who wants cookies?

Posted on annePosted in book reviews/events

as you read this, i am most likely flagging a cab into the city from la guardia, to start my weekend NYC/NJ teaching gig. i won’t be home until monday.  erica will fill in with another post on sunday, but i thought that for today, it would be fun to leave you with something to dream on—weekends are, after all, full of possibility.

and what possibility could be more alluring than that of cookies??

it might be a little too warm already where you live to be firing up the oven, but if it is one of the last temperate weekends, it could also be a good time to bake several batches and freeze them to eat over the summer when it’s really just too hot to even consider baking.

just a thought.

but if you find that thought really, REALLY appealing, you might be interested in this book—cookies, another volume in the at home series produced by the culinary institute of america.

as with the other at home books, this one includes a well-rounded combination of both instructional content and recipes.

a quick lesson at the start in appropriate equipment and ingredients to have on hand with an explanation of why they are right for cookie baking will get you off on the right track.

this is all really good stuff to know and if you haven’t heard it before, worth exploring before you go shopping.

why spend money on stuff you don’t need, only to end up trying to store it in space you don’t have? better to spend that money on good ingredients.

i also love the illustrated explanation of techniques—if you didn’t learn to cook at home or in school, these basics can really help pull together the concepts of baking—the bonus for reading this stuff is that many of these techniques apply in other areas of cooking and you’ll be adding to a growing stock of knowledge.

you can read these parts of the book at a separate time, well before baking day—no need to plod through them when you are ready to get your hands in flour.

once you get past the science, the book just gets more and more fun. first, a chapter about packaging and decorating—who doesn’t love that?

handmade baked good can be the loveliest of gifts, but if you plan to go this route, presentation makes a difference.

this chapter is full of great ideas for preparing gift packages that are a cut above for holidays or for any time.

included as well are some baking projects that can be tackled alone or in a small group, to learn a new technique and/or create something out of the ordinary.

after this, we get into the recipes; as with many other books, these are divided into sections according to cookie type—drop, bar, rolled, pressed, shaped, etc

included are many, many recipes for old-fashioned favorites, the every day cookies favored by many bakers for their ease of preparation and universal appeal.

most of my own favorites fall into this category; i’m not as attracted to fancier cookies as i am to good old drop cookies and bars.

what’s nice is seeing a few variations on these recipes that elevate easy-to-bake favorites into fussy-looking results, with a minimum of actual fuss. for instance, these cream filled sandwiches made with drop cookies.

of course, if you enjoy fussing, you will not be left out—there is plenty here to choose from.

get a  load of these

or these.
and if that’s not fussy enough for you, i can put you to work sorting out my yarn room—that should keep you busy for a while.

the last chapter is very interesting and one that you don’t normally see in a cookie book—savory cookies.

from what i can tell, this mostly means crackers and other unsweet thins that act as vehicles for cheeses and toppings.

irresistible, yes?
i especially like the inclusion of this chapter in the book.

throughout the book a nice layout style is used that will help keep your eyes on the important material as you move from book to task and back again. clean, bright graphics accent the chapter changes and gorgeous photography supports the instructional segments as well as the recipes. the large, wide format allows the book to lay open in a relaxed way to the page of choice.

so what do you think? are you now the hopeless hostage of thoughts that circle back to cookies every five minutes or so? maybe you need to succumb and bake yourself up a batch or two. just a thought . . .

if this book has you all lathered up  to shop for flour, butter, and nuts on the way home, then this next port is for you—leave a comment at the end of this post by 9pm EDST on monday night, for a chance to win your very own copy of cookies, generously provided by the culinary institute.

we will draw a name and let you know who the winner is in my next post, probably tuesday morning. happy baking!

 

289 thoughts on “who wants cookies?”

  1. This is an awesome book!

    I would really love to own it.

    Thank you for offering it!

  3. I am a huge whoopie pie fan, and then I saw Carrot Cake cookies?! I may have to start buying pants that have elastic waistbands!

  4. I hadn’t made cookies since Christmas until just last night when I made a triple batch of oatmeal chocolate chip to bring in to my students for the last day of classes–great timing!

