I love cookbooks! Every time I get a new one I sit and read through it and mark recipes I want to make or think are especially interesting. I also read them for tips and tricks.
In the interests of full disclosure, the links I've created for each cookbook are to Amazon's listings of them. Should you follow that link and buy the cookbook I receive a very small amount of money. I promise you that I will never recommend a cookbook I don't use or don't like for the sake of referral fees.
I've amassed quite a collection and I want to share it with you. So, below I'm going to tell you about my favorite cookbooks:
- Alice's Tea Cup
- I have mixed feelings about this cookbook (as I explain in my post about the mocha chocolate chip cake). However, as far as I know, you can't get their pumpkin scone recipe anywhere else, so it's worth it just for that!
- I've finally tried one of their scone recipes. It was very good!
- What I've made out of the cookbook:
- Martha Stewart's Cookies
- This is a really good cookbook. As the name implies, it is all cookie recipes (including some bar 'cookies' like brownies). I always find Martha Stewart's recipes very straight forward and really well-done. Granted, some are pretty unrealistic for the average home baker. For example, who has a springerle mold? I know I don't! Still, it is an really good book with 175 different cookies to make and color photos of each one.
- The coolest thing, though, isn't the clarity or simplicity of the recipes or the fact that I've loved everything I've made from it. Instead, it's the table of contents. I know, that's not something that is generally considered cool. Well here it is! The cookies are divided up into categories based on their texture (i.e. light and delicate, or rich and dense). Under each category, there are names and page #s of each cookie (as is typical). What is atypical and even cooler than the categorization is that each cookies is pictured in the table of contents. Cool, huh?
- What I've made out of the cookbook:
- Fat Witch Brownies
- This cookbook is entirely devoted to brownies and the occasional bar cookie. I've never actually eaten a Fat Witch brownie from the bakery, but I'd heard good thing about them (and I love brownies) so I thought this cookbook would be a wonderful addition to my bookshelf. I was right. Their recipes are, in general, simple and well thought out. They have some really nice basics (many different chocolate brownies, for example) and some really interesting more unique flavors as well. As of this writing, I've only made two recipes, and only blogged about one (I promise I'll post the other soon!) and I've liked both.
- What makes me really love this cookbook is a little note in it about how to give it as a gift. All the recipes call for a 9x9in cake/brownie pan (nice and simple). Apparently, the cookbook is the perfect size to fit in a 9x9 pan. How wonderful and well thought out is that?!
- What I've made out of the cookbook:
- Cocoa Brownies
- Baileys Brownies (though theirs are flavored with mint not liqueur. See post for explanation.)
- Espresso Brownies
- Earl Grey Brownies
- Chai Brownies
- Blondies with Chocolate Chunks
- Cakey Brownies
- Nigella Kitchen
- Technically this isn't part of my cookbook collection...I bought it for my mom, but we live in the same apartment, so that really is only a technicality! I love all of Nigella Lawson's cookbooks. This is her newest. I really quite like it. It's a bit of a back to basics type book (I've noticed a lot of well-known chefs with multiple books to their name have been putting out this type of book recently.) What I mean by this back to basics generalization is she has recipes for staples like chocolate chip cookies and almost plain bread pudding (and of course many basics in the savory department.)
- Unlike many of my cookbooks, this is not exculsively baking related. In fact, I'd venture to say that it is a little cooking heavy. That isn't a bad thing. Actually it is probably good! I find Nigella's recipes simple and easy to follow, so I quite like her cooking recipes. Also, if you don't want to buy a cookbook devoted solely to brownies or cookies or even desserts in general, this is a better bet as it is multi-purpose baking and cooking!
- What I've made out of the cookbook:
- Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding, description here, photo here.
- Chocolate Chunk Brownies, description here, photo here.
- Guinness Gingerbread
- Williams Sonoma Collection Cookbooks
- Williams Sonoma has published a number of cookbooks. I have: Cookies
, Pie & Tart, Muffins, Bread, and Ice Cream
. I have not used the latter two yet, but they look excellent! I love their cookbooks. Each of the cookbooks are relatively small, but quite comprehensive. The recipes are well written and come out well. I've only had one problem with a recipe I've tried, and it wasn't a big deal, it came out slightly undercooked so I'll just need to bake longer next time. Each recipe has a color photo of the finished product, which I always like having.
- The books don't usually have show-stopper style desserts, but they are all good solid basics. That said, they aren't too basic that I get tired of them and the recipes are pretty much perfected, so they are great for learning new techniques.
- The only problem with them is that, because Williams Sonoma is a store, there are occasional sales pitches integrated into the recipes. I don't mind it, but it can get annoying if it's for a specific type of tool or pan that is necessary for the recipe because they don't give good alternative suggestions. But that impacts maybe two recipes a book, so it really isn't a big deal.
- What I've made out of these cookbooks:
- Cookies:
- Spritz Cookies, see here and here
- I'm sure I've made many more from here, but that was before this blog, so you'll just have believe me that the cookbook is good!
- Pie & Tart:
- Key Lime Pie
- Apple Pie
- The crust for my Artsy Nectarine Tart
- Muffins:
P.S. I'm always looking for new cookbooks, so if you have an suggestions of cookbooks you like, feel free to post them in a comment. Thanks!
