Bar Cookies A to Z

Chapters Publishing 1994

Muffins A to Z

Chapters 1995

Puddings A to Z

Houghton Mifflin  1995

Pancakes A to Z

Houghton Mifflin 1997

Out of Print

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The recipes in this charming series of books are arranged in alphabetical order with two or three recipes per letter. But these pretty little books (about 6 1/2 inches square) are more than recipes.  Beginning with the dedication page and opening essay each is reminiscent of events in the author’s childhood that influenced her interest in food and cooking. Bar Cookies A to Z is dedicated to her beloved pets— all long gone to pet heaven— who were always hanging out in the kitchen hoping to score a crumb or two. The opening essay honors her Nana who was a guiding light for a brood of 17 grandchildren and a very special mentor to Simmons. There is a photograph preceding the essay of Simmons (approximately 12 years old) and her Nana (ageless). They are all smiles and obviously share mutual love and admiration. Muffins A to Z  is dedicated to Seraphina, Simmons first grandchild. The essay talks about Simmons job as a teenager in her Uncle Joe’s dinner and the only muffins that he served there: crumbly corn meal muffins and dense rich bran muffins. She then goes on to explore the muffin mania that took hold in the 90’s and her attempt to strike a balance between muffins in as many flavors as new wave ice creams and the sensible sturdy muffins of her teenage years. Puddings A to Z  is lovingly dedicated to Mom and Aunt Tess, two grand ladies (both wonderful cooks) who lived on well into their 90’s. The essay captures the childhood magic of making chocolate pudding “from a box” and then jumps to the present and the joys of pudding from scratch. The essay concludes with a brief history of pudding and then dives right into the alphabet of recipes. The final book in the series, Pancakes A to Z has an especially poignant dedication to the author’s father and brother who shared the tradition of flipping pancakes at the volunteer firemen’s annual pancake breakfast fundraiser. The photo preceding the essay is vintage 1940’s and in it is Simmons’ maternal Grandfather who was a volunteer fire chief in the small town of Milton, New York where she grew up. The essay is a charming reminiscence of the annual pancake breakfasts where she and her brother ate the pancakes that their Dad and fellow volunteer firefighters flipped for family and friends. For obvious reasons these books have many fans among Simmons students and fellow cooks.

The Bar Cookie Alphabet

·        Applesauce Bars with Pecan Praline Topping

·        Blueberry & Lemon Crumb Bars

·        Cherry Chocolate Truffle Bars

·        Date Oatmeal & Walnut Bars

The Muffin Alphabet

·        Almond Crumb Cake Muffins

·        Blueberry Corn Muffins

·        Cinnamon Ripple Coffee Cake Muffins

·        Devils Food Cake Chocolate Chip Muffins

The Pudding Alphabet

·        Apple Butter Bread Pudding with Spiced Apple Cider Sauce

·        Butterscotch Pudding

·        Cappuccino Bavarian Cream

·        Danish Fruit Pudding

The Pancake Alphabet

·        Apple Cottage Cheese Pancakes

·        Banana Sour Cream Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

·        Corn Pancakes with Sour Cream & Caviar

·        Dutch Baby with Cardamom Honey Apple