The All-American Cookie Book (Hardcover)

by Nancy Baggett (Author) "Most cookie-making techniques are basic and easily mastered, even by novice cooks and bakers..." (more)
Key Phrases: coat with nonstick spray, cup white vegetable shortening, grease several baking sheets, New England, School Cook Book, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Nancy Baggett went on a culinary journey in search of the best American cookies. Amazed by the remarkable repertoire of American bakers, Baggett spent several years researching and baked nearly 30,000 cookies for The All-American Cookie Book. Every American cookie you can think of is here--more than 150 of them--from luscious Black Bottom Mini Brownie Cups and chewy Chocolate Thumbprint Crackles to Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies and crisp, spicy Old-Fashioned Gingerbread Cookies. More-unusual regional favorites include Savannah Chocolate Chewies, Chocolate Whoopie Pies from Pennsylvania, and Floridian Ambrosia Cookies made with coconut and pineapple. Avid bakers will appreciate the bits of cookie lore and history in this brilliant collection. Baggett also gives interesting insight into how American cookies evolved, and how different ingredients and techniques were introduced. Mouthwatering photographs tempt and delectable descriptions convince you to try nutty, fruity, chocolaty concoctions, every one of them made in America. --Leora Y. Bloom

From Publishers Weekly
Baggett (International Cookie Cookbook) has spent the last few years searching this country for great cookie recipes, and enthusiasm over the results (such as Fudge Brownies Supreme) characterizes every page of Baggett's wonderful new cookie compendium. Her first chapter covers the basics, though other useful how-to's emerge throughout the book, such as shaping cookie dough in a loaf pan for Cranberry-Cherry Icebox Ribbons. The next nine chapters, mostly divided into flavors (chocolate, fruit, spices, etc.), reveal America's wide-ranging cookie bounty, from Vermont's Maple Sugar cut-outs and Kentucky's Bourbon Fruitcake Cookies to Coffee-Pecan Crunch Bars from Texas and Hazelnut-Chocolate Chip Cookies from Oregon. Enlivened by quotes from old cookbooks, each straightforward recipe tells the story of its heritage, whether it's a simple Mrs. Porter's Improved Jumbles from the 1800s or a contemporary "Chubby" weighing in with one pound of chocolate. (Oct.)Forecast: As a selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, these cookies will reach the hands of many an American.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395915376
• ISBN-13: 978-0395915370
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #113,845 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you only own one . . ., January 25, 2002

By	Nicole Harpe "NicH" - See all my reviews

If you only own one cookie book in your life, make it this one. I know Maida Heater and Nick Malgieri and others have great books out there, but this book presents so many delicious cookies made with accessible ingredients (mostly) and each cookie has been just delicious. My favorite is the Chocolate Malt Cookie with Chocolate Malt Cream Cheese filling. Boy! It's worth searching out malt powder (the only ingredient that may be hard to find.) The Cranberry Ribbon Cookies are really tasty (though I changed the cherry preserves to orange marmalade).

The directions are well-written and I appreciated the advice on how to freeze the cookies and how long the cookies will stay fresh. When you're cooking for a party or a holiday, it's good to have that information. I also liked to see all the photos. You know what the end product is supposed to look like. That kind of help is also appreciated.

I think you will get a lot of enjoyment out of making and eating the cookies in Ms. Baggett's book. Buying this book is not a risk. It's the surest bet out there.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Variety and Interesting Facts, January 5, 2002

By	J. Chernoff (Evanston, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I loved Nancy Baggett's book; I am a professional chef and cooking teacher myself and I've made probably fifteen recipes from this book, several of which I've used in classes during the holiday season. Particularly delicious were the Black-Bottom Mini Brownie Cups, Iced Cranberry-White Chocolate Drop Cookies, Ginger-Spice Crinkles, and the Coconut-Banana Chews (to which I added 2 tablespoons of cocoa with the dry ingredients-yum). I've given many copies of the book as gifts this year and will continue to do so. I found the book to be well-researched and user-friendly. The pictures (by photographer Alan Richardson) are gorgeous.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yummy Yummy Yummy, January 16, 2002

By	feysidhe "feysidhe" (Mount Kisco, NY USA) - See all my reviews

The cookies in this book (at least the ones I have tried) are incredible. As a warning, some of them are a little on the difficult side, but some are easy as...well, not pie since pie is difficult, but easy! A couple of warnings:

1. READ THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOK. Even if you're an expert, you need to read the introductory information. Nancy Baggett is very specific in the beginning about certain things like the way she wants you to measure flour, etc. This also goes for the directions within the recipes about things like the temperatures of various ingredients. If you take your eggs out of the fridge and use them in the chocolate meringues, you'll be very disappointed in the cookies! If you're careful, however, you'll find them very delicious.

2. Know your oven. My oven, for example, takes a little longer than the ovens in *any* cookbook, even though I have had it tested for temperature. If you don't bake frequently, you'll want to test your cookies so you don't either undercook or overcook them.

Basically, this is an excellent book with detailed information, fascinating tidbits of cookie history great pictures and delicious cookie recipes for both the beginner and the expert.