"In her newest baking book, everyone's favorite Italian baker, Maria Bruschino Sanchez of Connecticut's Sweet Maria's Bakery, takes the mini sweet treat trend on an eye-opening Italian vacation highlighting classic Italian treats, like cannoli and sfogliate, in small sizes for scrumptious small bites while offering readers an trove of new recipes that are hers alone--tiny cappuccino hazelnut or Bellini cupcakes, bite-sized orange cornmeal cakes, mini jelly-filled bombolini, individual pear and fig crostatas, mini cornetti and tangy limoncello tartlets. Sanchez fills tiny parfait glasses and baking dishes' with Arborio Rice Pudding Parfaits, Pannetone Bread Pudding and White Chocolate Hazelnut Tartufo. Small, Sweet and Italian includes more than seventy-five recipes with easy to follow instructions that will turn any kitchen into a Sweet Maria Kitchen. So, this fall, think "small, sweet, and Italian" when you're looking for dessert with an Italian twist!"--

Six years ago, Maria Bruscino Sanchez opened a bakery in her hometown of Waterbury, Connecticut, to satisfy the ever-increasing orders for her cookies and cakes, baked from handed-down recipes. Today, Sweet-Maria's is a booming business that has garnered terrific reviews, numerous baking awards, and a passionately devoted clientele. This book collects 65 of Maria's most asked-for recipes. Line illustrations.

Sweet Maria's Italian Desserts is baker Maria Bruscino Sanchez's loving tribute to the desserts her family has enjoyed for generations - desserts you'll find in Italy and in Italian-American homes on special occasions and, in many cases, any day of the year. These are festive favorites like Traditional Cannoli, Espresso Cheesecake, Tiramisu, Amaretto Chiffon Cake, Spiced Gelato, and many others. The result of years of baking in Italy, in her popular bakery, and in the kitchens of her grandmother, mother, and aunts (many of whom do the baking at Sweet Maria's), the book includes cookies, cakes, pies, tarts, pastry, sweet breads, frozen desserts, fruit dishes, and other specialties-all made with warmth, tradition, and a love of great desserts. Presented with simple instructions, tips from the bakery, and a dollop of background information on the customs and history of the desserts, these creative, top-notch recipes will bring delicious favorites to your kitchen. "In her latest endeavor, Sanchez serves up enticing recipes for Italian and Italian-American specialties, including the ubiquitous cookies as well as cakes and tarts."--Publishers Weekly

Trained pastry chef, blogger, and mother of two Aran Goyoaga turned to gluten-free cooking when she and her children were diagnosed with gluten intolerance. Combining the flavors of her childhood in Bilbao, Spain, with unique artistry and the informal elegance of small-plate dining, Aran has sacrificed nothing. Dishes range from soups and salads to savory tarts and stews to her signature desserts. With delicate, flavorful, and naturally gluten-free recipes arranged by season, and the author's gorgeously sun-filled food photography throughout, Small Plates and Sweet Treats will bring the magic of Aran's home to yours. Fans of Cannelle et Vanille, those with gluten allergies, and cookbook enthusiasts looking for something new and special will all be attracted to this breathtaking book.

Sweet Maria's Italian Cookie Tray presents sixty-five recipes for the delicious, festive cookies that brighten every Italian home, at the holidays and all year-round. Maria Bruscino Sanchez opened Sweet Maria's bakery when she was just twenty-six years old, specializing in authentic Italian cookies and cakes made from handed-down family recipes. The result has been a booming business, and this very special cookbook. The irresistible reciples range from drop, molded and filled cookies; biscotti; taralle and biscuits; pizelles, and more. Easy to prepare and perfect for any occasion (or no occasion at all) they include: Chocolate Almond Macaroons, Pignoli Nut Cookies, Amaretto Biscotti Sesame Cookies, Almond Crescents, Lemon Drop Cookies, Chocolate Puffs, Florentines, Lady Fingers, Sweet Ravioli Cookies, Christmas Honey Clusters, Angel Wings, Cinnamon Nut Bars, and more. Whether you grew up in an Italian home or just wish you did, this wonderful collection is sure to become a cookie lover's favorite--one you will return to again and again.

Frances Mayes, whose enchanting #1 New York Times bestseller Under the Tuscan Sun made the world fall in love with Tuscany, invites readers back for a delightful new season of friendship, festivity, and food, there and throughout Italy. Having spent her summers in Tuscany for the past several years, Frances Mayes relished the opportunity to experience the pleasures of primavera, an Italian spring. A sabbatical from teaching in San Francisco allowed her to return to Cortona—and her beloved house, Bramasole—just as the first green appeared on the rocky hillsides. Bella Tuscany, a companion volume to Under the Tuscan Sun, is her passionate and lyrical account of her continuing love affair with Italy. Now truly at home there, Mayes writes of her deepening connection to the land, her flourishing friendships with local people, the joys of art, food, and wine, and the rewards and occasional heartbreaks of her villa's ongoing restoration. It is also a memoir of a season of change, and of renewed possibility. As spring becomes summer she revives Bramasole's lush gardens, meets the challenges of learning a new language, tours regions from Sicily to the Veneto, and faces transitions in her family life. Filled with recipes from her Tuscan kitchen and written in the sensuous and evocative prose that has become her hallmark, Bella Tuscany is a celebration of the sweet life in Italy. Now with an excerpt from Frances Mayes's latest southern memoir, Under Magnolia.

“This immigration story is universal.” —School Library Journal, Starred Dan Yaccarino’s great-grandfather arrived at Ellis Island with a small shovel and his parents’ good advice: “Work hard, but remember to enjoy life, and never forget your family.” With simple text and warm, colorful illustrations, Yaccarino recounts how the little shovel was passed down through four generations of this Italian-American family—along with the good advice. It’s a story that will have kids asking their parents and grandparents: Where did we come from? How did our family make the journey all the way to America? “A shovel is just a shovel, but in Dan Yaccarino’s hands it becomes a way to dig deep into the past and honor all those who helped make us who we are.” —Eric Rohmann, winner of the Caldecott Medal for My Friend Rabbit “All the Way to America is a charmer. Yaccarino’s heartwarming story rings clearly with truth, good cheer, and love.” —Tomie dePaola, winner of a Caldecott Honor Award for Strega Nona