Sugar High By Nicole Hampton {Cookbook Review}
Sugar High: Sweet & Savory Baking In Your High-Altitude Kitchen is a myth-crushing cookbook and a wonderful essential tool for any high altitude baker! Impact-Site-Verification: -262456514
TITLE: Sugar High: Sweet & Savory Baking In Your High-Altitude Kitchen
AUTHOR: Nicole Hampton
PUBLISHER: GraphicArtsBooks.com
DATE: Set to publish October 2018
MESSAGE FROM NICOLE:
It’s a bummer that baking at altitude requires so much trial and error. You put something in the oven, tasting great and looking right, and then your oven pulls some kind of mean magic trick in there. The good news is that baking is a science, and high-altitude baking has solutions. I’m here to show them to you. I hope that, through this book, you can find enjoyment in baking again, and that you, too, can have a secret stash of recipes that just do their thing in the oven and make you look good! Having a kitchen full of yummy treats isn’t so bad either. ~Nicole Hampton (more recipes and videos on her blog and @dough_eyed on Instagram and Facebook).
RECIPES MADE:
- Sweet Honey Cornbread (page 43)
- Classic Biscuits (page 20)
- S’mores Bars (page 198)
WOULD WE RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO OTHERS:
Yes!
MY THOUGHTS:
When Nicole put out a request for fellow food bloggers to review her cookbook, I did not hesitate to sign up. Mainly because we have lived in New Mexico for 6 years (between 5300′ and 6700′ above sea level) and my baking could use a little help. I figured her cookbook could serve as a guide of sorts to help solve a few baking dilemmas that I had come across since our move to the southwest from the southeast.
I am happy to report not only did her cookbook deliver on it’s promise, but it also blessed our family with new treats to add to our growing recipe arsenal!
RECIPE BREAKDOWN:
SWEET HONEY CORNBREAD (page 43)
Husband Man and I are from the south so as one can imagine, we are super critical about our cornbread. Southern cornbread isn’t sweet nor is it cake-like so this recipe was an interesting find for us. Even though we like our cornbread a bit thinner, we also are aware that other parts of the U.S. enjoy a thicker type. Truth be known, I had a recipe similar to this a long time ago. The only difference is that it didn’t call for pepper or honey.
The Verdict: We absolutely enjoyed the pepper-honey combo and are planning to make it again with jalapeños like Nicole suggested. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
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CLASSIC BISCUITS (page 20)
This recipe didn’t turn out quite as well as the others, however, this was not due to Nicole’s instructions in the book. I honestly think the error occurred on my end due to kneading the dough a bit to much, which is exactly what she mentioned not to do.
The Verdict: Despite how small and thin they came out to be, we really enjoyed the taste of them! I have plans to make them again and to leave them be with only kneading a few times.
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S’MORES BARS (page 198)
I picked this recipe out because our children love anything to do with s’mores! It looked pretty simple to make and the pictures in the book make it look delicious.
The Verdict: We LOVED this recipe! The minute it starts baking in the oven, it made our house smell sooooo good! We also actually figured out that these taste out of this world when heated up in the microwave the next day. Our kids topped them with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, and also had them with a cold glass of milk! It’s definitely a keeper!
MY CONCLUSION:
Even though I am a home cook who enjoys the ease of 7 ingredients or less, Sugar High is definitely worth the purchase! There are recipes that are more then 7 ingredients, however, Nicole also made sure to put a few in there that aren’t as long. The directions are precise, clear, and easy to follow. In the beginning of the book, she breaks down popular high-altitude baking myths. These myths are accompanied by baking tips. She also gives you a guide to her favorite tools.
I actually have my eye on a few more to try in the next month or so! This book will be added to our collection of cookbook favorites and it should be in yours as well!
To pre-order Sugar High, click here.
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**Disclosure: In order to do this review, I was provided an advanced reader copy from Nicole Hampton and GraphicArtsBooks.com. All opinions of this review are my own.**