The Church Ladies Title: The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts : Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections

Purchase Item

Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
List Price: $25.95
Our Price: $11.48
Customer Reviews:
The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts : Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections by Putnam Adult

An important piece of our history

The praline recipe in this book is outstanding, as well as the cover recipe, the lemon-coconut pound cake. Both get rave reviews whenever I make them. The stories and pictures are also wonderful, and should bring up wonderful memories for anyone who grew up in the church.
The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts : Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections by Putnam Adult

Needs An Interior Redesign

Don't get me wrong this is a good collection of recipes not all of which are directly from church ladies.

However, as a baker I prefer to see a presentation- a photo of the finished product. This edition has too many pictures of the cooks and not enough of the cooking. I was not expecting a Church fashion show! Maybe the writer could compromise and in a next edition put the baker with her product?

The interior pages which were of a type of recycled non-luminious paper that was a bit hard on my eyes.

dw

The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts : Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections by Putnam Adult

Treasure Trove!

I used to eat well at my church in Little Rock, AR. I loved how everyone had a signature dish that generated multiple requests for the recipe. You can now have your own signature dessert with this book!

The book is divided into the following chapters:
Cakes
Pies, Cobblers and Trunoers
Cookies and Candy
Custards and Puddings
Frozen Treats
Specialty Desserts
Beverages
Top It Off (Sauces)

You will get your money's worth with this book. There is a huge number of recipes! In the cake chapter alone there are 50 recipes. Unfortunately there are no pictures of the desserts, but the book is filled with images of the women who made them and their stories. This is a book to be treasured.

This book takes me back to my church socials. It contains the varied and quirky dessert recipes (buttermilk ice cream and Mississippi Mud Cake) that made the teas and dinners special. You should be able to find a number of recipes to use for your next bake sale, tea or dinner with family.
The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts : Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections by Putnam Adult

This is a wonderful book.

I came across this book while weeding the large print collection. I took a moment to leaf through it, and I was amazed. This is a gorgeous book, filled with history, photos, and tasty recipes -- and the writing in it is very clever.

This is a special book, more than just a cookbook. I would highly recommend checking it out, but you better not read it hungry!
The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts : Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections by Putnam Adult

Good one...

I liked the pictures and the author's comments. The recipes are plain and simple. This is an interesting and easy to follow cookbook. Good price.
The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts : Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections by Putnam Adult

Book Description

In the tradition of The Black Family Reunion Cookbook, Celebrating Our Mothers' Kitchens, and A Gracious Plenty, The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts brings together more than two hundred recipes, culled from local, church, and family cookbooks. But this book is much more than a compilation of recipes for decadent (or divine) sweets. It honors church ladies, those revered African-American women who have contributed immeasurably to their churches as teachers, mentors, keepers of tradition, and as culinary experts.

A homemade dessert is more than just a sweet finale to a meal in the African-American kitchen. It is a way to demonstrate special affection while underscoring the bounty of God's blessing on the home. And no one more than a church lady is aware of the power of a fine chocolate confection or a down-home bread pudding prepared with love and served with respect.
The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts : Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections by Putnam Adult

Amazon.com

The African American church-going experience is richly defined through the recipes and stories collected in Brenda Rhodes Miller's The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts: Heavenly Recipes and Sweet Recollections. Throughout the book, Miller introduces us to many church ladies and shares their sweet yet significant contributions to their neighborhood churches and communities.

The phrase "church social" is equivalent to homemade and the recipes are of the sort one would expect to find on the tables at a church social or bake sale, ranging from Pineapple Upside-Down Cake to Sweet Potato Pie. Boxed cake mixes are forbidden with this crowd and Miller even includes a story of one church lady from her childhood who was quite comfortable sending individuals back home if they had brought "store-bought" baked goods to a gathering.

The stories and church-lady bios make for pleasant reading, and the recipes in this book are great to have on hand the next time you're asked to bring dessert to a social gathering. Whether you need a tasty and tart fresh lime pie or a chocolate brownie recipe that requires more effort than just adding water, The Church Ladies' Divine Desserts is a welcome and comforting resource, full of rich flavor as well as history. --Teresa Simanton