Customer Reviews

The International Cookie Cookbook

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

 

 

I borrowed this book from the library at Christmas time and renewed it 3 times! Well, those 12 weeks just weren't enough. It's March 25th & I have to own this wonderful book. My husband said "Go to Amazon.com and buy it"! (He loves to eat cookies <grin>, who doesn't. I found many new cookie recipes to try from USA, Canada, Latin America, The British Isles, Scandinavia, All of Europe (3 chapters) and the Middle East, Far East and Pacific cookies. There are BEAUTIFUL photographs in the hardcover edition. Indexed too! I plan to offer cookies and scones at tea time when we open our Bed and Breakfast, but until then, we'll keep trying new recipes, and eating these cookies. So for now, you can visit us on-line at our home pages and virtual B&B furryfarm.com

I have made approximately half of the cookies in this book. I haven't found a bad recipe yet. Most of the cookies are exceptional. The directions are long but very detailed so even the most difficult cookie can be made to perfection. Some items can be difficult to find but if you plan ahead most can be purchased or improvised. I own many many cookbooks and cookie recipes but this is the one I use for almost all of my Christmas Cookies. My large family and many grandchildren all have a favorite from this book and ask for them every year. The favorites are so many that I now make about four new ones from this book and the rest are old favorites. The recipe for poinsettia cookies is a fun family project and one year my grandchildren made them for aunties and teachers. Just one sets off a plate of cookies for gift giving. I take pride in fancy holiday cookies with good flavors and this book has it all. Even cookies that sound a bit strange turn out to be great tasting from this book. Great photos also. If you only buy one cookie book, buy this one.

Have had this book forever and all the pages are dirty from use - had to buy another copy for my daughter!

Her directions are more complex than need be. Some good recipes, particularly in the Scandinavian chapter.

The best Christmas stocking stuffer. Excellent cookie recepies (that work). Old and new favorities for year round.

The recipes sound good and the pictures look very nice, but the instructions are way too long. I think it could have been possible to simplify them by cutting out at least half of the instructions.

Based on the author's previous cookbooks, I was skeptical about the usefulness of this cookie book. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to discover one of the better cookie books on my bookshelf.

The author is reasonably fastidious about including enough detail in both introductory cookie basics and the recipes to assure success, even by someone who may not be an experienced baker. For example, all recipes specify how many minutes to cool the cookie on the baking sheet before spatulating them to a cooling rack. Over time, I have successfully done a number of different cookie recipes from this book.

The selection of recipes is something to consider before buying this book. It has a good selection of about 150 recipes, but most of them are current, trendy, home-spun cookies you would expect to find in a mass market magazine. One wonders how many of these recipes will be ones that you will still want to do 10 years from now (the book's copyright is 2001). The author claims to have gone through antique cookbooks and family heirloom recipe files to get the best of traditional cookies (rugelach, sables, and Pennsylvania Dutch raisin pockets) and to slightly update and correct the recipes. The result, however, is a recipe collection that can hardly be called traditional (hazelnut honey caramel bar, pineapple coconut macadamia thumbprints, chocolate espresso white chocolate chunk, fantastic fudgewiches). A number of the cookies seem to have originated from the health concious 70's and 80's.

There are some deficiencies in the recipes:
1) To check the doneness, one bakes until just firm or barely firm, but the meaning of this is not explained.
2) For some doughs one is to measure out to the size of a golf ball, others give an inch specification. Those who do not golf and have never touched a golf ball will therefore be obliged to rush out to the sporting goods store for some recipes.
3) For the last bit of flour in some recipes, one is to fold or stir in. There is no information about this critical but often frustrating step.

It has cookie chapters on sugar, chocolate chips, chocolate, brownies, fruit (yuck), nuts, oatmeal (double yuck), spice, and decoration projects (including such useful things as edible tempera paint, gingerbread house, stained glass cookies, colored sanding sugar, royal icing).