Treat Yourself by Jennifer Steinhauer Book Review

 

If you grew up on corner-store treats, memory lane is paved with Ho Hos, Yodels, Oreos, and Ring Dings. And while your taste buds may have grown up a bit, chances are you still crave these classic flavors. Now you can re-create the lunch-box delights that made you the envy of other kids, with all-natural homemade versions.

After much obsessing and experimentation, Jennifer Steinhauer has cracked the code for 70 iconic treats to re-create in your own kitchen. There are cookies with a perfect crunchy base for cream filling, snack cakes with frosting so thick you can peel it off all at once, candies dipped in chocolate and dusted with sugar, and ice cream pops so juicy that they drip down your arm. A self-taught baker, Jennifer had no interest in complicated techniques or chemical gunk, just easy hacks that break down and remaster these throwback snacks.

About the Author:

Jennifer Steinhauer has been a reporter for the New York Times for twenty years. Her weekly column at Food52.com, “Weeknights with Jenny,” shares her adventures in weeknight cooking. She lives with her husband and their two daughters in Washington, D.C.

My Thoughts:

I have a confession to make I have a cookbook addiction. I just love getting my hands on cookbooks and trying out new recipes.

I was excited when I found out that they made a cookbook with all those yummy treats that bring back so many memories of my childhood. Except they tasted much better as a child then they do now. There is something about making those treats without all the preservatives and additives that intrigued me to want to make them for my family. Not all the ingredients are made from scratch but, they are pretty close to homemade compared to the store bought items.

This cookbook has 176 pages. It starts out with the author taking you down memory lane and sharing her story of some of these nostalgia snacks. I had to laugh because I can relate to it. Some of these snacks remind me of certain people or events. It made me laugh as I never realized how much an oatmeal crème pies reminded me of my mom, or Hostess cup cakes remind me of a childhood friend. This is a very fun way to start an introduction for a cookbook.

I absolutely love it when cookbooks have pictures. Treat Yourself has very colorful illustrations of the finished products. I am very pleased with all the pictures that Jennifer Steinhauer included in this cookbook.

The front and back cover paper are nice and thick for protecting the pages and it’s made to be able to wipe away spills. There is also a flap on the front and back cover to bookmark those favorite recipes. The pages inside the cookbook are thick and a high quality paper

There are a lot of tips included to help succeed in making these recipes. Also she has some great suggestions on supplies that will make your life easier when making these yummy recipes.

I would say that most of the recipes are easy to make yourself. There are a few recipes that look a bit more difficult for my liking.  

Some of the chapters are:

Introduction

Supplies
Classic Cookies
Sandwich Cookies
Snack Cakes
Fruit Treats and Filled Things
Savory Snacks
Candy
Frozen Treats

I think my first recipe is going to be the Hostess cup cakes and I can’t wait to surprise my family with this. I have all the ingredients on hand already.

Thank you- Jennifer Steinhauer for taking me down memory lane with your cookbook “Treat Yourself”. Thanks for  putting together a fun and sweet cookbook. This will delight my family for many years to come.

You can follow Jennifer Steinhauer on Twitter.https://twitter.com/jestei

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of this book from Blogging for Books- Waterbrook for free in order to write this review. All thoughts and opinions are mine and were not subject to editing from the publisher.