Real Sweet

My newest cookbook crush is one that most moms will definitely understand.

Real Sweet by Shauna Sever came across my desk late last month, and I’€™ve been smitten with this naturally sweet baking book since I first flipped through the pages. Written in Shauna’€™s charmingly funny and self-deprecating style, this ‘more ‘hip’ than ‘hippie” collection of recipes is guaranteed to turn out a ton of sweet treats I’€™ll feel good about feeding to my kids.

From snacks and lunch box treats, to bake sales and dinner parties, Shauna has developed more than 80 crave-worthy baked goods all made from natural sugars like honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, coconut sugar, muscovado, and more. She also cleverly coaches readers on how to use these sugars in their baking, and provides tricks for converting our own favourite white-sugar recipes into something a little less refined. Doesn’€™t this sound like something you need in your kitchen?

Shauna fully acknowledges that sugar is still just sugar and she doesn’€™t tout these recipes as ‘healthy food’ but rather a less-refined, less burn-and-crash, less crazy-making way to enjoy a good sweet treat every once in a while. Her recipe testing also led to the discovery that natural sugars add a much-needed boost of seasoning to many sweet recipes, yielding a more flavourful and satisfying product.

I’€™m working my way through a few of the recipes now, and look forward to sharing one here in the coming weeks. As Shauna promised, I’€™m beginning to fall in love with the magic of natural sugars, and I think you might too, if you aren’€™t already cooking and baking with them.

I’€™m curious, are natural sugars are part of your pantry? Which is your favourite to cook and bake with?