One of Food52’s most popular columnists and a New York Times bestselling author, top food stylist Erin Jeanne McDowell shares her baking secrets and the science behind them “Erin’s fierce understanding of the science of baking makes her one of the most trustworthy bakers that I know. But what’s even more special is that she does it all with the exact kind of friendliness and warmth that you want when you’re about to tackle laminated dough or French macarons for the first time. The recipes here are as encouraging and thorough as they beautiful and delicious. This book is an absolute must-have for bakers of all levels.” —Molly Yeh, author and blogger, My Name Is Yeh" When people see Erin McDowell frost a perfect layer cake, weave a lattice pie crust, or pull a rich loaf of brioche from the oven, they often act as though she’s performed culinary magic. “I’m not a baker,” they tell her. But in fact, expert baking is not at all unattainable, nor is it as inflexible as most people assume. The key to freedom is to understand the principles behind how ingredients interact and how classic methods work. Once these concepts are mastered, favorite recipes can be altered and personalized almost endlessly. With the assurance born out of years of experience, McDowell shares insider tips and techniques that make desserts taste as good as they look. With recipes from flourless cocoa cookies and strawberry-filled popovers (easy), through apple cider pie and black-bottom crème brûlée (medium), to a statuesque layer cake crowned with caramelized popcorn (difficult), and “Why It Works,” “Pro Tip,” and make-ahead sidebars with each recipe, this exciting, carefully curated collection will appeal to beginning and experienced bakers alike.

What could be more satisfying than presenting friends and family with a perfectly crafted homemade dessert, fresh out of the oven? Yet for many, the idea of baking is intimidating; rolling out pie dough or making a cake from scratch is akin to climbing Mount Everest. The Fearless Baker is a beginner's baking guide written to empower home cooks with spot-on advice and a cache of go-to recipes. Renowned pastry chef Emily Luchetti guides novice bakers through her amazing recipes to troubleshoot their most common pitfalls. Charming color illustrations and photographs of real-life beginning bakers in action complete the instruction, turning even the most tentative baker into a fearless one.

With recipes organized by technique and step-by-step instruction, Fearless Baking is the antidote to years of crumbly cookies, tasteless tarts, and burnt biscuits. If you're a first-time baker, you'll be amazed at the ease and speed with which you can turn out the same kinds of quality homemade treats you've envied in others' homes. If you're an experienced baker, you'll find focused instructions on each aspect of baking, and original fail-safe recipes that can broaden your repertoire. Introductory chapters detail the basic ingredients used throughout the book, along with the appropriate pans and utensils. Each recipe begins with a helpful Baking Answers section to anticipate questions or problems and explain the baking ideas or techniques that the recipe introduces or emphasizes. In addition, the directions not only include tips for visual measurement but also often provide descriptive instructions for recognizing when a batter is properly mixed or an item is done. Each chapter builds on skills and techniques that have been previously explained.Beginning with the simplest recipe (for Perfectly Easy Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Blondies) in Just Stir and Bake, you progress to Glazed Fresh Raspberry Pie in No-Roll Crusts with Simple Fillings, Butter Shortbread Cut-outs in Mixing a Smooth Dough, and Deep South Pound Cake in Mixing a Smooth Batter. Now go on to Cranberry Eggnog Cake with Bourbon Butter Frosting in Putting the Frosting with the Cake, Apple and Hazelnut Macaroon Tart in Rolled Crusts for Pies and Tarts, Orange Meringue Ice Cream Cake in Whipping Eggs for Cakes and Meringues, and Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Fudge Frosting in Baking with Chocolate. Finally, wow family and friends with Aunt Elaine's Mocha Whipped Cream Shadow Cake from Whipping Cream for Cakes, Pies, and Pastries, and the Pumpkin Pecan Praline Cheesecake from Melting Sugar for Caramel and Praline. This surefire guide to turning out delicious home-made treats should be on every baker's bookshelf.

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • Celebrated food blogger and best-selling cookbook author Deb Perelman knows just the thing for a Tuesday night, or your most special occasion—from salads and slaws that make perfect side dishes (or a full meal) to savory tarts and galettes; from Mushroom Bourguignon to Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe. “Innovative, creative, and effortlessly funny." —Cooking Light Deb Perelman loves to cook. She isn’t a chef or a restaurant owner—she’s never even waitressed. Cooking in her tiny Manhattan kitchen was, at least at first, for special occasions—and, too often, an unnecessarily daunting venture. Deb found herself overwhelmed by the number of recipes available to her. Have you ever searched for the perfect birthday cake on Google? You’ll get more than three million results. Where do you start? What if you pick a recipe that’s downright bad? With the same warmth, candor, and can-do spirit her award-winning blog, Smitten Kitchen, is known for, here Deb presents more than 100 recipes—almost entirely new, plus a few favorites from the site—that guarantee delicious results every time. Gorgeously illustrated with hundreds of her beautiful color photographs, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook is all about approachable, uncompromised home cooking. Here you’ll find better uses for your favorite vegetables: asparagus blanketing a pizza; ratatouille dressing up a sandwich; cauliflower masquerading as pesto. These are recipes you’ll bookmark and use so often they become your own, recipes you’ll slip to a friend who wants to impress her new in-laws, and recipes with simple ingredients that yield amazing results in a minimum amount of time. Deb tells you her favorite summer cocktail; how to lose your fear of cooking for a crowd; and the essential items you need for your own kitchen. From salads and slaws that make perfect side dishes (or a full meal) to savory tarts and galettes; from Mushroom Bourguignon to Chocolate Hazelnut Crepe Cake, Deb knows just the thing for a Tuesday night, or your most special occasion. Look for Deb Perelman’s latest cookbook, Smitten Kitchen Keepers!