  5. the first picture looks just like my grandmother’s gobs. everyone else calls them whoopie pies, all the same they instantly send my thoughts back to childhood! Would love to have a copy of this decadent book!

  6. Oh my goodness, what a treasure!!! Amazing pictures, and all the information…..wow.

  7. Beautiful book. Great addition to anyone’s cookbook library. Nothing like a great homemade cookie.

  8. I was thinking I should resist the temptation of putting my name in the hat, but two things I find impossible to turn away from are beautiful yarns and beautiful cookbooks. Please put my name in the hat and thank you! Jo

  10. What a fantastic book – it seems the best cookie books are the ones not in my cupboard!! I hope I win it!

  11. WOW, what a book! I usually don’t make the cookies in our family, my sister does, but some of those recipes look great!

  13. oh, my, what a scrumptious looking book. I’m not sure I can see this and not go order it.

  15. I bake cookies every Christmas for all our friends and neighbors to spread some holiday cheer. It takes me every weekend from Thanksgiving to Christmas eve to finish it all but it’s worth it! I would love to add this book to our recipe collection.

  16. I suspect I will be buying this on Tuesday afternoon… thanks for sharing the find!

  17. Oh, you got me with the very first picture – WHOOPIE PIES!! I’ve never made them but when I travel to the East Coast from the West, I try to find them in bakeries. I would love this cookbook! Thanks for the chance…

  19. I consider myself passionate about knitting, but I consider myself VERY passionate about cookies! Count me in for the book lottery, thank you!

  21. I was already thinking cookies this weekend, but this sealed the deal! What a great looking book!

  23. Oh my goodness those cookies (all of them) look amazing. I would love to win.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

  25. Would love to win this book for my husband. He loves to bake — especially cookies!

  26. The book looks lovely! I would love to win a copy. I’ve really gotten into baking this past year and have been baking cakes and breads from Rose Levy Beranbaum’s books and love ’em! I’m not as impressed with her cookie cookbook as it’s missing the WOW recipes. The culinary cookie cookbook looks like it has a lot of WOW cookies. Thanks for the chance to win.

  27. This book looks amazing! And yes, the chapter about savory cookies is pure genius! I’ve been meaning to make crackers forever, and finally baked my first batch last week… and clearly, my cracker baking would benefit from more experimenting, but tips and techniques shared by professional bakers would be pretty useful too!
    Thank you so much, Anne, for offering us a chance at winning a copy if this gorgeous book. I’d most probably have to adapt most (if not all) of the recipes to be vegan and gluten-free, but I’d have fun doing it, and technical info and fresh inspiration are always welcome!

  30. Oh what I would give to have this book. It looks truly amazing. Thank you Anne for a wonderful review that has us all salivating for some yummy cookies!

  34. There are many, many people who love cookies, but none who love them more than my husband, the original Cookie Monster. And there are many people who like to bake cookies; but I LOVE to bake them!
    Making cookies is not as much fun as knitting, but almost!
    I would SO make good use of that book!

  35. Now I want to go bake cookies. Thanks for reviewing the book, this is definitely going on my must buy list.

  38. This book would help me around the Holidays when I start to realize I probably won’t get all of my knitting projects completed in time. Beautiful photographs. Love reading your blog everyday-thanks

  39. That book might well cure my aversion to making cookies! Another great book in that series!

  40. cookies, i want cookies lololololol
    so does my grandson 🙂

    seriously, that is a beautiful book

  42. I do a lot of baking for the girls in the dorm — I will definitely have to check out this book! It’s gorgeous.

  43. My 15 year old grandson is already an amazing cook. His dream is to go to culinary school after high school. His 16th birthday is July 2 and this would be a great present.

  44. Cookies! A good recipe is a gem that you can count on all through the year.

  45. That book looks amazing, would love to get my hands on it. Thanks for the chance.

  47. This book looks like a must have for a grandma whose kitchen is full of grandbabies and their dads and moms who love to cook.

  49. I’m in a bit of a rut with my cookie baking. This book looks like it could give me back some serious baking confidence! Thank you for the opportunity to try and win it!

  50. You’re killing me! Must Have Cookies Now! Awesome book– thanks for the great give-away!

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