The Joy of Cookies

I can only echo what other reviewers have said: There's not a loser in the bunch. Every recipe I've tried -- and I've tried many -- turns out perfectly. I love the variations provided for most recipes, and since I frequently bake cookies to give as gifts, I find their information on the shelf life and proper storage of each cookie particularly useful.My biggest problem with this book? Deciding which of the wonderful recipes to make! It's really an embarrassment of riches.I'm about to purchase my second copy of this book, as my first (the paperback edition) has seen so much use that it's starting to fall apart!

I will keep this short and sweet, everything that I have baked from this book has been outstanding, it is one of my favorite cookie books.

My copy is spattered with ingredients from front to back. There is not a loser recipe in the bunch. Illustrations scattered throughout inspire you to try new and old favorites. The recipe format is easy to read and directions are clear and simple. I especially like that there are international recipes included. The Italian wine cookies, the cinnamon bars and Kentucky bourbon bars are always on my Christmas cookie platter. I have many cookbooks and Christmas magazines with recipes but I could chuck them all in favor of this one little gem of a cookbook.

Sharon Tyler Herbst's Joy of Cookies has just about everything that I look for in a cookbook. The introduction gives a brief history of the cookie and then a detailed description of cookie baking basics, equipment, ingredients, techniques, all accompanied by simple yet clear line drawings. The recipe section itself is organized according to cookie type: bar cookies, drop cookies, etc. The recipes, complete with country of origin and the cookie's name in that language are clear and easy to follow. The book is full of full page color photographs that are clearly labeled. The book is an odd shape and gives the impression that a previous edition may have been larger overall, but that doesn't take away from the book's usefulness. This would make a fine present for a budding baker.