I Love Desserts: Salty Sweets—Delectable Desserts and Tempting Treats

the appetizer:

Salty Sweets: Delectable Desserts and Tempting Treats by Christie Matheson, includes recipes like Salted Caramels; Black-and-White Almond Bark; and Dark Chocolate Fleur De Sel Cupcakes with Snappy Butterscotch Icing.

Salty Sweets
Delectable Desserts and Tempting Treats

by Christie Matheson

Click to Buy Salty Sweets

Do opposites really attract? In the case of salty and sweet, you bet they do! Like peanut butter and jelly—itself a classic salty-sweet duo—these tastes were made for each other. Salt helps balance and heighten sweets, transforming ordinary cookies, cakes, and candies into truly special confections. It brings out the complexities of chocolate, highlights the subtleties of fruit, makes nuts really pop, and turns caramel and butterscotch into pure ambrosia. The salty-sweet combination has swept the nation, with chefs, candy makers, and retailers all offering tantalizing sweets complemented with salt.

Salty Sweets is the first cookbook to bring the phenomenon home. Christie Matheson offers 75 delectable ways to enjoy this tasty twosome, proving along the way that salty sweets are not the sole province of fancy chefs and trendy chocolatiers. Seven recipe chapters cover every sort of treat, from little bites to cookies, bars, cakes, puddings, fruit desserts, and even ice creams. Readers can make their own version of those salted caramels found in upscale boutiques, along with such sophisticated fare as Maple Crème Brûlée, Lavender Fleur de Sel Shortbread, Fig and Ricotta Pizza, and Nantucket Sea Salt Ice Cream. Or how about the homey goodness of Old-Fashioned Kettle Corn and Decadent Hot Cocoa? And who could resist Dark Chocolate-Covered Pretzels, Butterscotch Brownies, Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting, or Caramel-Fudge Sauce? Tempting color photos will send cooks straight to the kitchen to try these treats for themselves.

An introductory chapter outlines the basics—equipment, ingredients, and techniques—of successful sweet making. The author discusses all kinds of salts—from fleur de sel to Maldon to Hawaiian pink to smoked and more, each with its own distinctive flavor and texture; Matheson encourages readers to sample the wealth of exotic and rare salts available today.

Celebrate the happy marriage of sweet and salt with these irresistible creations. It's a match made in dessert heaven!

About the Author

Christie Matheson is the author of Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style and the coauthor of Wine Mondays, The Confetti Cakes Cookbook, Confetti Cakes for Kids, Tea Party, and Vineyard Harvest. She is a regular contributor to publications including The Boston Globe Magazine, Cooking Light, Boston, Yankee, Body + Soul, Yoga Journal, Continental, San Francisco, and DailyCandy.com. For two years she hosted a weekly television segment called "Trend Tracker" on the UPN Morning Show, and she is a frequent guest on the television show Chronicle as well as on Martha Stewart Radio. Matheson lives in San Francisco, California, and Boston, Massachusetts.