I've got a new cookbook, and I'm absolutely loving it. It's called Small-Batch Baking by Debby Maugans Nakos. I like home-made breads, but my husband doesn't; and we both like baked goods, but we don't often like the same things. So a regular recipe of pumpkin muffins or chocolate walnut brownies is just too much for me. Either I feel bad about wasting them, or even worse, eat more than I want/need simply because they are there. Even when we both want chocolate chip cookies, we don't need 24 of them. Two or three apiece will do. Now that I've found this cookbook, my problems are over.
The book has recipes for breads that are baked in a 3x5 loaf pan, muffin recipes that make only 4 muffins, a chocolate chip cookie recipe that makes 6 cookies, and a brownie recipe that makes just 3 brownies. Nakos included recipes for single-serving cakes, small pies and tarts, even some holiday treats. I've tried three or four of the recipes so far, and all of them were simple and delicious.
Another great thing about being able to bake only a few decadent brownies or moist muffins is that I've found that when I appease my cravings with something that's really delicious, I'm satisfied with much less. Also, knowing I can whip up another batch whenever a craving hits defeats that "gotta eat it all now because there won't ever be any more" mentality.
