Catherine's Pick: Baking for Two by America's Test Kitchen

America's Test Kitchen takes the guesswork out of baking on a smaller scale by reengineering all your favorite baked goods in the Baking for Two cookbook.

Baking can be a lot of fun, but if you don’t regularly have a crowd of people to share treats with, trying to figure out what to do with your tasty results can be weirdly stressful. A typical box of cake mix makes two dozen cupcakes! That can result in some stomachaches if you only have two or three people in your household. That’s why America’s Test Kitchen has published Baking for Two.

With over two hundred recipes ranging from a dozen cookies (yes, just 12!) or six-inch cakes, to four no-knead dinner rolls or two calzones, this cookbook covers the baking needs of a small household. Of course, if you want to treat a crowd, you can still double, or more, any recipe. Many recipes come with freezer instructions if you want to prep an after-work snack ahead of time. Also, while all of the base recipes assume you will use an oven, some also come with instructions for baking in an air fryer if you enjoy using that. If you're watching what you eat, the back of the book includes nutritional information for every recipe.

I’m looking forward to making the “no-knead mini country boule” soon for my partner and myself. It looks so adorable and tasty in the photo. - Catherine, Cataloging Associate