A good cookbook, with some reservations

books:


	• 1001 Cookie Recipes: The Ultimate A-To-Z Collection of Bars, Drops, Crescents, Snaps, Squares, Biscuits, and ... Gregg R. Gillespie Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, 1995 - 464 pages view larger image
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Well, what did you expect?

Personally, I was really surprised by the reviews that this book received. I have had largely positive experiences with it.

It always lists many varieties of cookies and gives a basic recipe (or four) for each type of cookie imaginable. I love cooking and am pleased to have this book in my collection. It offers so many options.

Only a few of the recipes that I have tried have been anything less than wonderful. I would definitely recommend this book!

Quantity, But Not Much Quality

It is very useful to have so many cookie recipes in one book at the same time. Even a very good baking book will have, at most a couple of dozen cookies. On the other hand, the results were rather variable and not totally reliable (one person, one oven, one typewriter, what did you expect?). The experienced baker will have a treasure trove of recipes that require a little fine tuning, while the neophyte will probably be met with more than a few disappointments.

The best part of this book is that each recipe has a picture of the cookie.

The bad part is everything else. The biggest problem is the flour measurement: it only lists cups, but does not list an equivalent weight, nor the method of flour measurement (spoon and sweep, scoop and sweep, etc.). The way flour is measured can mean the difference between a perfect cookie and a hockey puck.

The results were variable: cookies that spread too much, cookies that were dry and crumbly, bar cookies that were either over or under baked, instructions where it is not always clear when something is properly baked, etc.

The biggest problem is also its strongest point: all cookies are arranged alphabetically on the first word of the cookie name. This can be a big problem for, say shortbread. If you look under shortbread, you will find nothing. However it can be found under butterscotch, ginger, peanut butter, almond, Brazil nut, cashew, hazelnut, nut, American, and scotch. Buried at the back of the book where you will never find it, is a cross reference list of all recipes organized by cookie type (bar, drop, formed, nonedible, refrigerator, and rolled). It is here that you will have to do research to find the cookie that you want.

Important note for experienced cookie bakers: this a very handy reference book to keep on your bookshelf. Regardless of what type cookie you want, you will probably find it here. Just keep in mind that the recipes have not been vetted, and you should do a couple of trial runs in order to correct the recipes. If you are a professional doing a catering job that requires you to put out a platter of at least 2 dozen types of cookies, I can think of no better resource than this one.

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A good cookbook, with some reservations

I make the Sugar Cookies I with the Buttercream Icing (minus the raw egg yolk) and the Gazelle Horns every Xmas with great results. Also, this is a very good cookie book for people with dietary restrictions such as dairy, eggs, and nuts. I have never seen such a huge variety of cookie recipes that do not contain these ingredients! From reading the other reviews, I agree that some of the recipes are redundant and there is not enough description. Also, I am suspicious of any cookie recipe that uses vegetable shortening instead of real butter, which there are many.

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A Great Cookie Book!

I was surprised at some of the reviews on this book, I have had good result with it so I can't say anything bad about it. :)

This book has so many recipes it is insane (in a good way though). It is a great reference and a wonderful book to pull out when you just want to try something new. I am always looking for something new and interesting to try and boy does this book have it. On many occasions this book has saved me when I needed a last min cookie idea for office parties or my daughters classroom parties. Over all I give it 4 Stars, the book covers everything under the sun and all the recipes I have tried out have come out good.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

The complete resource for cookie lovers, with recipes for every occasion, from Almond Shortbread and Apple-Coconut Dreams to Oatmeal Crisps and Zwieback with Almonds. 1001 full-color photographs! Each and every cookie is illustrated in full color right alongside the recipe.