmolding process and produce exquisite treats. Few cooks will be able to resist her enthusiastic and encouraging call to kitchen action: "You'll have to experiment a bit, but don't let that daunt you. Remember, when you experiment, you may not get cookies you like -- but the one thing you're sure to get is information, and that's always helpful!" But Watson's book has appeal outside the kitchen; she weaves in a Saint Nicholas story and a detailed cookie-making lesson with style. Also helpfully included is a FAQ section and extensive resources for purchasing molds or learning more. A "historic preservation architecture consultant" by trade, Watson is organized, thorough, and undeniably readable. Her guide is also surprisingly entertaining. While relating her first attempt at molding, she says, "Since my reason for buying the mold in the first place was the making of beautiful Saint Nicholas cookies, I was very disappointed. For all I knew, so was Saint Nicholas." Shepard, her husband, provides dozens of clearly labeled photos for mouthwatering visual inspiration.
Engaging, precise baking guide that will have readers heading for the kitchen with enthusiasm and confidence.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9780938497646 |
| PRICE | $30.00 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Sean T, Reviewer
While not a baker in fact I a horrid at it. I love baked goods and everything about them. This was a good read with lots of ideas. What a wonderful book that has been produced
Holly Z, Reviewer
Highly informative for the true cookie lover that loves to bake in molds. She tells you exactly how to bake molded cookies with GREAT success!!! Gone is the frustration of these molded cookies not coming out right!! She has a secret, and it works!!
Finally!! Thank you!! I finally baked a cookie with my molds without it sticking and with the detail that it was meant to produce!! Also filled with recipes perfect for molded cookies. I can't say enough and give this book enough stars that it truly deserves, as the stars only go to five!!
Michelle d, Reviewer
As a child I always loved shortbread and the gorgeous moulds necessary to bake it. In later life I discovered "Speculaas" and St Nicholas cookies and the fascination continued. I often buy these cookies but have never until now seriously considered trying to bake them. I often see these moulds both second hand and new but look at them as more decorative than functional.
For a nation reawakened to the joys of baking or watching others bake this book is nice surprise. This book is bundle of information and makes a very interesting read, yes it contains recipes but to me they come second to everything else that is shared.
I was lucky enough to get a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review, but this is a book I would purchase for myself. It was fascinating to read and is so obviously written out of the love of cookie moulds and baking cookies. My copy like the online sample is filled with colour pictures, not black and white as another reviewer experienced.
Recommended for anyone who has ever looked at a cookie mould with confusion or doubt.
Nancy C, Librarian
Brilliant way to teach people who want to take a step back in time and hand make beautiful cookies. I even learned what I thought was a butter pat pattern maker is actually a cookie stamp. How cool is that.
Karen H, Reviewer
Title: Baking with Cookie Molds
Author: Anne L. Watson
Published: 2015, Shepard Publications
No. of Pages: 222
Cover Price: $27.00 Paperback, $.99 Kindle
Finally, a book has been written that explains and shows how to use all types of cookie molds, stamps, and springerle rolling pins and molds correctly, along with recipes that actually taste good. A long-time collector of dozens of different molds, it has always been disappointing when the molds came with only one or two recipes from the manufacturer along with inadequate instructions that haven’t always worked out.
Anne L. Watson’s book, Baking with Cookie Molds takes the guessing out of making beautiful cookies with molds and gives excellent step-by-step instructions that actually work, even with antique molds and those with no instructions at all. Watson has made the art of baking with molds fun. Every recipe I’ve personally tried has worked out perfectly, and it has been difficult to actually break down and let friends and family devour them because they are so pretty.
Although cookies made from molds are not always quick and easy, there are some using stamps that can be made in less time, which is a nice bonus for cooks in a hurry.
The book includes extras such as how to care for wooden and antique molds, as well as a good variety of recipes. There are excellent pictures of both finished cookies and molds, many that will inspire collectors to make an effort to add to their collections. Watson is also a good writer, and the prose is concise and understandable so that anyone – from experienced cooks to beginners – can understand and successfully make beautiful molded cookies.
For cooks who want to expand their expertise in baking, and those who love to bake beautiful works of art, this is a great book and highly recommended.
Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this cookbook.
