The arrival of the holiday season gives rise to lots of thoughts. Plans for Christmas, and wish lists for gift-giving and receiving rank high at the moment, and interwoven with those is another shared, defining theme—food, as in feasts, finer and heartier fare than in fairer weather and a seasonal amnesty from sweet-treat restrictions.
That’s where Maria Bruscino Sanchez—aka Sweet Maria—comes in.
The owner and baker for nearly 24 years at Sweet Maria’s in Waterbury, a Connecticut destination bakery for cakes, cookies, biscotti and more, Bruscino Sanchez recently released her latest cookbook, and it’s a perfect one both for this time of year and for how we like to live, and eat, now.
In Small, Sweet and Italian, with 75 recipes and simple, straightforward instructions, “The mini sweet trend takes an Italian holiday with recipes like Cappuccino Hazelnut Cupcakes, tiny Torta Caprese, mini Italian cream horns, cannoli, Bellini and Limoncello cupcakes.”
The word “mini” is the key here; these are small bites that are far more delicious and satisfying than they are filling—meaning you can sample a variety without guilt.
“Mini everything has taken hold of the entire bakery industry,” Bruscino Sanchez writes at the beginning of the book, which, before digging into the recipes, offers an ingredients/pantry section, notes on the necessary equipment, helpful mini primers on baking techniques and even a section on pairing desserts with dessert wines.
“I grew up in a family where small portions meant a meal to serve twelve!” she writes in an opening section of the new book entitled La Dolce Vita means “The Sweet Life.” “Many of us love keeping up traditions, yet our lifestyles have changed to eat smaller and lighter. By baking minis, you can have it all: flavor, tradition, and variety.”
Read the full article on ConnecticutMagazine.com. 
Copyright © 2016 by Dina Cheney from THE NEW MILKS: 100-Plus Dairy-Free Recipes for Making and Cooking with Soy, Nut, Seed, Grain, and Coconut Milks, published by Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.The New Milks, a new book just released from local author Dina Cheney, is the first comprehensive resource about plant-based, vegan, or alternative milks. The book includes 113 recipes dairy-free and kosher recipes, and most are wholesome (many are vegan). The New Milks is a great resource for those who are lactose-intolerant, have dairy allergies, or who follow vegan, paleo, kosher, low-cholesterol, hormone-free, or low-sugar diets. From familiar varieties, such as almond, soy, and coconut, to exotic types, like pistachio, millet, and tiger nut, readers will learn about the full range of incredible plant-based milks.
