Small-Batch Baking (The cookbook by that name)

[CaliPoutine]

We're all about portion control these days so I decided to pull out this book and make 1 of the recipes. I chose Big Blast Oatmeal Cookies because the recipe made two.

It was odd using 1 1/2 tbls of butter, a few tbls of flour, sugar, etc. I thought the dough was a little wet, so I threw in another tbls of flour and decided to use some whole wheat. I really enjoyed these. I added 1tbls of choc chips too.

Anyone baked anything from this book?

Edited January 9, 2023 by Smithy
Adjusted title (log)

[Maison Rustique]

I'd never heard of the book, but it sounds tailor-made for the two of us.

[CaliPoutine]

I'd never heard of the book, but it sounds tailor-made for the two of us.

←

Not sure how to make an approved link, but here it is

small batch baking

Edited September 14, 2005 by CaliPoutine (log)

[Marlene]

I like this idea! With only two people in the house who eat dessert (I'm not one of them!), this would save me a ton of waste! Of course, my husband always accuses me of making enough for an army.

I mean who knows when someone will show up on your doorstep, needing to be fed!

[Marmish]

I've made several things: the poundcakes, cornmeal cobbler, chocolate birthday cake, vanilla shortcakes. I liked the poundcakes the best. The birthday cake is baked in a tin can, which was both better and worse than I thought it would be. The size is right. I used a can that had ridges - I think most do, though I never really paid attention - and while the cake came out pretty easily, it didn't have clean sides. Not really important when baking for only 2 people, I guess. The cobbler wasn't really to our tastes, because of the cornmeal, I think. The shortcakes spead a lot, if I remember correctly. Could have been me. I don't think I tried them again since I was trying several recipes this summer.

I do like that the recipes aren't basic or run of the mill, and that the author acknowledges leftover ingredients and gives you tips on dealing with that. They also don't require lots of special equipment. Baking rings, maybe some ramekins, tart pans, and saving some cans from other things will pretty much do it, in addition to things you probably already have like muffin tins and loaf and mini loaf pans.

[SethG]

Forgive me if I seem disagreeable, but I can't for the life of me imagine baking two cookies. Maybe if I worked at home or lived 100 miles from my closest neighbor.

One of the most rewarding aspects of baking for me is the joy of giving stuff away and having people tell you how great it all is, how generous you are, what a great baker you are, etc. Although, I do have to say, all the dietary phobias come flying out when you bring baked goods to work. It's amazing how many people won't touch anything tasty.

And who can eat just one cookie? Didn't you wish you'd baked, say, four or six of 'em, after your cookie was gone, Cali? It would have required precisely the same effort! I hope you understand, Cali, I'm not putting you down. I just could never show that kind of restraint.

P.S. I know those oatmeal cookies are big. But they'd keep for quite a while in a tin or a plastic bag!

Edited September 14, 2005 by SethG (log)

[CaliPoutine]

Forgive me if I seem disagreeable, but I can't for the life of me imagine baking two cookies.  Maybe if I worked at home or lived 100 miles from my closest neighbor. 

One of the most rewarding aspects of baking for me is the joy of giving stuff away and having people tell you how great it all is, how generous you are, what a great baker you are, etc.  Although, I do have to say, all the dietary phobias come flying out when you bring baked goods to work.  It's amazing how many people won't touch anything tasty.

And who can eat just one cookie?  Didn't you wish you'd baked, say, four or six of 'em, after your cookie was gone, Cali?  It would have required precisely the same effort!  I hope you understand, Cali, I'm not putting you down.  I just could never show that kind of restraint.

P.S.  I know those oatmeal cookies are big.  But they'd keep for quite a while in a tin or a plastic bag!

←

Hi Seth.

I really need to learn restraint because I am diabetic and we're doing weight watchers. 1 cookie was just enough, it filled my sweet tooth and I felt like I wasnt deprived because I had dessert. Robin and I are both of the mindset that if it was sitting there, its hard to resist. Sad to say, but we dont have that much self-control.

Baking only 2 cookies is a new thing for me, since I moved to Canada from California, I have baked and baked and baked and given a lot away, but also sampled a lot too. I just baked 7 items last week for a sweet basket I did for my partners charity silent auction. ( and I knew I was giving all those away so it was ok).

I'm baking a bunch of stuff to enter into the county fair too. I sure do get my baking in, but for just us, I dont want to bake that much qauntity.

[claire797]

I've baked a lot of recipes from that book -- mostly cookies, cakes and brownies. The first cake I made was a chocolate cake with sour cream. It was kind of dry and disappointing. However, I think I may not have measured my flour carefully enough, which is key in any recipe but even more so with small batch baking.

I kept on baking my way through the book and found many of her recipes actually stellar. I've reviewed a few of them on my blog if you are interested in seeing pictures and reviews.

