More than 75 favorite Christmas cookies from around the world will keep you making memories through many happy holiday seasons. This special field guide format gives you quick reference to the details of each cookie “species,” including its Habitat (country of origin), Field Notes (helpful information), Lifespan (how long it will keep), and Related Species (recipe variations). You will also see at a glance which cookies are especially fun to make with kids and which are quick to prepare, which freeze well and ship well, and much more. And there are even creative tips on hosting a Christmas cookie decorating party or a cookie swap!
A Baker's Field Guide to Christmas Cookies (Baker's FG)
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Dede Wilson is the author of A Baker's Field Guide series, Christmas Cooking for Dummies, Appetizers for Dummies, and The Wedding Cake Book. She is a contributing editor to Bon Appétit and the host of Seasonings with Dede Wilson, a PBS cooking show. She lives in Amherst, Massachusetts.
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More About the Author
Dede Wilson is a popular food writer and television personality with her own public television show, Seasonings with Dede Wilson, in wide distribution throughout the U.S. and Canada. An additional show, The Holiday Table, began airing in Fall 2006 and will run through 2009; the 90-minute Holiday Pledge Special that she produced for PBS in 2005 was re-broadcast throughout the holiday season in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Wilson has been a spokesperson for KitchenAid, making frequent live and televised appearances around the country for KitchenAid products. She is also a prolific cookbook author and a contributing editor for Bon Appetit magazine. Wilson has appeared on all the major TV networks, and has been invited frequently to appear on shows including Today, The View, and Live with Regis and Kelly. She has also appeared on QVC to sell her cookbooks, has been featured on Bon Appetit podcasts, and makes personal appearances at Bon Appetit events around the country. Currently she hosts a monthly Bon Appetit segment on the CBS's Early Show.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
46 of 46 people found the following review helpful
By "wkniii"
Format:Hardcover-spiral
Having purchased many, many cookie cookbooks, I have gotten really picky about buying new books. When this book first published, I found it on a bookstore shelf and fell in love with it. This book has almost everything one could ask for.....BEAUTIFUL photographs with EVERY recipe, history and description of each cookie, type of cookie, place of origin with it's international name if it has one, very well written directions for baking, batch yield, "lifespan" (length of storage)and "field notes"...little tidbits of information regarding the cookie itself or the ingredients within. This book includes the good ole American AND International favorites. In addition to recipes, Ms. Wilson has included directions for things such as tempering chocolate, toasting nuts and decorating cookies. She has very detailed information regarding equipment, ingredients, storing and mailing cookies, and resources for supplies and ingredients. It is very simply written and elegantly designed. This book is excellent not only for the novice bakers, but the seasoned ones as well. It would make the perfect gift for anyone. I have been baking cookies every Sunday for many years and this is, by far, one of the best books I have used. I highly recommend it to everyone.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover-spiral
What a creative idea for a cookbook! The book literally follows the standard format for a field guide to animals or plants. For each cookie it provides the type, habitat (country the recipe is from), description, field notes (where the recipe came from, origin of name, etc.), and lifespan (how long the cookie will keep). Of course it also has ingredients and directions for making the cookie, and total yield for the recipes.
These are some truly creative recipes that children will love, like the Night Before Christmas Mice, which actually look like mice, and traditional favorites like snickerdoodles or pizzelles. It even has a recipe for salt-dough ornament cookies - totally inedible but can be decorated to make permanent Christmas ornaments. A Baker's Field Guide to Christmas Cookies is fun, creative, and recommended.
These are some truly creative recipes that children will love, like the Night Before Christmas Mice, which actually look like mice, and traditional favorites like snickerdoodles or pizzelles. It even has a recipe for salt-dough ornament cookies - totally inedible but can be decorated to make permanent Christmas ornaments. A Baker's Field Guide to Christmas Cookies is fun, creative, and recommended.
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover-spiral
This `A Baker's Field Guide to Christmas Cookies' by Dede Wilson is a perfect example of how the same subject can be served well in two very different ways. The obvious touchstone against which to proof this volume may be Rose Levy Beranbaum's book on Christmas cookies. But, this would be an unfair comparison. Beranbaum's work covers the very high end of Cookie making, ending with a truly glorious creation of a gingerbread cathedral of Notre Dame. Beranbaum also covers just about every little issue you may possibly encounter in baking cookies and provides us with lots of unusual recipes.
Dede Wilson, on the other hand, has given us a very practical kitchen reference for lots and lots of common cookie recipes baked for Christmas, including several ethnic favorites such as the relatively difficult Moravian Ginger Cookies.
My favorite thing about Ms. Wilson's contribution aside from its spiral binding which lays flat on the table is the fact that you often have more than one recipe for a particular type of cookie. For a rolled gingerbread / spice cookie recipe, there are at least three alternatives, not even including the difficult Moravian cookie. That generally means that if you want to make a particular kind of cookie, you have your choice between an easy, intermediate, and hard recipe.
