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Summary: Amazing!
Review: I love to bake and this cookbook is one of the best I have seen. The instructions are easy to follow and there is a picture of every finished recipe! I recommend this book to chocolate lovers and non-chocolate lovers alike.
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Summary: This is an extrodinary baking book!
Review: I own many books on baking, but this is truly a masterpiece. I would recommend this book to both the beginners and experts alike. There is something for every taste included.
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Summary: Chocolate lovers unite
Review: I purchased this title 3 years ago, and have made several of the recipes. I found that in each recipe Marcel included useful tips for streamlining construction, as well as for storage and selection of utensils. While I am not an accomplished chef, I can say that I have had a lot of success (based on feedback) in getting people to delight in the results of my labor. The person who wrote about inconsistencies in a few of the recipies refered to recipes I have not tried. I was surprised to read that criticism, because all the recipes I tried came out wonderful (if not looking exactly like the pictures in the book!) I would highly recommend this book. An easy recipe that is always a winner is for the Black Gold cookies.
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Summary: Chocolate lovers unite
Review: I purchased this title 3 years ago, and have made several of the recipes. I found that in each recipe Marcel included useful tips for streamlining construction, as well as for storage and selection of utensils. While I am not an accomplished chef, I can say that I have had a lot of success (based on feedback) in getting people to delight in the results of my labor. The person who wrote about inconsistencies in a few of the recipies refered to recipes I have not tried. I was surprised to read that criticism, because all the recipes I tried came out wonderful (if not looking exactly like the pictures in the book!) I would highly recommend this book. An easy recipe that is always a winner is for the Black Gold cookies.
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Summary: Inspiring cookie recipes I've used again and again
Review: I've had great success with the "Chocolate Crack Ups" and the Bengal cookies BUT have been stymied by the "Chocolate Caramel Puffs". Such an alluring recipe but the puff dough recipe is either way off (typo in the book?) or the instructions are incomplete. It turns out as a thin batter which couldn't possibly be spooned onto a cookie sheet in twelve level tablespoons without immediately creating one level lake of batter (not "dough" as it's described) on said cookie sheet. I've looked up "choux pastry" in another book and it shows a photograph of a shiny dough which holds its shape and the ingredients had proportionately less liquid. So disappointing!! I'll keep trying but what a waste of good butter and eggs! Still, I think this book is certainly worthwhile. I just wish I could find a corrections and ammendments page on the web for it.
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Summary: Some great, some not so
Review: I've had great success with the "Chocolate Crack Ups" and the Bengal cookies BUT have been stymied by the "Chocolate Caramel Puffs". Such an alluring recipe but the puff dough recipe is either way off (typo in the book?) or the instructions are incomplete. It turns out as a thin batter which couldn't possibly be spooned onto a cookie sheet in twelve level tablespoons without immediately creating one level lake of batter (not "dough" as it's described) on said cookie sheet. I've looked up "choux pastry" in another book and it shows a photograph of a shiny dough which holds its shape and the ingredients had proportionately less liquid. So disappointing!! I'll keep trying but what a waste of good butter and eggs! Still, I think this book is certainly worthwhile. I just wish I could find a corrections and ammendments page on the web for it.
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Summary: THE NEW YORK TIMES, Sunday, December 14, 1997
Review: Macaroons are among my favorite cookies, especially when made with chocolate. In his latest book, DEATH BY CHOCOLATE COOKIES, Marcel Desaulniers has a delicious recipes in which he uses chopped almonds and a little cream instead of the traditional almond paste, making the macaroons lighter. He uses drained, frozen coconut in place of sweetened flakes, which can often make the macaroons gummy and bland.--Moira Hodgson
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Summary: Highly recommended for a direct chocolate experience
Review: Marcel Desaulniers has been kind enough to bequeath on the chocoholics of the world three divine books devoted to it: "Desserts to Die For" (which also, admittedly, has non-chocolate desserts), "Death by Chocolate Cakes," and this one, "Death by Chocolate Cookies." Chocolate lovers everywhere should count themselves lucky to have Mr. Desaulniers' sumptuous recipes at hand.Desaulniers owns and runs Trellis, a southern restaurant at which he goes through more than three hundred pounds of chocolate (not to mention two hundred pounds of nuts) on a WEEKLY basis. He knows whereof he speaks, so listen up! It's important to read "Notes from Ganache Hill," which opens the book, and which has Desaulniers giving us the benefit of his experience on everything from butter vs. margarine (use butter, please, preferably unsalted), ovens and other equipment, and, of course, the different types of chocolate. I love Desaulniers' sense of humor and imagination in naming his recipes: Chocolate Crack-Ups, Franny's Big Bottom Pies, Black Magic Cookies with Blackstrap Icing, and (my favorite) Successively Excessively Crunchy Peanut Butter Brownies. I can highly recommend my most favorite of all recipes in the book: the Black Gold Cookies. These have something like four teaspoons of chocolate for every 1 teaspoon of flour in the recipe! They are divinely, richly chocolatey and people sort of lose their minds eating them, recovering later only to whimper, "Wh--what happened? Where am I?" That's the sort of effect a Desaulniers dessert recipe will have on you.
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Summary: Recipes needed better testing
Review: My mother and I tried three of the recipes in the book, one turned out well. The other two did not. One was some sort of "paisly" print brownie, and the middle came out gooey and mushy. The other was Van Go Go chocolate cookies. The flavor was described as being rich and chocolatey, but it lacked in chocolate flavor and color, sort of like those nilla wafers: you can't tell the difference between choc. and vanilla except by sight. From 13yearold Steph.
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Summary: Beauty is skin deep
Review: Such beautiful pictures, and they are great inspiration. Makes you want to spend the day in the kitchen. There it ends. I tried the white chocolate-candy cane recipe twice. It just doesn't work. We (I have a professional kitchen) added flour to make a manageable batter, but after baking could not get them off the baking sheet. More adjustments, and finally succeeded in making a cookie that no one liked. We also tried the two layer desert with brownie bottom. Expensive mess. The beautiful photographs are worthy of framing or put the whole book on your coffee table.
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