The classic cookbook: The best of American home cooking : together in one volume, The cook's bible and The dessert bible by Kimball, Christopher (2002) Hardcover

This is now my go to book for baking. I know that no matter what I bake from this book it will be perfect every time with no adjustments. I have enjoyed this book so much I have bought 2 more copies for a wedding gift. The blondies where soft, thick, moist and flew off the plate. The buttermilk cake with whipped cream frosting is now my favorite to make for birthday parties.

This book is great! It doesn't have the insane range of traditional recipes of so many general books, but it will teach you very good ways to cook almost any kind of food. More importantly, it'll teach you how to get good results every time, and it'll tell you why recipes work or don't work so you'll be able to modify them to suit. The first half of the book is general purpose and the second half is all about desserts. It's a bit of an odd balance, but it works. The dessert section is extremely effective. Baking is hard to get right, but Kimball explained everything so well that my first attempt at sugar cookies were a success. The only negatives about this is that it's a compilation of two books, and therefore the tables of content and indexes are split. Also, the chapter divisions in the Cook's Bible are a bit strange, but since things are indexed so well it's not a barrier to use. It's a tragedy this is out of print. I got my copy on the discount table and didn't realize what a lucky find I'd made at first, but it was one of the few books that were a must to find when I got divorced, because neither I nor my wife would part with it.

This is truly one of the best books I own. I get rave reviews from the cookie recipes, the pie crusts, the breads (I love to bake), and the best part is, he explains WHY certain things are added and used. He's already tweaked the recipes we've used for years, so they need little tweaking for ultimate perfection -- a must have if you can find it.