Blending a breezy prose style with precise, clearly sequenced instructions and a boundless respect for her topic, she offers a rounded collection for new bakers and experienced cookie hands. A chapter on techniques and equipment is followed by recipes arranged generally by the methods of shaping cookies, e.g., bar cookies and rolling-pin cookies. Recipes for rolled and cut cookies, those shaped by hand or with a pastry bag or cookie press suggest holiday fare. Heatter drops names along with rounded teaspoons of dough: Wolfgang Puck eats her cookies, and so does Gianni Versace. But she remains as exacting as the most diligent home-ec teacher when it comes to the baking process, even to packaging instructions. Like her subject, this is an irresistible offering.
The Queen of Desserts is back, with lots of recipes for drop coookies, icebox cookies, bar cookies, and more. Even a few crackers and some desserts she couldn't resist including. Heatter's first Book of Great Cookies, published almost 20 years ago, became a classic but is now out of print. Once again, she presents recipes written with directness and attention to detail. There are all sorts of cookies here, both fancy and homey, and many are very easy to bake.
|
