Cookies!

Do you bake a big platter of cookies to share with family and friends during the holidays?  If you need a few new ideas for recipes, try one of these highly rated cookie cookbooks!

American Cookie: The Snaps, Drops, Jumbles, Tea Cakes, Bars & Brownies That We Have Loved for Generations by Anne Byrn - Each of America's little bites--cookies, candies, wafers, brittles--tells a big story, and each speaks volumes about what was going on in America when the recipes were created. In American Cookie, the New York Times bestselling author and Cake Mix Doctor Anne Byrn takes us on a journey through America's baking history. And just like she did in American Cake, she provides an incredibly detailed historical background alongside each recipe. Because the little bites we love are more than just baked goods--they're representations of different times in our history. Early colonists brought sugar cookies, Italian fig cookies, African benne wafers, and German gingerbread cookies. Each of the 100 recipes, from Katharine Hepburn Brownies and Democratic Tea Cakes to saltwater taffy and peanut brittle, comes with a lesson that's both informative and enchanting

Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-your-mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich - Cookies are easy, enticing, and fun. Yet as the award-winning baker Alice Medrich notes, too often, home cooks cling to the recipe on the bag of chocolate chips, when so much more is possible. "What if cookies reflected our modern culinary sensibility--our spirit of adventure and passion for flavors and even our dietary concerns?" Medrich writes in her introduction to this landmark cookie cookbook, organized by texture, from crunchy to airy to chunky.  An inveterate tester and master manipulator of ingredients, she draws on the world's pantry of ingredients for such delicious riffs on the classics as airy meringues studded with cashews and chocolate chunks, palmiers (elephant's ears) made with cardamom and caramel, and rugelach with halvah. Butter and sugar content is slashed and the flavor turned up on everything from ginger snaps to chocolate clouds. From new spins on classic recipes including chocolate-chip cookies and brownies, to delectable 2-point treats for Weight Watchers, to cookies to make with kids, this master conjurer of sweets will bring bliss to every dessert table.

The Cookie Book: Decadent Bites for Every Occasion by Rebecca Firth - The Cookie Book will satisfy all of your cookie cravings - from mid-week classics that can be easily had in under an hour to fun, innovative weekend baking projects to dazzle your friends! Rebecca Firth, food writer, photographer and creator of the sweet-focused blog DisplacedHousewife, is your go-to cookie source and new best friend. With prose that reads more like a chat between friends and recipes that mix comfort with innovation, her first book is guaranteed to delight. More than 75 brand-new recipes include easy-to-follow instructions, helpful tips and beautiful photography for each whimsical creation. The Cookie Book includes a wide-range of cookies to fit every type of craving. You'll satisfy a simple mid-week chocolate chip cookie craving by perusing the Hella Chocolate Chip Cookie Chapter (think Big Ass Olive Oil Cookies and Everything Chocolate Chip Cookies). When you're looking to dive a little deeper into butter and sugar you can dabble in Dazzling Drop Cookies (Oatmeal, Blueberry + Puffed Quinoa Breakfast Cookies and Banana Bread Chocolate Chunk Cookies) or jump into the Jazz Hands Chapter and dazzle with Cold Brew Cookies With White Chocolate + Espresso Beans and Burnt Sugar Bark Ginger Cookies. Rebecca has gained a large and loyal following for her sumptuous treats. "Writer, photographer and queen of cookies, Rebecca Firth teases my sweet tooth and I am not mad about it. Love following her and her tempting creations and can't wait to see what she comes up with next." Tiffani Thiessen, actress and author of Pull Up a Chair. The Cookie Book is a beautifully crafted book that will satisfy both long time DisplacedHousewife readers as well as enchant those discovering her for the first time.

Cookie Craft: From Baking to Lust Dust, Designs and Techniques for Creative Cookie Occasions by Valerie Peterson & Janice Fryer - Beautifully decorated cookies are within reach for every home baker, thanks to the easy and practical methods developed by cookie-crafting enthusiasts Valerie Peterson and Janice Fryer. From rolling and cutting to flooding and piping, you'll find dozens of techniques to turn plain cookies into fun treats for your next special occasion. With instructions for making stand-up cookies, tips on creating icing color palettes, and advice on freezing and shipping, the cookie fun never stops!

Decorating Cookies: 60+ Designs for Holidays, Celebrations & Everyday by Bridget Edwards - Let cookie guru Bridget Edwards guide you through more than 60 delicious cookie-decorating designs for every occasion and holiday, from luscious springtime daisies to spooky spider webs to personalized birthdays. Cookie dough and royal icing recipes are included, and every iced design features easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step photos. Five guest-star baker-bloggers each share a special decorating technique: Amanda Rettke of i am baker, Marian Poirer of Sweetopia, Gail Dosik of One Tough Cookie, Meaghan Mountford of The Decorated Cookie, and Callye Alvarado of The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle.

