E-book Review: Visions of Sugarplums

Presented by: Lizzie at A Dusty Frame
Price: $7
Available at: A Dusty Frame
Description:

Visions of Sugarplums: A Collection of Christmas Cookery is a delightful ebook published by Lizzie of A Dusty Frame, filled with those exceptional recipes of holidays past. My mouth waters as I examine the contents:

Gingerbread Waffles
Warm Cranberry Punch
Sweet Potato Casserole
Moravian Cookies
Toffee Squares
Epiphany Cake
Julgrot (Swedish Rice Pudding)
Triple Layer Brownies
Vintage Molasses Cake

The book is sprinkled with holiday traditions from around the world and their corresponding recipes, like finding the lucky single almond in the Julgrot. You’ll find inspirational quotes, a section on making homemade ornaments from kitchen ingredients, suggested family traditions, snow day ideas, and a list of favorite Christmas books. And, of course, lots of love.

Visions of Sugarplums is available for just $7 and is thoughtfully arranged with vintage illustrations—a lovely keepsake for yourself or a special gift for a friend.


I'm always excited to check out a new cookbook, especially one with a Christmas theme!  However, it was definitely different for me to use an e-book.  Although I print many recipes from online sources; I am old fashioned about enjoying curling up on the couch with a cookbook for inspiration.  However, it would be easy to print out the e-book if you prefer to go through it offline.  You can also of course print individual pages, as I did when I tried several recipes.

Visions of Sugarplums has all the look and features of a traditional cookbook.  It has lovely vintage illustrations and an attractive layout.  As the above PR paragraph mentions, in addition to recipes it includes seasonal thoughts, quotations, and ideas, which I greatly enjoyed.  The recipes are divided into four sections for Appetizers/Beverages/Breads, Meat/Side Dishes, Cookies/Desserts/Candies, and Miscellaneous.

So far I have tried three recipes from this cookbook, one from each of the first three sections.  The first was Creamy Pumpkin Pie, which was perfect.  It was simple to throw together and smooth and delicious!

Yesterday for breakfast I made Grandma Bea's Gingerbread Waffles.  This recipe was also successful; the waffles turned out thick and crispy.  However, the recipe tasted a little too strongly of molasses for my personal preference; I would have preferred more of a ginger flavor.

I also made the Mediterranean Meatballs during my baking day yesterday.  This was another easy recipe, and the meatballs held together well while I was cooking them.  I actually haven't eaten any of them yet, but I will update the post when I try them!

One downside I noticed to preparing recipes from this book was that it was hard to tell how exactly they were supposed to turn out.  Part of this is because there were no photos, but also because there were no introductions to most of the recipes.  I would have appreciated a little blub about each recipe, especially for the foreign ones, as it wasn't entirely clear to me at first glance what they all were!

Overall, I would recommend Visions of Sugarplums as nice holiday cookbook.  At $7, the cheapskate in mean wouldn't have minded it being a bit longer, but it still costs less than a typical cookbook.  It could be a frugal purchase for some new holiday ideas for yourself, or it would be an inexpensive and thoughtful gift for a friend that won't clutter her countertop.

This is a Mama Buzz review.  This product was provided by Lizzie of A Dusty Frame for this review.