To send the year off, I thought I'd share with you my favorite baking cookbooks of 2009. These are the books I turned to again and again this year for inspiration and great recipes. Any of these books would be a wonderful addition to your cookbook library.
1. Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Emily Huntsman- is THE best cookbook for layer cakes! Every cake in this book (except for the wedding cakes) requires 3 8-inch cake pans. I use these from Wilton. There is not one cake I've tried in this book that I didn't like - recipes like Triple Chocolate Cake, Buttermilk Cake with Instant Fudge Icing, and Peanut Butter Chocolate cake (made into cupcakes).
2. Martha Stewart's Cookies - when I posted my 12 days of Christmas Cookies, I realized that most of the recipes I used came from this book! These cookies were fantastic and I'm looking forward to trying more recipes from this book (just not anytime too soon - I'm "cookied" out!) Try the Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Crackles, Pecan Tassies, Jam Thumbprints, Lime Meltaways, Lemon Shortbread, and Chocolate Cream-filled Cookies.
3. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Hertzberg and Francois - wonderful artisan breads like the basic boule and semolina sesame bread. They have a new book out, but there are still so many I want to try in this one!
4. Classic Stars Desserts by Emily Luchetti - so far I've tried the Cream Cheese Swirled Brownies and the Lemon Bars. You know a recipe is good when the recipe pages are covered in flour and butter stains. That's what the lemon bar recipe looks like! Might even give Ina's lemon bars a run for their money!
5. Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Lewis and Polofito- Consistently good recipes that work and are delicious and a bit different. Recipes I've tried this year and some I've made over and over are Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins, German Chocolate Cake, Lemon Loaf, Coconut Snowball Cupcakes, and Rootbeer Fudge Bundt Cake (made into cupcakes).
6. Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan - I've only scratched the surface of this book. I'd have to say not every recipe is a slam dunk, but the Fruit Galette, the Perfect Party Cake, and the Brownie Buttons were very good.
7. The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz - a must-have cookbook for homemade ice cream, gelato and sorbet. Try the Rice Pudding Gelato or the Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream.
8. American Pie by Peter Reinhart- I haven't blogged about the recipes in this book, but we often make homemade pizzas at home. I've tried the Napoletana and the New York Style Pizza Doughs and they are both fantastic!
I'd love to know which baking cookbook is your favorite! Happy New Year! I'm looking forward to sharing more of my baking experiences with you in 2010!
Is "The Joy of Cooking" passe? I also have "Fanny Farmer" and they are the only two I use...is that wrong of me?? :-)
ReplyDeleteGreat collection of books. I really couldn't pick a favourite, but I'm loving Sherry Yard right now.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous list! I'll have to check out Sky High on your recommendation! Thank you for including ABin5 on the list. :)
ReplyDeleteZoë François
3 there are on my shelf and I really like them also..Dorie..Martha and Zoe..Great books..thanks for your other recommendations:)
ReplyDeleteJust got The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook for Christmas.. have yet to try it out!
ReplyDeleteWonderful list!Two of the books from my list over lap with yours! I've only heard good things about sky-high, so I'm going to put that on my wishlist now!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Several of these are on my wish list. I just love cookbooks. I buy way too many though ;).
ReplyDeleteWishing you a fab 2010.
great list!! I have many of them and love them. I don't have sky high so will have to try this. thanks
ReplyDeleteThe Martha Stewart Baking Handbook is, BY FAR, my favorite baking book. I have never made a disappointing dish from the book, and I've baking my way through the majority of the recipes...
ReplyDeleteI got 'Baked' for Christmas! As soon as I unwrapped it I was lost to my relatives for the rest of the day, haha. Literally every recipe looks fantastic, I think I'm just gonna work my way through the whole thing - rare for me to find a cookbook in which I love *every* recipe.
ReplyDeleteI'm yearning for 'Sky High', too, but I need to rein myself in for a little while first, I think!
My davorite is Baking From My Hme to Yours. Not a recipe in the book that I wouldn't try.
ReplyDeleteA fantastic list. I'll be looking for these on the sale racks!
ReplyDeleteWhat a Great list ~ time to hit the book store. I love a good cookbook!
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