Dorie Greenspan's Holiday Wish List: Baking Books
I've been a fan of Dorie Greenspan for years and had exchanged an e-mail or two before I had the pleasure of meeting her in 2006 when she was visiting Seattle. And she knows how to make a first impression: she came to lunch armed with three containers of homemade cookies which she had carried on the plane all the way from New York. If you don't already own her most recent book, Baking: From My Home to Yours, please stop what you're doing and add it to your Shopping Cart this instant. I've baked my way through many of the recipes in that wonderful book. Last spring I received rave reviews with her cheesecake (made with a macaroon crust for Passover) and wooed my girlfriend with cross-country care packages filled with Dorie-inspired confections (Chocolate Chunkers, Salt-and-Pepper Cocoa Shortbread, Chocolate-Dipped Linzer Hearts...). And if you haven't already checked it out, don't miss Dorie's recipe for Saint-Germain-des-Prés Biscuits--an exclusive sneak-peek from her forthcoming book, At the French Table.
This week in her blog Dorie shared a handful of new baking books (many written by her friends) that have recently landed on her desk. If you're looking for a holiday gift for your favorite baker you can't go wrong with any of these titles. And may I submit a plug for one of my favorite new cookbooks of 2008: Baked: New Frontiers in Baking.
- The Modern Baker by Nick Malgieri ("truly a book for our time")
- Baking for All Occasions by Flo Braker ("might be her best yet")
- The Art and Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet ("if you're looking to teach yourself to bake or want to become a better baker, you couldn't do better than to choose Cindy and her book as your guides")
- The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread by Amy Scherber and Toy Kim Dupree ("Amy's sweets are the sweets of an idyllic childhood")
- Field Guide to Cookies by Anita Chu ("chockablock with recipes for everything from amaretti to whoopie pies")
--BTP
kersy on December 06, 2008 at 02:24 AM
Perfect! I'm getting my boyfriend (and amateur baker) a long desired Kitchenaid for Hanukkah and needed a baking book to go with it! I'll def pick up Greenspan's book and check out her recommendations. :)