The Great Holiday Baking Book Over 250 Recipes for Occasions Throughout the Year

I reviewed the hardcover edition of this book, and my comments hold true for the paperback version, as well: Cons: I'm giving it 4 stars because there is not one single photo, or an illustration, in the entire book! Pictures or drawings would be tremendously helpful when it comes to shaping some of the breads in the book. Pros: This book contains delicious, including some hard-to-find recipes for every holiday throughout the year, including some I'd never heard of. There is a comprehensive Advent and Christmas section, with heavy emphasis on Scandinavian baked goods (for example, Norwegian Kransekake). Some of the holidays in the book are Hannukah, Christmas, Easter, Fourth of July, Valentine's Day, etc. The recipes include cookies, savory baked goods, breads, tarts, cakes, etc. The measurements are given in cups and teaspoons, not grams and mL, and the recipes are geared towards a home cook. The author includes several fruitcake recipes that were so delicious, my fruitcake-hating family insisted that I put them on the repeat list. A wonderful resource, and I'm glad I have it, despite the lack of photos or drawings.

Cons: I'm giving it 4 stars because there is not one single photo, or an illustration, in the entire book! Pictures or drawings would be tremendously helpful when it comes to shaping some of the breads in the book. Pros: This book contains delicious, including some hard-to-find recipes for every holiday throughout the year, including some I'd never heard of. There is a comprehensive Advent and Christmas section, with heavy emphasis on Scandinavian baked goods (for example, Norwegian Kransekake). The recipes include cookies, savory goods, breads, tarts, cakes, etc. The author includes several fruitcake recipes that were so delicious, my fruitcake-hating family insisted that I put them on the repeat list. A wonderful resource, and I'm glad I have it, despite the lack of photos or drawings.

This book was a great reference for holiday baking, everything is covered, even April Fool's Day:) Beatrice Ojakangas is indeed one of the best cookbook writers today and it's the little touches that she puts into her books like the personal anecdotes and the invaluable tips that make her so. I highly recommend this book:)

This book is full of recipes themed by holiday. It is worth buying for the Chocolate Beer Cake alone! Ojakangas is the Queen of Baking, I have enjoyed all of her books, and this one is no different. I would love to spend a year baking each of the recipes in this book on the appropriate holiday. Please, bring this book back in print, my library has it on a 7-day checkout because it is a holiday book!