In the Kitchen - Flour and Marmalade

The other week, I picked up a copy of Joanne Chang's new cookbook, Flour - Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe. It's been a long time since I've gotten so excited about a cookbook. As some of you who are from the area may know, Flour is one of Boston's most popular and respected "make from scratch" bakeries. I've been going to Joanne's shop (she has 3 locations now) ever since it first opened in Boston's South End neighborhood 10 years ago. I could on and on about the pastries, desserts and breads (I really could) but the Bostonian inside me will simply say that they are wicked awesome!

Every time I visit Flour, I always pick up a sticky bun, ginger molasses cookie and coconut macaroon. I can recall years back biting into a slice of her pineapple upside-down cake for the first time and having that instant sensation that it was the best I'd ever tasted. Flipping through the pages, I was very excited to find that Joanne had included all of these recipes in her cookbook. In fact, I was surprised that recipes for the vast majority of Flour's offerings can be found in it. While other restaurant owners closely guard their recipes and trade secrets, Joanne openly shares hers in this book.


My first attempt at making her famous sticky buns turned out fantastic! It's hard to eat one without feeling at least a bit guilty afterward.


These are some serious ginger molasses cookies. They have chewy centers and wonderfully crisp edges. I dare anyone to find a better version.


I can't wait to try the many other recipes in this book. Maybe I can find something to go along with my latest batch of Meyer lemon marmalade. Happy baking everyone!