Cover Image: The Cookie Bible

The Cookie Bible

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Member Reviews

If you live cookies and also if you love making cookies then this one if for you.
I found this book really well done and yes I tried a few recipes and they were so yummy and easy enough to do

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This cookbook offers great recipes for all your cookie baking needs. Rose Levy Beranbaum is a trusted name is the baking world for a reason. The cookies are delicious and the steps are easy to follow.

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Rose Levy Beranbaum's no-nonsense approach to baking is unfailingly confidence-boosting. She doesn't mince words, never shortcuts instructions, and always lets you know if you're in for a challenge. Thankfully, even the more challenging recipes in The Cookie Bible are still approachable, and well worth the trouble. I can't wait to get my hands on a print copy.

(PS: Oh how I wish this was available as a regular Kindle read....the protected PDFs are so much more difficult to work with!)

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I tried one recipe from this book and I found that it lacked good instructions. I felt like it wasn't well thought out.

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Do you have one of those books that is essentially falling apart and whose pages are stained with flecks of food because you've revisited it over and over again? I feel like this is going to become one of those go to classics. If you are a fan of this author's Cake Bible, you'll find the same attention to detail, illustrations, and step by step instructions on making cookies and biscuits.

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This is a really great cookbook. It’s incredibly comprehensive and well written and it produces absolutely spectacular cookies. The recipes are extremely throughly tested and detailed and Rose Levy Berenbaum is frankly a baking genius. I took off one star because the recipes are quite complicated to the point of being daunting and they often require specialized ingredients. If you’re a dedicated baker willing to put in the extra time and effort to make the best possible cookies, this book is perfect for you.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for sending me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

We all know cookies are one of the major food groups, and what could possibly be better than a book dedicated to expanding your variety of tasty experiences? The Cookie Bible is a detailed cookbook focused on an impressive number of cookie recipes, organized by their method of preparation (such as rolled by hand or bars). Beyond the recipes themselves, there’s also tips and tricks for every step of the cookie-making process (from things to prep before you begin baking to cookie-specific storage information), suggested recipe adaptations, and notes on specific equipment and ingredients recommended.

My favorite part of this cookbook was the substantial amount of detail included with each recipe. Every recipe includes:
Title
Yield (& cookie size!)
Author’s note
A section with oven temp (in both Fahrenheit and Celsius), baking time, & special equipment
Ingredients (with both weight and volume measurements)
Directions (including when to preheat the oven, what to do and when before you’re ready to bake, how to make the dough with other methods if applicable - such as food processor or stand mixer - and how to cool & store the cookies)
Tips for that specific recipe
Variations on that recipe (when applicable)

However, this book is less “I want to make cookies this afternoon & need inspiration” and more of a “I’ve always wanted to make [INSERT COOKIE NAME] & need a reliable reference” kind of cookbook. Both types of cookbooks have their uses, but I don’t tend to use reference cookbooks near as much as they deserve.

There were also a couple of drawbacks for me with this particular book, starting with how the copy I received only had photos for about 70-80% of the recipes. For a book that has so much work put into it, I wish each recipe had a photo - especially for the recipes I was unfamiliar with and had trouble visualizing.

I’ve already mentioned how I loved the level of detail, but something that was glaringly absent for me in each recipe was the total time required. While each recipe includes a bake time (for one batch of cookies at a time in the oven), they don’t include: the total oven time for the recipe, the time commitment for preparation (such as taking ingredients out to come to room temperature beforehand), or chilling information before baking (which many of the doughs require). When I want to bake a new recipe, I don’t want to have to read each recipe to find something that fits my schedule. While you definitely should read each recipe through before you start baking, having the estimated time commitment from start to finish would make deciding what recipe to bake much easier.

Even the less involved cookies still require a hefty time commitment: I made the Peanut Butter & Jelly Buttons (with the chocolate filling variation instead of the sour cherry one), and even though this recipe was fairly quick and easy (not that many ingredients and few dishes to clean), it still required 1 hour of prep, a minimum of 1 hour of chilling dough, and 20 minutes of baking for two batches of cookies. If you’re looking for recipes you can just whip up in an hour or two, this probably isn’t the book for that.