This book may be purchased at Amazon:
Baking with Cookie Molds: Secrets and Recipes for Making Amazing Handcrafted Cookies for Your Christmas, Holiday, Wedding, Party, Swap, Exchange, or Everyday Treats, Paperback
Baking with Cookie Molds: Secrets and Recipes for Making Amazing Handcrafted Cookies for Your Christmas, Holiday, Wedding, Party, Swap, Exchange, or Everyday Treat
Liza s, Reviewer
I recently found myself in a predicament, as a WI group Trustee, I needed to make some biscuits for christmas meeting. Unfortunately I don't make biscuits!
Not until I found this book. The instructions are simple and easy to understand, that even I managed to produce an edible product!
Sadly, though I have so far been able to source and cutters/moulds here in the UK, but I'm sure they exist somewhere.
Highly recommended book!
Montzalee W, Reviewer
Baking with Cookie Molds is a book that superseded my expectations. It started with a funny, detailed history of the cookie and the cookie mold. The book explains what is needed for making a mold, and there is loads of pictures of cookie molds from all eras. There is step by step processes for making cookies along with a very detailed instructions, pictures included. Tips and tricks that the author has found helpful through trial and error. The author also gives you lots of recipes and pictures of cookies. I really learned a lot reading this book, I had no idea so much was involved and what an art it is to make these gorgeous treats. The amount of detailed explanations and pictures alone is worth it! Certainly a book for beginner and advanced cook alike! Reviewed this book for NetGalley.
Toni Marie W, Librarian
If you're a beginner or a novice, this book works. I'm a beginner and enjoyed the tips, hints and recipes!
Leyla J, Reviewer
When I looked at this book, I was not sure whether I would find it useful. How wrong I was - such a enthralling book with a little about the history, a lot about moulds, type, how to look after them and use them. There are recipes which are very easy, and now I am looking at buying some wooden moulds - what lovely ideas for making biscuits for very special occasions.
Michelle J, Reviewer
Excellent and fascinating book! I learned so many new things about cookie molds, which I have wanted to collect for a long time. There's tons of gorgeous mold examples as well as recipes and tips. One tip was that using honey instead of sugar for the dough is preferable, which I was very happy to hear since I prefer honey anyways! Highly recommended if you are interested in this ancient craft that results in absolutely stunning cookies!!
Evelyn D, Reviewer
Great book - As much a cookbook as a history book. I made cookies for my son's wedding using this book and they were a hit!!!!!!!!! One of my best book finds
Michelle G, Reviewer
Very clearly written. Easy to understand. Very nice tips. Recipes are clear and easy to follow. Look forward to trying them.
Robin leslie C, Reviewer
I loved this book. Not only was there some really great recipes but there were also some interesting history facts provided. I love to enrich myself not just in cooking areas but also some history areas too. The pictures are beautiful and recipes are easy to follow.
sharanya p, Reviewer
The book explains the use of wooden moulds used to give impressions on the cookies , the pictures and the moulds shown in the book are beautiful........
Rubina B, Reviewer
A good book but could use more pictures of the dishes made
Dani E, Reviewer
Very Information heavy on the history and types of cookie moulds. Lots of advice for taking care of your equipment and also very informative recipes.
Reviewer 60249
Who knew there was so much to learn about collecting and using cookie molds?
Anne's down-to-earth style of writing makes this information-packed resource an enjoyable and enlightening read. Helpful tips gleaned from her own trial-and-error efforts will save you time and disappointment in the kitchen. Recipes and FAQs provide all you need to make your own molded cookies.
Chock full of beautiful photographs of wood and pottery molds, this valuable resource for home and professional bakers will also appeal to collectors of baking paraphernalia. Five Stars!
Trent V, Reviewer
Having had some cookie molds hanging on my wall for over 5 years now.. and never once using them.. I was intrigued by this book.. Before this book, I thought you could only make one type of cookie with them, but she provides about a dozen or so recipes.. (not a lot, but I don't think its the point of the book)
The majority of the book is nice pictures of various cookie molds, and lots of information how to use them..
Also, there are step by step pictures for using the molds, which is great as I have never seen step by step photos before, and if I had attempted to make springerele cookies before this book, they would surely have ended in a messy failure.
Thank you for such a great resource, now to dust off those molds and get to baking!
Beth N, Librarian
Watson reveals an old baker's secret which will help you get the results you want when baking with cookie molds. Includes information on how this baking tradition got started, how to care for and use your cookie molds, recipes, sources, and more. A great book for home bakers who want to make something special for someone they love!
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