Fruit-Sweet and Sugar-Free: Prize-Winning Pies, Cakes, Pastries, Muffins, and Breads from the Ranch Kitchen Bakery

I have had this book for about 2 weeks and so far have tried 2 recipes, both with great success. I couldn't find the concentrated sweetener she talked about, so I followed her EASY instructions and made my own using canned frozen concentrated apple juice. It's not time consuming, as one reviewer said--it only takes 10 minutes, for Pete sake!! The gingerbread is amazing! I also am now using the fruit concentrate in recipes other than in this book, and they come out great! This is a blessing for those of us who don't want to use artificial sweeteners. It gets 5 stars from me!!

I have this book and love the recipes. The instructions are very detailed and help a lot in coming up with great results. The sweetener I use is the Wax Orchards sweetener. http://www.waxorchards.com/sweeteners.htm I can buy it at my local Whole Foods. My favorite recipes? The coffee cake, oatmeal raisin cookies and cream puffs.

My wife and I keep this cookbook handy in the kitchen at all times, where it can be easily reached when we feel the desire to whip up a tantalizing and healthy dessert. After sampling these recipes, we could never go back to sugar! The Very-Berry syrup is a delight on waffles, pancakes, and French Toast, and the Cranberry Banana Walnut bread graces our table every Sunday morning.The author explains how to acquire commercially made fruit sweetener, or if one prefers alternative frozen fruit juice concentrates, there is an excellent explanation in Chapter 1, "The Fine Art of Baking", on how to prepare them. We found that chapter to be enlightening and inspirational, and it sets the tone for the entire book.

This is a fantastic collection of delicious tasting cakes and pastries, prepared according to the level of a fine pastry chef. You can skip some of the finer points (like roasting the nuts before you use them and sifting the flour 3 times!) if you want to speed up the prep time and aren't so particular. THis is what I do. Recipes show a deep knowledge of natural ingredients and interesting combinations of ingredients that I would never have thought of myself.While some people complain that they cannot fine the fruit juice concentrate she uses, one can easily substitue any concentrated fruit juice, as she clearly explains in the brilliant introduction. I live in Israel and have had great success with the concentrates I can find here. Even die-hard sugar fans wouldn't guess that some of the cakes I have made are sugar free. A great cookbook!

I have owned this cook book since 1994. The recipes are easy to follow with good instructions and illistrations. I really enjoy the Old Fashioned Oatmeal Raisin Cookies and the American Beauty Apple Pie. You cannot tell that there is not refined sugar in them. I have taken many items to work and social occasions, with rave reviews. I gave up refined sugars in 1993 and I feel better and have more energy. This book made the transition easy. I would love to find a Volume 2 available.