Other very nice features are the fact that every recipe falls on two facing pages, begins with a very clear picture of one or two of the cookies, states the type and (very cute here) habitat, gives a description of the cookie and alternatives, gives the shelf life under proper storage conditions, and gives appropriate tips on making this and similar cookies. I think the recipes are well written and leave little room for error, although I was just a bit confused by the instructions to form rolled gingerbread dough into a disk. This sounded more like instructions for a freezer cookie than a rolled cookie.
The introductory material to the book gives nothing near the detail of Beranbaum, but gives enough to avoid any egregious errors. It also does not give lessons on using piping bags and other decorating techniques, but none of the cookies require elaborate methods.
The book does include an appendix on sources, most of that are probably familiar to regular bakers such as King Arthur, KitchenAid, and Wilton. Several are unfamiliar and welcome to me, especially New York Cake and Baking Distributors and The House on the Hill.
If I were the author, I may have included a bibliography of major works on cookies such as by Malgieri, Heatter, and Beranbaum, especially for help on decorating, but the book does a pretty good job of standing on its own as a great reference for common cookie recipes. It really fits its `Field Guide' metaphor well.
Dede Wilson, on the other hand, has given us a very practical kitchen reference for lots and lots of common cookie recipes baked for Christmas, including several ethnic favorites such as the relatively difficult Moravian Ginger Cookies.
My favorite thing about Ms. Wilson's contribution aside from its spiral binding which lays flat on the table is the fact that you often have more than one recipe for a particular type of cookie. For a rolled gingerbread / spice cookie recipe, there are at least three alternatives, not even including the difficult Moravian cookie. That generally means that if you want to make a particular kind of cookie, you have your choice between an easy, intermediate, and hard recipe.
Other very nice features are the fact that every recipe falls on two facing pages, begins with a very clear picture of one or two of the cookies, states the type and (very cute here) habitat, gives a description of the cookie and alternatives, gives the shelf life under proper storage conditions, and gives appropriate tips on making this and similar cookies. I think the recipes are well written and leave little room for error, although I was just a bit confused by the instructions to form rolled gingerbread dough into a disk. This sounded more like instructions for a freezer cookie than a rolled cookie.
The introductory material to the book gives nothing near the detail of Beranbaum, but gives enough to avoid any egregious errors. It also does not give lessons on using piping bags and other decorating techniques, but none of the cookies require elaborate methods.
The book does include an appendix on sources, most of that are probably familiar to regular bakers such as King Arthur, KitchenAid, and Wilton. Several are unfamiliar and welcome to me, especially New York Cake and Baking Distributors and The House on the Hill.
If I were the author, I may have included a bibliography of major works on cookies such as by Malgieri, Heatter, and Beranbaum, especially for help on decorating, but the book does a pretty good job of standing on its own as a great reference for common cookie recipes. It really fits its `Field Guide' metaphor well.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cute concept - Field Guide to Cookies!
This is such a great book! I bought one for myself and to see what it was like and will buy a second as a gift for a budding young cookie baker!
Published 1 month ago by Janet Hallmark
5.0 out of 5 stars
For Cookie Lovers
I already had this cookbook and wanted to share recipes with my sister. The binding of this book was different than expected, but, it was purchased for the recipes. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Janet L. Flannery
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bakers field guide to Christmas cookies is a gem.
Great selection of recipes that are useful for the novice or professional. Florentines are amazing. Includes simple recipes for cooking with young children.
Published 4 months ago by Dogladydeb
2.0 out of 5 stars
Recipes are a bust so far...
While I must agree with all the reviews before me about the binding, photos, history, symbols, etc... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Jeff
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Memories with Children - Great Wedding Gift Idea or Child's...
My mom got this book for my daughter in 2003. We've had great times over the years making cookies. I've uploaded many photos as proof! Buy it for yourself and as a gift. Read more
Published 9 months ago by JustAnotherOpinion
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cute concept, great recipes
The concept of this book, writing it as if it were a bird field guide or flower field guide, is cute. Read more
Published on May 10, 2011 by beckygardens
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Cookie Book!
This book is very complete. The recipes are well organized and the book is put together to be cook-friendly. The spiral binding makes it very easy to see and use the book. Read more
Published on May 25, 2010 by Laura K. Lawson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Cookie Book
The majority of the recipes included in the book are not only for holidays, so the cookbook has year-round usefulness. There are 75 cookie recipes and 1 dog biscuit recipe. Read more
Published on May 10, 2010 by M. Hill
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great pictures, great recipes!!!!
Well Mom is really happy with the book, she really loved it, the pictures are really clear, the recipes are original. Read more
Published on May 7, 2010 by Francisco
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Great Book
I bought a copy of this book for my sister in law with whom I live. We've tried a few of the recipes, and have found them uniformly decent. Read more
Published on February 14, 2010 by Noelley B
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 2
books:
- Make a Movie That Tells a Story on page 31
- The Great Scandinavian Baking Book by Beatrice Ojakangas on page 110
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