Books: Celebrate Fall with Delicious Southern Treats from "Southern Sugar"

You don't have to be from the South to embrace Southern food—especially the sweets. There is just something about Southern desserts that appeal to the hearts, souls, and stomachs of everyone. Just think of decadent, sweet delights filled with lots of sugar, butter, nuts, and fruit, or dripping with chocolate, caramel, whipped cream, and yes, even bourbon! Chef Belinda Smith-Sullivan transports home cooks to the delicious South with her new cookbook, Southern Sugar by reintroducing some favorite recipes that may have been forgotten and putting fresh takes on Southern classics. 

“Southern Sugar is all about traditions — the traditions of Southern people, families, and communities,” Chef Belinda explains. “Nowhere is this strong sense of connectedness felt like in the South. Southerners are especially proud of their desserts. I have had the opportunity to travel throughout all the southern states, and I am amazed at the sweet treasures that I have discovered in the smallest corners of communities that I share in my book.”

With 100 satisfying recipes, Southern Sugar is divided up into chapters that focus on cakes, pound cakes, cheesecakes, pies, ice creams, candies, cookies and brownies, and cocktails and mocktails. Some of the recipes found in the book include:

-    Afternoon Tea Cakes 
-    Hummingbird Cake
-    Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies 
-    Chess Pie 
-    Sweet Potato Pecan Pound Cake with Orange Glaze and Candied Peel
-    Mississippi Mud Cake
-    Caramel Bourbon Pecan Pound Cake
-    Fig Pistachio Cheesecake
-    Beignets
-    Kentucky Bourbon Balls
-    Alabama Slammer
-    Sazerac