Dolci! American baking with an Italian accent

James Beard nominee Poliafito (Baked) draws from "that part of me that lives in the in-between," where Italian, Italian American, and American food cultures intersect, in this heartfelt collection. The roughly 100 sweet and savory recipes are sorted into breakfast bakes; cookies, bars, and biscotti; pies, tarts, and crostatas; breads and snacks; cocktails; pastries; cakes; frozen treats; granitas and puddings; and foundational recipes like pasta frolla. Among the standouts are a tri-color almond-enriched spumoni loaf and a dazzling chestnut puree--domed monte bianco. Less successful are the strained attempts to Italianize American classics, including honey-ricotta black and white cookies and tiramisu-inspired Rice Krispie treats. Still, there's much to like in this gorgeously photographed work, including an orange zest-spiked chocolate-filled brioche, a decadent pistachio lemon cake, and enticing savory bakes such as caponata bombas. Poliafito promotes measuring by weight, but also writes his recipes in volumes for those without kitchen scales. This beautifully written paeon to the author's hyphenated background will please home bakers who are up for a challenge. (June)

Poliafito is a two-time James Beard nominee and the current owner of the Brooklyn bakery Ciao, Gloria. Rather than choose between Italian and American sweet treats, Poliafito (who has authored four prior cookbooks with Baked cofounder Matt Lewis, including Baked: New Frontiers in Baking) picks both as the culinary source material for his latest cookbook, which was written with Elsass, a recipe developer and the coauthor of Second Generation: Hungarian and Jewish Classics Reimagined for the Modern Table. Containing almost 100 recipes, this volume offers everything from sweet morning treats like tricolore bomboloni and American cinnamon rolls to savory snacks like mozzarella in carrozza and polenta crackers. Tried-and-true Italian favorites like cantucci and stuffoli make welcome appearances, and Poliafito also includes some of his own ingenious takes on classic sweets, like an Aperol spritz cake and Bacioni, in which he pays homage to Italy's beloved Baci chocolates. Introductory notes to each recipe help set the stage and provide fun context, while the easily digestible formatting of the recipes encourages even novice bakers to give this fabulous cookbook a whirl. VERDICT This inventive, inspiring, and sweetly indulgent cookbook will earn its own well-deserved spot in bakers' kitchens, alongside Nick Malgieri's Great Italian Desserts, Silver Spoon Kitchen's The Italian Bakery, and Gina DePalma's Dolce Italiano.--John Charles