125 Cookies to Bake, Nibble, and Savor [Hardcover]

Elinor Klivans (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 1998

Who doesn't love the warm, buttery smell of freshly baked cookies? Now you can satisfy all your cookie cravings with the recipes from 125 Cookies to Bake, Nibble, and Savor.

Cookies are the ideal make-ahead dessert. They can be stored in tins, frozen, or packed and shipped to loved ones. Elinor Klivans, cooking teacher, baking expert, and busy mom, shows today's cooks how to enjoy these melt-in-your-mouth morsels anytime.

Satisfy your sudden urge for something rich like Dark Chocolate Truffle Macaroon Sandwiches or White Chocolate and Raspberry Ripple Brownies, or indulge your sweet tooth with something lighter like Millionaire's Shortbread or Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies. From simple s'mores and chocolate chip cookies to elaborate truffles and French macaroons to savory cheese crisps and spicy crackers, there is something here for everyone. For year-round entertaining, try some of the festive treats in "Especially for Holidays." And cookies aren't just for sweet tooths--a chapter on "Savory Cookies" offers cheese ribbons, herb-flavored bars, and other tasty treats that can be served as appetizers and snacks.

Elinor's "Good Advice" accompanies each recipe to guarantee your baking success. These helpful asides explain unfamiliar terms, suggest shortcuts and quick fixes, and anticipate baking problems before they arise. And Elinor's tips on freezing, storing, and even shipping cookies guarantee that they'll taste fresh for weeks.

With Elinor Klivans by your side, you'll be baking delicious cookies in no time, then nibbling and savoring the results.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Proust made the most of his madeleines, but for serious cookie fans, like Klivans (Bake and Freeze Chocolate Desserts), just one variety will never satisfy. In this appealing but not essential collection that's a combination cookbook, memoir and travelogue, 19 chapters consider various kinds of cookies (Brownies; Bars with Fruit; Tassies, Tea Cakes and Truffles) and related issues (Baking Equipment; Freezing and Shipping Cookies). Readers are introduced to Grandma Theresa's Sugar Cookie Cutouts and the Gingerbread People she bakes for her family. From around the world are Rafiki Oatmeal Cookies, which seem like any other oatmeal cookies except for their association with a friend who runs a safari company; an impressive range of treats inspired by visits to the U.K. and Europe; and Avenue J Butter Cookies from Brooklyn, which vie with selections from Maine neighbors like Maple, Date, and Walnut Chews. Readers will find holiday cookies, savory selections, and child-friendly possibilities, including Super S'Mores to make in the oven (inventive... but with pecans?). Each recipe concludes with bits of advice, some of which is intriguing (when beating the butter and sugar for shortbread Petticoat Tails, "Listen to the butter... to make a soft slapping sound against the side of the bowl"). Klivans disregards cholesterol fears, guiltlessly admitting to having occasionally upped the shortening content for a more buttery taste, triggering another nostalgia for lost times.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Klivans (Bake and Freeze Chocolate Desserts, LJ 8/97) is back with more delectable, indulgent recipes, from Super S'Mores to Grasmere Ginger Shortbread to Caramel Crunch Butter Cookies. A good introduction covers techniques, equipment, and ingredients as well as freezing and shipping cookies. There are "Kid Easy" cookies and more sophisticated ones, too, holiday favorites, bars and brownies of all types, even a whole chapter on shortbread, and more. Recommended for all baking collections. Benedict, who has worked as a bartender, cocktail waitress, and caterer, offers cookies flavored with liqueurs and other alcohol, grouped into chapters such as "America's Favorite Cocktail in a Hurry" and "Trendy Mixology." While a "spirited" glaze, for example, may add to a simple butter cookie, and bourbon balls are perennially popular, this seems like overkill: Strawberry Vodka Linzer Cookies, Raspberry Schnapps Thumbprints, Irish Whiskey Shortbread. Not a necessary purchase.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Broadway; 1 edition (September 8, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767901541
• ISBN-13: 978-0767901543
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,150,444 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Elinor Klivans is a notable cookbook author and food writer who has published articles for Bon Appetit, Fine Cooking, Cooking Pleasures, and the Washington Post, among others. A former pastry chef, she is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and lives in Camden, Maine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These cookies are delicious and most are very easy to make!, October 21, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 125 Cookies to Bake, Nibble, and Savor (Hardcover)

These cookies are delicious and most are very easy to make! We made Cheese Crispies last night -- took 10 minutes to mix up and another 18 to bake. We were enjoying them as appetizers within a short while. Last week we made Tiffin Bars...gooey and chocolate-y. We can't wait to keep baking cookies and bars from this book. The instructions are easy to follow, the results are yummy.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Erratic!, January 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: 125 Cookies to Bake, Nibble, and Savor (Hardcover)

I have never had such extremes of experience with a cookbook before. Some of the recipes have been great--for instance, the chocolate chip cookies with dried cherries were delicious, as were the DC toffee bars. But I have also had several batches of cookies made from recipes in this book totally fail. Not just turn out not to my liking, but completely fail. One such recipe was the white chocolate bars with raspberry swirl; I made them twice and they didn't turn out either time--they never cooked through no matter how long I baked them. Yesterday I made (or, shall I say, tried to make) the coffee toffee bars, and they didn't cook through, either. I am an experienced baker, there's nothing wrong with my oven (I checked it after the white chocolate brownie episode), and I followed the instructions in the recipe. And there have been other, similar flops. What a disappointment!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Recipes were NOT TESTED!, December 23, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: 125 Cookies to Bake, Nibble, and Savor (Hardcover)

Totally agree with reviewer of ERRATIC from Indiana. I also made the coffee Toffee Bars but the filling totally engulfed the crumb topping and it was just a mess. I made the Toasted Hazelnut Shortbread Hearts (see glossy picture insert) and it totally failed. The 'hearts' cooked into blobs and were totally burnt because the recipe instructions says to bake the 2 inch hearts in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. I thought the problem was in the editing, so I baked another batch at a lower oven temperature of 300 degrees. Same results, blobs of unrecognizable less burnt goo. This cookbook author writes for many newspapers and has other cookbooks, but has convinced me NOT to trust her recipes. The most frustrating fact is that I spent all this time and effort without having any cookies to eat!!