Baking in small batches does take a bit of getting use to, but once you start doing it, you realize how handy it is to not be stuck with a whole batch of something. At least, if you are a constant non-professional home baker who needs to keep things moving!

Small Batch Chocolate Chip Picture

"Just Plain Good Cupcakes"

Small Batch Oatmeal Tuiles

Small Batch Fudge Brownie Review

Her oatmeal cookies are also very good.

[Marmish]

SethG,

I also bake often for others, but for just us, it's nice to make something for dinner and not have to eat it for the next 3 days. Some things, like cookies, I do scoop and freeze a full batch. Plus, it doesn't take a lot of ingredients to make a small batch of something.

Claire, I'll definitely check out your blog to see your results.

[CaliPoutine]

I baked these today. White chocolate chip blondies. I did the dip and sweep flour method( next time I'll do spoon and level). The batter was thick, I ended up adding a 2 tsp of milk. Consequently, the blondie was a tad dry.

Still had a nice flavor and simple to make.

[BarbaraY]

I went to the Amazon website and found this book had some very negative reviews. Still trying to decide if I want to get it since I often don't want large batches of baked goods sitting around calling to me.

[CaliPoutine]

I went to the Amazon website and found this book had some very negative reviews. Still trying to decide if I want to get it since I often don't want large batches of baked goods sitting around calling to me.

←

I just went back and read the intro pages in the book and she says to " lay the cup on wax paper and spoon the flour in it". I didnt do this, I used the dip and sweep method so I think thats why the white chocolate blondies were a tad dry. I'll try another recipe with the authors method.

[claire797]

I just went back and read the intro pages in the book and she says to " lay the cup on wax paper and spoon the flour in it".  I didnt do this, I used the dip and sweep method so I think thats why the white chocolate blondies were a tad dry.  I'll try another recipe with the authors method.

←

Yeah, you have to be very precise and follow the directions carefully with this book. That's the lesson I learned from the dry cakes.

[Marmish]

I made the oatmeal cookies this evening. It says it yields 8. I got 10. They came out very good. They are soft and didn't flatten out too much. I didn't add raisins or nuts. The only other thing I changed was subbing some brown sugar for part of the white sugar.

[duckduck]

Thanks for sharing! The only thing I've tried for two is a box of Jiffy brownies in a loaf pan. I'm glad to know such a thing exists. It's tough to make a whole batch of something with just two of us in the house and I can't afford to feed the whole office all the time. This is a great find.

[prasantrin]

One other advantage of small-batch baking, is that ex-pats currently living in Japan (and perhaps other parts of the world) can bake US-type sweets without constantly adjusting recipes. During one extended stay in Japan, the largest pans my oven could accomodate were a 9-inch square, or a 10" round. It was a pain in the ass making cookie recipes--I could get 5, maybe 6 cookies per pan, depending on the size of the cookies. Most regular US recipes will make several dozen. If had known about this book way back then, I'd have bought it!

(My current oven can accomodate 12-16 cookies per sheet, I'm happy to say, and can even accomodate a 9x13" pan if the lips around the pan aren't too wide!)

edited to fix redundancy and improve on grammar.

Edited September 24, 2005 by prasantrin (log)

[CaliPoutine]

I baked a small batch dulce de leche cheesecake today. I looked at the recipe, but I chose to make my own based on the recipe. I wanted one that was more weight watcher friendly.

I found two heart shaped springform pans at TJ Maxx on clearnance for 5 bucks.

I used 5 oz of cream cheese, 1 egg, 1tbl flour, 2tbls dulce de leche( the good kind, bought at zingermans.com). 1tsp vanilla. For the crust, I used 2tbls graham cracker crumbs and 1tsp butter plus 1 packet splenda( for each crust).

I baked for 25 min at 325. I spread 1 more tsp of dulce de leche on top.

For anyone counting points, I figured 11 each cheesecake.

[Marmish]

I baked a small batch dulce de leche cheesecake today.  I looked at the recipe, but I chose to make my own based on the recipe.  I wanted one that was more weight watcher friendly.

I found two heart shaped springform pans at TJ Maxx on clearnance for 5 bucks.

I used 5 oz of cream cheese, 1 egg, 1tbl flour, 2tbls dulce de leche( the good kind, bought at zingermans.com). 1tsp vanilla.  For the crust, I used 2tbls graham cracker crumbs and 1tsp butter plus 1 packet splenda( for each crust). 

I baked for 25 min at 325.  I spread 1 more tsp of dulce de leche on top. 

For anyone counting points, I figured 11 each cheesecake.

←

Looks good!

[CaliPoutine]

peanut butter oatmeal cookies. This recipe was supposed to make 6-8, I got 9 out of it. This was a variation on the oatmeal cookies. Subbed pb chips for the raisins and peanuts for the pecans. They smell so good, havent tasted one yet.