Well. I think I can say Dorie Greenspan is my new favorite cookbook author. Most cookbooks, I'm lucky if I can find a couple recipes of interest. In her cookbooks, I find bunches. I just recently borrowed her Around My French Table through Amazon Prime, and loved it so much I went out and bought a hardcover. You better believe I jumped on the chance to read this cookbook for free through Prime, too--and I found even more recipes of interest. Not only are her recipes appealing, but her tone is utterly approachable and friendly. I'll continue to seek out her books and try her recipes. ( )

Checked this out from the library, renewed it the maximum times. It will be on my Christmas list. ( )

Fantastic cookbook for baking and other treats. The chocolate armagnac cake is delish! ( )

No doubt I'm going to need to own this one- too many good recipes to try in the checkout/renewal time I get from the library!! ( )

This is an absolute masterpiece among baking books. Dorie is a very talented chef and writer, and her recipes are as clearly laid out as they are delicious. She includes sidebars for how to plan ahead (if a given recipe can be prepared up to a certain point and then frozen, or how long it will keep and how it should be stored), and lots of variations for many of the recipes. Ingredients, equipment needed, and yield are all clearly marked. Her anecdotes in the introductions to each recipe are heartwarming and often funny. The pictures are gorgeous and the food is styled beautifully without intimidating the average home baker into thinking the results are unattainable. I have made dozens of the recipes and have only been disappointed once - the Brown Sugar Pecan Shortbread on page 127 and I are not on speaking terms, but the rest of the recipes are excellent enough to far outweigh one bad one.

A few favorites: the chocolate chip cookies on p. 68 (these are thin, chewy, and the sugar gets almost caramelized.... so good!), sugar topped molasses spice cookies (p. 77), world peace cookies (p. 138), rugelach (p. 150 - these are the best rugelach ever, and I'm a jew from Brooklyn, so take my word for it), perfect party cake (p. 250), tarte tatin (p. 312), chocolate-crunched caramel tart (p. 355 - this is so good I can't make it anymore, because I will eat it all), and the cranberry-lime galette (p. 364 - try it as an unconventional thanksgiving dessert option).

This book is so huge and encyclopedic that even after all the dishes I've tried, I feel like I've barely made a dent. This is always one of the books I browse first whenever I feel like baking something. ( )