A BAKER'S DAUGHTER

Part memoir and part cookbook, this debut blends the story of a loving baker/father with more than 50 of his recipes.

When Brenner collaborated with her longtime friend Donnan to pen the history of Brenner’s Bakery in Alexandria, Virginia, her intention was to showcase some authentic recipes and pay homage to her father, Max. And that is exactly what happens in this buoyant family story, in which colorful characters—like a graceful Southern mother, Miss Charlotte, who laughed so hard she “let loose” on a pile of newspapers—intertwine with Brenner’s Bakery recipes, such as an award-winning Pumpkin Pie. To add even more flavor to already spicy life stories, many eye-catching family photographs (both black and white and color) are sprinkled into the mix. While researching this book, Brenner spent much time testing and adapting her father’s handwritten recipes for smaller kitchens. The recipes in these pages have easy-to-follow instructions and use accessible ingredients. For example, the famous Chocolate Top butter cookies are made with simple ingredients like shortening and cake flour. Mouthwatering recipes include hearty breads, doughnuts, biscuits, and cakes, like a seven-layer chocolate concoction. An appendix offers some useful tips—including one about shaping cookie dough. But the rich stories—including Brenner’s discovery of her Jewish heritage—may be even more delicious than the actual treats. In addition to compelling portraits of immigrant grandparents, there are many tales of Max—a beloved man who hired mentally disabled workers and took breads and pies to neighbors during the blizzard of 1966. Best of all, the simple but poetic prose is full of memorable sensory images: “Each night, Dad came home with dried chunks of sugar and dough down the front of his white T-shirt and pants. The family dog would lick his shoes clean every night.”

A lively family account delivers a sweet, lingering taste of nostalgia.