A little flour, a little yeast -- these books make baking sound so easy, which is why they've risen to the top of our list of resources:
We'll start with a nod to Scandinavian culture: "Swedish Breads and Pastries" (Skyhorse, $27.95) by Jan Hedh. Here are traditions such as dark rustic skåne bread and vörtbröd, but also crackers and sweet breads. It's chock-full of photos and detailed directions. Measurements are metric, but include U.S. units.
Perhaps the most drop-dead indulgent book is "Bon Appétit Desserts" (Andrews McMeel, $40) by Barbara Fairchild. Its 680 pages contain more than 600 recipes (although only about 50 photos), with degree-of-difficulty ratings. Most unusual, and intriguing, aspect? A huge selection of frozen desserts such as White Russian sorbet or frozen Milky Way mousse.
"Flour: Spectacular Recipes From Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe" (Chronicle, $35) by Joanne Chang shows what happens when someone raised without sweets discovers sugar. Homemade Pop-Tarts, toasted coconut cream pie with lime whipped cream and dried fruit focaccia capture the range of recipes here. Some photos, with measures in U.S. and metric.
You can count on "The Gourmet Cookie Book" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $18) to be good, but this one also has delightfully inventive food photography. The book features the single best cookie recipe annually from 1941 (Cajun macaroons) to 2009 (Grand Marnier glazed pain d'épice cookies), each with a photo, so there's a bit of cultural history here, as well.
Two reissued cookbooks are worth noting: "Classic Home Desserts" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $35) by Richard Sax won a James Beard award in 1994, with 350 desserts "made by mothers and grandmothers rather than by professional pastry chefs." This worthy reissue is thick with bits of history and other recollections about desserts such as Grape-Nuts pudding and mincemeat pie.
"The King Arthur Flour 20th Anniversary Cookbook" ($35) is a ring-binder, lies-flat reissue of the 1990 cookbook, drawing on 200 years of baking bread, cakes, cookies, scones, pies, muffins and more. Its more than 400 recipes include modeling dough and bird food, too.
"Cookie Swap!" (Workman, $14.95) by Lauren Chattman makes the case for cookie exchanges all year. Chattman shares the mysteries of cookie swap math, and the logistics of setting up a party at which everyone leaves with a satisfying selection of cookies. No small feat, that.