On a final note - and this is entirely a personal preference - some of the recipes require half an egg. I’m really not a fan of recipes with partial ingredients to them and would rather the recipes were scaled up to begin with. If the recipe truly makes too much cookie dough (is there such a thing?), most doughs freeze quite well.

Overall, though, this cookbook is a wealth of information for a wide variety of cookies. Thank you again to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the privilege of reviewing an ARC.

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I loved this book! It had so many nice recipes for cookies. I would def make the recipes in here.

thank you to the author and netgalley for letting me read this recipe book!

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This book is not visually appealing but also the recipes are delicious and easy to make. I love baking all kinds of deserts especially cookies. I was so excited when I saw the title of this book. I can’t wait to make more recipes out of The Cookie Bible

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Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for an e-ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own. This was such a wonderful book. I plan to purchase a hard copy to add to my cookbooks, and I believe I'll turn to this one often.

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This is a great cookbook for those who like very detailed intructions and both tips for improving execution on recipies and explainations on why certain prep is needed. Beranbaum is a James Beard winning chef and fills this book with old favorites and some new ones as well. A great choice if your looking to expand your baking repertoire or just up your game and refine your baking skills.

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This book was very informative and technical. I would recommend it to a more professional baker than my amateur self.

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The Cookie Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum is a beautiful collection of recipes that would make anyone feel like a top chef. Miss Beranbaum fills the pages with her expertise, helping to guide the reader (and baker) to a delicious treat that is sure to impress anyone lucky enough to taste it. I really appreciated how the author included where she got the recipe. I think this adds such a personal touch and I always look for this in a recipe when I am trying it. I am much more likely to purchase a cookbook that includes this small but important detail for the reader. The assortment of cookies were separated into easy to find category sections and of course it has a helpful index in case you are searching for a specific cookie. I loved all the pictures that were included, I would suggest adding a photo for each recipe, this helps me tremendously while I am baking. I know it would take up more space, but it adds just that much more important detail. My only negative thought toward this lovely book, would be that it is for a very experienced and skilled baker, I would not gift this to someone just learning to bake. Overall a beautiful cookbook!
4/5 stars

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Another stellar and comprehensive cookbook by brilliant baker Rose Levy Beranbaum.

Full disclosure: I have not yet made anything from this cookbook, but I did read it and I do have experience with some of her other cookbooks. They are complete and detailed and have clear instructions on many techniques to insure baking success.

Featured is everything from macarons to bar cookies, puff pastry to jam-filled cookies, holiday offerings and more. Everything is broken down into steps and is very well explained. You don't have to be an experienced cook -- if you follow her guidelines, you will learn by doing.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Another amazing cookbook from Beranbaum! Nicely organized by cookie type, all of the recipes sound delicious. The instructions are clearly written and each recipe includes a short description of the cookie.

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This book definitely lives up to its name! Whether you are an experienced baker or a newbie, this book has something for everyone. She manages to put a spin or two on some old favorites and gives us some new treats that will soon become classics! I highly recommend this book for bakers of every level. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

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Love!!! As an avid baker, when they say this is the cookie bible it literally is the THE COOKIE BIBLE. Its actually pretty overwhelming how many recipes there are, but anything you can imagine is in here. I appreciate the attention to detail and awesome images. My favorite recipe is " Mrs. Swallows Perfect Lemon Cookies." I will definitely try to make as many of them as I can, but that may be a tall order. There are recipes for bakers of all skills. A great gift for the baker in your life!

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If you’re looking for a cookie cookbook that includes simple/easy recipes and also more elaborate recipes, this is the book for you. Rose Levy Beranbaum presents an array of recipes for all bakers. She includes recipes from the easiest to more fancy and intricate cookie recipes. My only complaint is that while there are many photographs, I wish there was a photo of all the cookies.

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This is the best cookie cookbook I've ever read. It has every kind of cookie you could want to cook. The directions are easy to follow, and the pictures are beautiful. This book is full of mouthwatering recipes.
I received a complimentary copy from Mariner Books via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Rose Levy Beranbaum, who is this person who created cookies so mouthwatering just reading her recipes? The authors are Rose's fans, from what I read, who then become her fast friends. They collect her recipes and compile into one wonderful book. With double measurements: in metric and cups measurements provided, this will ensure any readers of this book can create same goodness. Also like the small notes provided: if you want your cookies chewy, do this. And for the crispy version, do that. Love this book!

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