Sweet Maria's Italian Desserts is baker Maria Bruscino Sanchez's loving tribute to the desserts her family has enjoyed for generations - desserts you'll find in Italy and in Italian-American homes on special occasions and, in many cases, any day of the year. These are festive favorites like Traditional Cannoli, Espresso Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Amaretto Chiffon Cake, Spiced Gelato, and many others. The result of years of baking in Italy, in her popular bakery, and in the kitchens of her grandmother, mother, and aunts (many of whom do the baking at Sweet Maria's), the book includes cookies, cakes, pies, tarts, pastry, sweet breads, frozen desserts, fruit dishes, and other specialties-all made with warmth, tradition, and a love of great desserts. Presented with simple instructions, tips from the bakery, and a dollop of background information on the customs and history of the desserts, these creative, top-notch recipes will bring delicious favorites to your kitchen. "In her latest endeavor, Sanchez serves up enticing recipes for Italian and Italian-American specialties, including the ubiquitous cookies as well as cakes and tarts."--Publishers Weekly

Six years ago, Maria Bruscino Sanchez opened a bakery in her hometown of Waterbury, Connecticut, to satisfy the ever-increasing orders for her cookies and cakes, baked from handed-down recipes. Today, Sweet-Maria's is a booming business that has garnered terrific reviews, numerous baking awards, and a passionately devoted clientele. This book collects 65 of Maria's most asked-for recipes. Line illustrations.

For a sweet snack or a delectable dessert, Maria Bruscino Sanchez, baker and author of three previous cookbooks, offers this cookie collection of family recipes, popular bakery treats, classics, and variations on familiar favorites. Cookies and cookie-lovers come in all shapes, sizes, and tastes, and this book has something for everyone, including Cappuccino Drops, Cheesecake Squares, Amaretto Biscotti, Chocolate Nutella Sandwiches, Italian Love Knots, classic Chocolate Chip, and a selection of low-fat, low-sugar, and gluten-free cookie recipes. Complete with information on ingredients, kitchen equipment, as well as baking tips and techniques, this collection of easy to make recipes is sure to produce tasty results. Whether you like your cookies dropped, rolled, filled, piped, or fried, Sweet Maria's Cookie Jar has the recipe you're looking for, and more than a few you'll be thrilled to discover.

An authentic guide to the festive, mouthwatering sweets of Southern Italy, including regional specialties that are virtually unknown in the US, as well as variations on more popular desserts such as cannoli, biscotti, and gelato. As a follow-up to her acclaimed My Calabria, Rosetta Costantino collects 75 favorite desserts from her Southern Italian homeland, including the regions of Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Puglia, and Sicily. These areas have a history of rich traditions and tasty, beautiful desserts, many of them tied to holidays and festivals. For example, in the Cosenza region of Calabria, Christmas means plates piled with grispelle (warm fritters drizzled with local honey) and pitta 'mpigliata (pastries filled with walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon). For the feast of Carnevale, Southern Italians celebrate with bugie ("liars"), sweet fried dough dusted in powdered sugar, meant to tattle on those who sneak off with them by leaving a wispy trail of sugar. With fail-proof recipes and information on the desserts' cultural origins and context, Costantino illuminates the previously unexplored confectionary traditions of this enchanting region.

The author of Sweet Maria's Italian Cookie Tray shares her simple secrets for making bakery cakes at home. Sweet Maria's is an amazingly popular bakery that brings together family recipes, and contemporary favorites. Now, those of us who aren't lucky enough to drop by Sweet Maria's can make wholesome, delicious bakery-style cakes at home to celebrate a birthday, get-together, fresh pot of afternoon tea, or any other cakeworthy occasion. Basic enough for beginners but creative enough to satisfy experts as well, Sweet Maria's Cake Kitchen collects 65 of the bakery's most popular cakes, including: Almond Pound Cake, Orange Plum Loaf Cake, Amaretto Apple Cake, Tiramisu Cake, White Chocolate Ganache Wedding Cake (it's easier than it sounds!), Mini Chocolate Mocha Loaves, Cappuccino Chiffon Cake, and many more, plus bakery secrets for prepping the ingredients and decorating with simple panache.

A collection of recipes for Italian desserts that provides simple instructions, tips from the bakery, and background information on the customs and history of the desserts.