To clarify: The title does not refer to a single cookie type. While most of us slide sloppily into interchangeable cookie superlatives, dessert book author Alice Medrich (Pure Dessert; Bittersweet, Chocolate Holidays) recognizes the gentle nuances of cookie aesthetics. Thus, her new cookie cookbook is organized by texture: flaky, gooey, airy, crunchy, crispy, chewy, chunky, and, fittingly last, melt-in-your-mouth. Translated into terms that even cookie monster gluttons can understand, this means that this award-winning baker is filling your after-dinner tray with finely-tuned goodies guaranteed to delight. (P.S. Medrich's recipes are winningly lean on butter and sugar.)
Medrich presents a compendium of exciting and enticing cookie recipes that reflects every aspect of our widening culinary landscape. Whole-grain flours as well as wheat-free alternatives are becoming more and more prevalent, and people are more often exposed and open to exotic spices and unique flavor combinations. Nibby buckwheat butter cookies, golden kamut shortbread, honey hemp bars, and whole wheat biscotti showcase whole-grain flours, while wheat-free versions of rugelach, toffee bars, butter cookies, and caramel cheesecake bars (just to scratch the surface) aim to please an increasing number of gluten-intolerant dessert lovers. There's a good chunk of dairy-free cookies as well as lower-fat versions (two Weight Watchers points, to be exact). Comfortingly, there are also homey recipes for classic peanut butter cookies, cakey brownies, and rocky road bars. Flavor combos are intriguing, as in the wheat-free grapefruit and basil butter cookies, aniseed and almond shortbread, and nutty cocoa cookie bark with Parmesan and sea salt. The recipes are organized by texture, hence the title, but there's also a section grouping cookies into categories like those containing whole grains, those that keep at least two weeks, ridiculously quick and easy cookies, and cookies to make with kids. This book has redesigned and reframed the often-overlooked cookie and is a boon to the modern, conscious baker. (Dec.)
Alice Medrich has moved the ball of dough forward with CHEWY GOOEY CRISPY CRUNCHY MELT-IN-YOUR-MOUTH COOKIES, rethinking everything she baked, rebooting classics and modernizing techniques. Above all, Medrich is determined to make us better bakers.”—The New York Times “The new cookie bible.”—Ted Allen, quoted in Food Network Magazine “[Medrich] meticulously reworks old timers such as chocolate chip cookies and Linzer cookies and introduces newcomers like fresh thyme tuiles, and figures out how to perfect them.”—The Wall Street Journal “Cookie lovers of every stripe will find much to love in baking icon Alice Medrich’s new book . . . Medrich tweaks all the beloved classics to perfection—from brownies and blondies to shortbread and snickerdoodles—and then offers compelling flavor variations, ensuring that both the cookie purist and the iconoclast are satisfied.”—Fine Cooking “This hefty softbound volume gets my vote as the best of the batch.”—San Diego Union Tribune “Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies is a must-have for devoted cookie bakers, whether beginners or experts. It’s the kind of cookbook you might curl up with on the sofa, for inspiration, and follow closely in the kitchen, for foolproof results.”—Dallas Morning News “With abundant mouthwatering color pictures, Chewy, Gooey is deliciously educational.”—Charleston Post and Courier “Medrich presents a compendium of exciting and enticing cookie recipes that reflects every aspect of our widening culinary landscape. Whole-grain flours as well as wheat-free alternatives are becoming more and more prevalent, and people are more often exposed and open to exotic spices and unique flavor combinations. Nibby buckwheat butter cookies, golden kamut shortbread, honey hemp bars, and whole wheat biscotti showcase whole-grain flours, while wheat-free versions of rugelach, toffee bars, butter cookies, and caramel cheesecake bars (just to scratch the surface) aim to please an increasing number of gluten-intolerant dessert lovers. There's a good chunk of dairy-free cookies as well as lower-fat versions (two Weight Watchers points, to be exact). Comfortingly, there are also homey recipes for classic peanut butter cookies, cakey brownies, and rocky road bars. Flavor combos are intriguing, as in the wheat-free grapefruit and basil butter cookies, aniseed and almond shortbread, and nutty cocoa cookie bark with Parmesan and sea salt. The recipes are organized by texture, hence the title, but there's also a section grouping cookies into categories like those containing whole grains, those that keep at least two weeks, ridiculously quick and easy cookies, and cookies to make with kids. This book has redesigned and reframed the often-overlooked cookie and is a boon to the modern, conscious baker.”—Publishers Weekly “Textures, as her title shouts out, drive Medrich’s latest, more-than-130-recipe-filled cookie collection. Crispy? Try ginger Florentines and lavender tuiles. Crunchy means biscotti and nut slices. Oatmeal and honey hemp stands for chewy. As for gooey, flaky, and melt-in-your-mouth? Check out brownies in many flavors, rugelach, and the resurrected French macarons. Medrich sets the table by insisting (insofar as the written word can) that readers first review the user’s guide, a handy compendium of critical FAQs (e.g., how soft is softened butter?), an index of categories (e.g., whole grain, quick and easy, etc.), and troubleshooting details (e.g., the biggest issue with not-great cookies: too much flour). She carefully prepares bakers for success, including upgrades for most recipes (read variations) and notes about specific types, such as biscotti, tuiles, phyllo dough, and macarons. Last is her tech-support chapter, which wraps up her teachings on ingredients, equipment, and resources. It’s time to turn on the oven.”—Booklist
"Medrich presents a compendium of exciting and enticing cookie recipes that reflects every aspect of our widening culinary landscape. This book has redesigned and reframed the often-overlooked cookie and is a boon to the modern, conscious baker." - Publishers Weekly
—Publishers Weekly Staff, Publishers Weekly