Dorie's Cookies by Dorie Greenspan - Over the course of her baking career, Dorie Greenspan has created more than 300 cookie recipes. Yet she has never written a book about them--until now. To merit her "three purple stars of approval," every cookie had to be so special that it begged to be made again and again. Cookies for every taste and occasion are here. There are company treats like Portofignos, with chocolate dough and port-soaked figs, and lunch-box Blueberry Buttermilk Pie Bars. They Might Be Breakfast Cookies are packed with goodies--raisins, dried apples, dried cranberries, and oats-- while Almond Crackle Cookies have just three ingredients. There are dozens of choices for the Christmas cookie swaps, including Little Rascals (German jam sandwich cookies with walnuts), Italian Saucissons (chocolate log cookies studded with dried fruit), and Snowy-Topped Brownie Drops. And who but America's favorite baker could devise a cookie as intriguing as Pink-Peppercorn Thumbprints or as popular as the World Peace Cookie, with its 59 million Internet fans?

Holiday Cookies: Showstopping Recipes to Sweeten the Season by Elisabet der Nederlanden - This instant holiday classic is packed with 50 recipes, each gorgeously photographed and meticulously tested, along with dozens of decorating and packaging ideas. Filled with reimagined favorites like Giant Molasses Spice Cookies and Hazelnut Sandwich Cookies; confections like Peppermint Bark, Smoked Almond and Cacao Nib Brittle, and Dark Chocolate-Hazelnut Fudge; and detailed instructions for gorgeous gingerbread houses, cookie place cards, and edible ornaments, this is a cookie book like no other. Because the recipes are easy to scale up or down, Holiday Cookies is perfect for cookie exchanges, gift-giving, and just enjoying throughout the season. From a veteran baker and recipe developer, each cookie in this collection is guaranteed to be a stand-out, and destined to become your new Christmas classic.

Julia M. Usher's Ultimate Cookies by Julia M. Usher - Delve into the world of cookie magic, where you can make everything from edible jewelry to cookie bacon and eggs! Organized by theme, each chapter is overflowing with luscious photographs and dozens of recipes and ideas. In carefully illustrated details, the author guides you to make perfect little cookie masterpieces.

Sally's Cookie Addiction: Irresistible Cookies, Bars, Shortbread, and More by Sally McKenney - Are you ready to sink your teeth into Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies? How about Peanut Butter Nutella Swirl Cookies or Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies? Featuring a mouthwatering selection of cookies, cookie bars, cookie dough dips, slice-and-bakes, no-bakes, and more, Sally's Cookie Addiction features dozens of exciting flavors, including chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, sugar, coconut, lemon, s'more, and oatmeal, oh my!
 The best part? Sally's Cookie Addiction, Sally will tell you how to make each and every cookie in the book ahead of time. So, if you want to start preparing for the holidays, or if you just like keeping cookie dough in your freezer for those critical cookie emergencies!
 Complete with tips on how to bake the perfect cookie and gorgeous photography, Sally's Cookie Addiction is the only cookie book you need on your shelf. Get ready for your kitchen to be the most popular room in the house while the smells of Warm Chocolate Chunk Skillet Cookies, Lemon Creme Sandwich Cookies, and Soft-Baked Sugar Cookie Bars emanate from the oven!

Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar: 100 Diary-Free Recipes for Everyone's Favorite Treats by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero - Don't run. Don't hide. Vegan cookies are going to invade your cookie jar, one delicious bite at a time. Join award-winning bakers Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (authors of the hit cookbook V egan Cupcakes Take Over the World ) as they continue their world-domination mission- with dairy- and egg-free batches of everyone's favourite treats. Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar includes more than 100 irresistible recipes for cookies, bars, biscotti, brownies, and more. Discover festive desserts that are sure to impress family and friends at any occasion, from birthdays to bake sales. Or simply tempt yourself with: · Magical Coconut Cookie Bars · Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Brownies · Peanut Butter Crisscrosses · NYC Black & Whites · Key Lime Shortbread Rounds · Call Me Blondies · Macadamia Lace Cookies Throughout the book, Isa and Terry share their best mixing, baking, and decorating techniques and tackle age-old cookie conundrums. Learn the secrets of vegan-izing name-brand favourites (Nutter Betters, anyone?), whipping up gluten-free batches, and even making cookies you can eat for breakfast. When vegan cookies invade your cookie jar, it's yummy to give in!