Customer Reviews

Cookies for Christmas

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I really enjoyed this book. Put together by the folks at Better Homes and Gardens you know it is a recipe book that is filled with quality recipes that turn out well. I enjoyed this book because of its variety. Some cookie cookbooks are just a collection of a bunch of similar recipes. This book has many recipes for all sorts of different kinds of cookies. This book features pecan balls, shortbread, mascarpone creams, brown sugar balls, and so much more. The book gives in dept instructions on decorating. If you are looking for something off the beaten path, and a book that actually features pictures of all of the recipes, well this is the book for you.

This book was a visual feast with a color photo of each recipie. My mouth watered while looking for cookies to make for an annual cookie exchange. There were a variety of cookie recipes: bar, cut-out, shaped, and dropped with easy to follow instructions. There were a few unusual as well as some old stand by recipies. What a beautiful gift for someone who loves to bake.

This is by far the best "cookie" book I have read. The recipes are easy to follow, and the book has gorgeous photos of what the cookies look like when all finished, as well as tips on how to package them for a gift-giving. The recipes are basically fool proof and dont require a whole lot of different gimicks to make them. I would strongly urge anyone who loves to cook, but doesent like the hassle of shopping for thousands of hard to find ingredients,to buy this book. After trying out some of these cookies you will see that the book pays for itself after seeing the reactions of family and friends when you give these cookies away as gifts.

This is a beutilful book with some very good recipes. But what I do not like is that there are some recipes that call for cookie or cake mixes. If I want to make a brownie, I do not need to buy a book. Simply, I follow the instructions of the package. It is true that sometimes a mix can be enriched, but I find that many times a recipe changes as the brand of the cake mix changes. There are nice photos and ideas, and international cookies. That is why I put four stars.

As someone who bakes at least 15 different types of cookies each Christmas to give away to friends and neighbors, I am always on the lookout for a good cookie cookbook. This one definitely fits the bill with page after page of great recipes and color photographs galore. As the Italian Food Host @ BellaOnline, I must have 25 cookie cookbooks in my collection, but I think this one will become a favorite.If you love love bake cookies, you'll thoroughly enjoy this cookbook!

I found the doughs to be difficult to work with (they were very dry and crumbly, hard to roll out, etc...) and I took extra care to follow the recipe exactly. When it comes to holiday cookie making, I like it to be simple and straight forward. I do not want to start adjusting recipe's as I only do this once a year, so for me this book did not work.

I was also disappointed in the photo's. You never really got a clear look at what the cookie should look like, as they tended to blur the photo slightly (nice effect, but not in a cookbook!). They also did not always tell you how to decorate the cookie like it appeared in the picture (snowman cookies).

Don't be confused about the title of this book: there are many more cookie recipes here than just for Christmas! A picture of some size is included with each recipe, and some recipes have tips on preparation, technique, adornment, or decoration with them. A joy to read, this cookbook puts the fun back in Christmas cookies!

I'm not saying I'm the best cookie-maker in the world, but I do know how to turn a few out. I tried four recipes in this book -- following them to the LETTER -- and in each one (most notably the mint chocolate chip sticks, the choc hazelnut with caramel & the orange snowballs) the dough came out dry and difficult to work with. Which, of course, resulted in disasters for cookies. A lot of wasted effort and ingredients.

This beautiful book first hopped off a shelf at the library right into my hands. Having read it, I simply had to own it. Then I took it to a book club where we usually only discuss fiction and biographies but it was too good not to share. One of the ladies went right home and ordered it from Amazon.
The photography is gorgeous, the recipes are wonderful and have been tested by Better Homes and Gardens. What more could an enthusiastic baker ask?

I've owned this book for years (since it came out) and I literally grab it first every year when I'm planning my christmas cookie list. It it fabulous. It has an awesome variety of everything from the basic cookies you see in the stores, to some international recipes that will give your cookie plate a little surprise. I highly recommend this book. I'm thinking about ordering a second copy for when mine falls apart from over-use!