A Beautiful Baking Book

"Heirloom Baking with the Brass Sisters"

by Marilynn and Sheila Brass

This is my new favorite cookbook! I love everything about it. First off we meet the adorable Brass sisters in the introduction. They are both in their 60's and for me I was smitten with them right from the start!They recall their strong girlhood memories of baking with their mother so lovingly. It reminds all of us mothers how important it is to create these sensory memories for our kids.

The book itself is stunningly beautiful. The beginning of the chapters and the edges of the pages are decorated with vintage fabric photos. The end papers are full of vintage recipe ephemera- recipes hand written in that beautiful longhand script from the past. Throughout the book are pictures of vintage kitchen gadgets that are really neat to read about. I also like the pictures of the old recipe booklets the sisters have collected over the years.

I have rarely seen a cookbook where I have wanted to try each and every recipe! Included with each recipe is the story of where the recipe came from and how the Brass sisters came upon it. That is what makes this book such a treasure. The stories are fascinating. They tested and tweaked each recipe. The only hard part is deciding what to make first!

When my Mom was over for Easter dinner I was telling her about the book and brought it out to show her. She was equally entranced by the book. Mom recalled her own childhood memories of baking with her mother. It made for a happy conversation. I can't help but think this book would make a perfect Mother's Day gift!