From the bestselling authors of the ground-breaking Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day comes a much-anticipated cookbook featuring their revolutionary approach to yeast dough in over 100 easy pizza and flatbread recipes--a perfect gift with all the toppings! With nearly half a million copies of their books in print, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François have proven that people want to bake their own bread—as long as they can do it quickly and easily. When fans hailed their pizza and flatbread recipes as the fastest in their books, Jeff and Zoe got busy creating all new recipes. With a batch of their stored dough in the fridge and a pre-heated oven or backyard grill, you can give your family what they crave... Home-made, mouth-watering pizzas, flatbreads, and sweet and savory tarts, prepared in minutes! In Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day, Jeff and Zoë show readers how to use their ingenious technique to make lightning-fast pizzas, flatbreads, and sweet and savory tarts from stored, no-knead dough. In addition to the classic flatbread doughs and pizza crusts, there are alternatives with whole grain, spelt, and gluten-free ingredients, and the authors include soups, salads, and spreads that turn flatbreads or pizza into a complete meal. In just five minutes a day of active preparation time, you can create favorites like Classic Margherita, Pita pockets, Chicago Deep Dish, White Clam Pizza, and Blush Apple Tart. Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day proves that making pizza has never been this fast or easy. So rise...to the occasion and get baking!

Improve your confidence and add joy to your home cooking with this beautiful, practical, full-color cookbook filled with information, techniques, and more than 100 recipes from the Food Network favorite and critically acclaimed chef of New York’s Empire Diner restaurant. Amanda Freitag is a master at knocking out fabulous meals in her restaurant kitchen and on the set of Food Network’s Chopped and Iron Chef America. But until recently, she was totally intimidated to cook at home in her tiny apartment kitchen, relating to the fears of many home cooks. She realized she wasn’t alone! She set out to help other home cooks and created a list of restaurant-quality recipes that shine in the home kitchen. The Chef Next Door teaches home cooks a wide range of confidence-instilling skills, tricks, and tips that Amanda has picked up working in professional kitchens and cooking competitively on television. In her bright, lively voice, she helps you master the basic techniques that are the foundation of good, flavorful cooking. She also teaches you how to think like a chef—to consider seasonality, balancing flavors, understanding the steps, and learning how to improvise—to create a menu and execute dishes with pro techniques, as if she were right there in the kitchen with you. You’ll find everything from the basics—sauces, marinades, stocks, and rubs—to first impressions, salads, and easy dinner recipes, and will even become skilled in making “The Scary Stuff”—recipes that may seem out of reach but are not. With The Chef Next Door, you’ll be able to dazzle friends and family with a diverse range of dishes, such as Spinach Feta Pies, Kale and Farro Salad with Aged Goat Cheese, Lusty Lemon Chicken, Pop’s Beer-Braised Bold Beef Stew, Mediterranean Potato Salad, Marinated Artichokes, Cocoa Carrot Cake, and more. Filled with beautiful color photographs that show how achievable good food really is, The Chef Next Door makes confident home cooking a breeze.

“Beautiful photos that will make you drool. You’ll learn through all the step-by-step recipes and photos how to make your own taste of Paris at home.” —Make: Magazine Cute-as-can-be, buttery macarons capture the whimsy and elegance of Paris, where they’re traditionally served with tea or wrapped up in ribbon to give as a gift. But the secrets of making perfect macarons have long eluded home bakers—until now! In I Love Macarons, renowned Japanese pastry-maker Hisako Ogita brings her extensive experience to the art of baking macarons with fully illustrated foolproof step-by-step instructions. This charmingly designed guide is sure to have pastry lovers everywhere whipping up these colorful confections at home, using ordinary baking equipment and simple ingredients to create myriad flavors of perfection. “For those up for the challenge, Ogita’s book is the best possible preparation . . . Ogita’s love of macaroons comes across as magnificently sincere, as does her belief that perfection is within the reach of anyone with a mixer and a pastry bag.” —Boston.com “The recipes themselves are inspired, such as pistachio with bitter ganache filling and purple yam with chestnut cream, and there are lots of photos of the macaron making process, which is undoubtedly helpful for beginners.” —Fearless Fresh “Her book is the best because of the research and quality that it reflects on each page. She has refined the techniques for the home cook, and has majestically documented and photographed the steps to making a perfect macaroon.” —Cooking by the Book “A small, focused book by a Japanese pastry chef that fills a twee and tiny niche: French macarons.” —The New York Times