Cookbook Review: Joy The Baker Cookbook (Joy The Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-off)

Joy The Baker Cookbook

100 Simple and Comforting Recipes

Softcover

246 Pages

I was both excited and thankful when Heather of girlichef asked me to be a part of the Joy The Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-off.  When this gem of a cookbook arrived in the mail I quickly found a quiet spot and spent over an hour going through it.  I marveled at how pretty it was.  I drooled over all the beautifully photographed goodies.  I laughed out loud as I read Joy's stories.  I bookmarked nearly everything.  I'm dead serious.  I bookmarked way more than I normally do.  I literally want to make everything in this book (bring on the elastic pants). 

I've learned to take note when fellow bloggers write cookbooks.  I was lucky enough to be part of The Homesick Texan Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-off and instantly fell in love with the The Homesick Texan cookbook, which by the way, really has become a favorite. I feel the same way about Joy Wilson's Joy The Baker Cookbook.  Joy's cookbook is so well-loved in my home that it's yet to make it's way to my cookbook shelves.  I keep it out on my kitchen counter.  I look through it on the couch.  I take it with me in the car when I'm waiting in the carpool lane.  Heck, I even take it to bed with me.  My point is, when I have any down time at all...this book is almost always in my hands.  And when I don't have down time I think of this book and anticipate the next recipe I'd like to try.     

Here's a glimpse of what I made during the Joy The Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-off!  Ten recipes down, 90 more to go...ha ha.

First up, and oh so promising, were Joy's Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.  These brownies really are the ultimate brownie.  Completely intense with chocolate flavor. 

 

 Next up were the Whole Wheat Honey and Goat Cheese Biscuits, which I quickly dubbed as California Biscuits simply because my husband has an aversion to goat cheese.  Can I just tell you that I don't think I did these biscuits justice on my initial post?  I really grew to LOVE and OBSESS over these biscuits.  They were so darn easy and had the best texture.  I really enjoyed them served warm with a little extra goat cheese and a fried egg.  Love these biscuits and will make them often.

For blogger's choice week I really wanted to show that Joy's book included some rather savory options, so I made three snacks.  First up, and because I love mustard, I made Joy's Honey-Mustard Roasted Cashews.  They were all buttery and sticky.  Total deliciousness.

Surprisingly, the favorite of the two nut recipes happened to be these Crunchy Cocoa Roasted Almonds.  When Joy says these nuts are crunchy, she really means it.  These nuts have a big crunch to them and what I really love is that they are the perfect mix of sweet and salty.  Perfect for when you're having those cravings.

For my popcorn eating family, I made Joy's recipe for Perfect Kettle Corn.  I will warn you that this recipe requires some hefty shaking to get all the mixture evenly distributed into the popcorn but it is so worth it, especially if you like making homemade popcorn as we do.

Here are the recipes that I've made and not posted.  Joy's Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins.  These muffins are literally bursting with blueberries.  They turned out beautifully moist with lots and lots of crumb topping.  A damn fine blueberry muffin for sure.

These Cheddar Chive and Jalapeno Biscuits have been so popular during the cook-off and I simply had to make them.  They turned out so pretty and were extremely cheesy.  We enjoyed them with dinner and also made them into egg biscuits for breakfast. 

My Mom and I were in the mood for a dainty and girly dinner one night.  We chose Joy's Zucchini and Potato Pancakes and enjoyed them with a little crumbled feta cheese on top.  These made for a crunchy and delightful dinner, along with a side salad.

For breakfast this morning I made Joy's Baked Coffee Cake French Toast, served with lots of sliced strawberries on top.  Talk about good eatin'.  I'll be posting this recipe soon.

Also made, but not shown here, was Joy's Single Girl Melty Chocolate Cake which was probably my favorite all-time recipe in Joy's new book.  Picture a chocolate molten cake for one that's made in mere minutes.  It's so easy and delicious it will become dangerous.  Dangerous, I tell ya.

 

I'm so thankful to Hyperion for sponsoring this event, and also to Heather at girlichef, for hosting.I'd also like to thank my fellow bloggers.  It sure was fun cooking and baking along with you in this cook-off.  I loved seeing the posts pop up here and there and thoroughly enjoyed reading through all of them.  Joy The Baker's new cookbook is definitely one of my favorite cookbooks at the moment.

This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef*