623 Irresistible Homemade Cookie Recipes - Taste of Home Baking Cookbook for Parties, Gifts & Family Gatherings

To start off, this is not my favorite Taste of Home cookie book. My favorite is "The Best of Country Cookies" which came about as a result of a contest that got over 50,000 entries. However, this is still a really good cookie book. There are photos of all the cookies. Most of the recipes are from scratch but there are a fair number of shortcut recipes. There is room for both in this life. While I have my degree as a pastry chef, there are still days I roll out of bed & say "AUGHHHH I promised 10 dozen cookies for the Hospice picnic. And I promptly grab 5 boxes of cake mix to make those cookies. You know what, very few people can tell the difference between a scratch & a shortcut cookies, unless it is a really high end cookie.Chapters are:Cookies 101 ... techniques. Most people skip this chapter in cookbook. but you can really learn a lot. I would encourage you to read this chapter at least onceCookie Jar FavoritesChock Full of ChipsEasy Drop CookiesTimeless Slice & BakeShaped SensationsCookie Cutter DelightsSnazzy Sandwich CookiesUnbeatable BrowniesDelectable BarsShortcut CreationsChristmas ClassicsBig Batch BonanzaAnother tip: the first time you make a recipe; follow it exactly ... do not make substitutions. If it says butter don't substitute oleo & then wonder why it doesn't taste really good.For small gifts (like a teacher's gift) make drop cookies in muffin tins. Take empty Pringle cans & decorate the outside of the can ... you will be able to slip a dozen cookies into the can. By using the muffin tins, the cookies are exactly the right size & are uniform.If you want to really know if this book is for you, go to your local library. If they don't have a copy there is always the option of the Inter-Library Loan procedure (books usually take about 3 weeks to arrive). I almost always preview books from the library before purchasing ... it has saved a lot of disappointment.