Bodega Bakes: Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store - A Baking Cookbook [Hardcover]

2025 JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER, EMERGING VOICE IN BOOKS

A baking book bursting with joy that will have you hightailing it to the ovenand planning a trip to your local corner store.

A vibrant and straight-up fun cookbook featuring desserts influenced by the Afro-Caribbean cuisines ... her recipes are clear and concise, and they work, making it a great find for bakers of any level. -The New York Times

Growing up in the Bronx, Paola Velezs happy place was the bodega, a unique world full of color and flavor where the shelves were stocked with everything from M&Ms to Muenster cheese to majarete (Caribbean corn pudding)and, of course, its own cat (IYKYK). Before she was a James Beardnominated chef, Cherry Bombe cover girl, social media darling, and cofounder of the grassroots social action network Bakers Against Racism, Paola was a bodega kid with a taste for Warheads, Hostess cupcakes, ice pops, and Malta soda.

Paolas debut cookbook, inspired by these treasures and other ingredients available at corner stores everywhere, is a love letter to both her Dominican heritage and her New York City roots; its more than 100 recipes burst with distinctive flavors, inviting you to enjoy new takes on her childhood favorites and yours. Paolas combination of classical training and self-taught pastry skills means her recipes are accessible no matter your skill level. Shell be your hype girl through more ambitious projects (you can make a turnoverand a Guava and Cheese one at that), as well as more set it and forget it treats, like her Maria Cookie Icebox Cake. Whatever you do, dont sleep on her signature Thickemsgiant cookies that are somehow crunchy and gooeythe most requested recipe in Paolas repertoire and the recipe that made her internet famous, which she shares here for the very first time. With renditions of traditional Caribbean desserts like Pineapple Empanadillas and Golden Rum Cake alongside twl<