How to Make Cookie Jar Favorites: An Illustrated Step-By-Step Guide to the Simplest and Best American Cookies

If you love peanut butter cookies and want to make them, then buy this book for that recipe alone -- they are heavenly. I plan to bake my way through this little book over the next few months. As usual the Cook's Illustrated team provides excellent recipes and explain the how's and whys of their testing in order to achieve this excellence. My one disappointment is the brevity of the book, but I would still recommend it because the recipes are wonderful.

When I was growing up, my mom made the BEST chocolate chip cookies. Yes, every adult thinks that his mom's recipe was the best, but I've now found a recipe that tops even my mom's. I loved hers because they came out really thick and chewy. I'm not a fan of the traditional tollhouse cookies which I find are too flat and boring. Mom said she makes hers with vegetable shortening because butter spreads too much. But butter DOES taste better, and in this book is a recipe that uses butter AND results in a thick, chewy, gorgeous cookie. Sorry Ma, but they got you beat! The book is worth it for this recipe alone. But the Sugar Cookie recipe is also a winner. I ate half the batch as soon as they were cool. YUM! My one criticism is rather ungenerous number of recipes. But I'll take quality over quantity any day.

This little volume is one of a collection of single topic cookbooks published by Cook's Illustrated. It quickly became my very favorite cookbook of all time because I love to make cookies for my children and their friends. Due to fanatical kitchen testing of methods and ingredients the editors have offered advice and recipes that are simple and actually work. My favorites are the chocolate chip, peanut butter and oatmeal but there are dozens of others that are equally as good. I consider it a must have for any baker and a perfect small gift also.