INTRODUCTION

This book started with butter balls, those nutty rounds coated with powdered sugar that are also known as Russian tea cakes, Mexican wedding cookies, or Greek kourabiedes. When I was making a big batch for the holidays a few years ago, I found myself short on white flour and butter. I happened to have whole wheat and rye flours in my freezer, and I always keep extra-virgin olive oil on hand, so I decided to use them instead. I’ll admit I wasn’t sure how the cookies would come out. But when I tasted them, I went from apprehension to eye-rolling bliss. I hadn’t imagined they could taste any better than the classic version, but they did—much better, in fact. The whole grains highlighted the toasty nuts, while the olive oil introduced a complex richness, making the cookies even more melt-in-your-mouth. My kids, always my most honest—and, therefore, harshest—critics, gave me their verdict by begging for more. Once the cookies had passed that high bar, I served them to chefs and food editors to get their professional opinions. They unanimously declared them the best they’d ever had—and requested the recipe.

I had incorporated nutritious ingredients into baked goods before, but this was the first time I realized how many of my friends prefer them that way—and wanted more recipes like them. And although I’d never consciously thought about it, I realized that I hadn’t been enjoying traditional desserts the way I once had. They tasted one-dimensional, like little more than butter and sugar.

After a lifetime of baking at home and more than a decade of doing so professionally, I’ve discovered that wholesome ingredients make desserts more delicious when used in the right proportions and with the proper techniques. In this book, I’ve taken my favorites—comforting American classics, elegant European sweets, and treats inspired by my Chinese heritage—and introduced fuller flavors and more nuanced textures by adding nuts and seeds, fruits and sweet vegetables, whole grains, and good fats and dairy.

Whenever possible, I swap out butter for oil, in whole or in part. I still love butter, but I add only as much as needed for the milky taste and the tender crumb. Because oils are pure fat (butter is a mixture of fat and liquid), I can actually use less to deliver just as much richness. In other recipes, I swap in dairy products like cream and sweet cheeses for butter or oil, resulting in especially soft and flavorful pastries. Sometimes desserts made with lower-fat milk, buttermilk, or yogurt turn out even better than their full-fat counterparts. For one thing, their higher water content keeps the crumb moist and less gummy. And in lemon pudding cakes, for example, low-fat milk brightens the taste of the fruit and brings it to the fore.

Whole wheat flours, ancient grains, and gluten-free cereals and seeds—sometimes balanced with just enough all-purpose flour for lightness—deliver nutty notes, especially when paired with fruit. Buckwheat makes juicy blueberries shine in a buckle, and rye in a flaky piecrust highlights the sweet-tartness of the apples in the filling. To accentuate the taste of the star ingredients, other recipes drop the grains altogether, relying instead on ground nuts. Peanut butter cookies taste more peanutty without any flour. The flavor of chocolate, in both solid and cocoa powder form, becomes even more pronounced in flourless sweets like brownies and mousse cake. And intensifying flavor had the side benefit of making many of my desserts gluten-free or even dairy-free.

Cane and beet sugar are unparalleled in their ability to add sweetness and moisture to baked goods. As much as possible, though, the recipes in this book use a variety of less-processed sugars, from fruits to honey or maple syrup to raw sugar or coconut palm sugar—ingredients that add bigger, deeper flavors while delivering vitamins and minerals.

I love efficiency nearly as much as I love baking, so I cut out extra bowls and appliances wherever I can, streamline steps, and make cleanup easier. The “better” in Better Baking refers just as much to the foolproof techniques and shortcuts in this book as it does to the tastier treats themselves.

There’s nothing more satisfying than biting into a warm chocolate chip cookie (there are half a dozen different ones here!), unless it’s knowing your indulgence is full of good-for-you ingredients. The act of baking—and of eating and sharing baked goods—is all about pleasure, and this book is an abundant celebration of that.