A Baker's Daughter: Recipes & Memories from a Family Bakery

This is what happens when a devoted daughter revives her famous-baker-dad's recipes--and uncovers a hidden family history.

In this narrative cookbook, Marcy Brenner's devotion to her dad, Max, is evident from the first line to the last--but her journey of discovery goes back in time, to long before she tasted her first Chocolate Top Cookie.

We follow her journey, starting with a childhood of working holidays at Brenner's Bakery in Alexandria, Virginia, and culminating in teaching herself to bake like a pro in her own kitchen. To learn Max's secrets, she decoded his cryptic, commercial recipe cards. In so doing, uncovered an unexpected story--one of generations of bakers who both protected their past and used love as their primary ingredient.

Features fifty primary recipes, with variations, and a special "Notes" section on banking tips and tricks--including how-to's for bread starters. Plus, more than 100 four-color process photos, along with black-and-white illustrations of Max's favorites. The narrative pages include Brenner family photos, past and present.

Marcy is a musician, songwriter, author, and cancer advocate. She balances a need for solitude with her joy in sharing music and serving others; this book, A Baker's Daughter, allowed her to serve her ancestors by telling a story they could not tell for themselves--along with celebrating her father. Her music audience, many of whom also were fans of the family bakery, have been thrilled to bring his recipes into their own homes.

A 2008 documentary film of Marcy's inspirational cancer-survival story, entitled Dead Girl Walking--made by Ray Schmitt of Real Earth Productions--won the Amazing Grace Award at Toronto's BreastFest Film Festival, among other honors at various festivals and events.

Marcy has written, recorded, and published three original music CDs: Home To Me, Another Year Blooms, and My Live Oak.

Kristin (Marcy calls her Krissy) comes by her profession because she fledged from a family tree populated by writers, from both branches of the maternal line.

She has spent her career as a freelance writer, authoring or coauthoring several books--including Rex Appeal, the source material for the 2014 Emmy^(R)-winning documentary Dinosaur 13, a film she assisted during production. She also owns an independent publishing company called Rockin' Dog Studio, and writes, researches, and/or edits for other authors, as well as for television, film, and giant-screen projects. She adores Chocolate Top Cookies.