Rose's Christmas Cookies

Rating:
Summary: A necessity for cookie bakers, eaters and lovers
Review: Like many of you out there in review land, I bake a couple thousand or so cookies each Christmas to give as gifts. Usually round about September, friends and relatives start asking me if I'm going to bake the ones that are their particular favorites, whatever those might be. As a veteran cookie baker, I can't say enough good things about this book from Rose Levy Beranbaum. First of all, there is a large, full color glossy of every single cookie in the book. So you know exactly what they should look like. Secondly, she not only gives you very, very explicit measurements in both cups and grams, but her directions are quite thorough and well-explained. Then she tells you exactly how to store each kind of cookie, and how long it keeps. This is really helpful to me, since I bake about a dozen different kinds of cookies for gifts between Thanksgiving and Christmas. This way I can bake the cookies that keep the best first, and work my way toward the more fragile ones toward the end.

It's hard to imagine how anyone might have failed with any of these recipes. They're fabulous, and guaranteed to win you popularity, if not outright love.

Some of my favorite ones from this book have been the Swiss Lebkuchen, the Peanut Butter Jewels, the Lemon Bars, and the Melting Moments. The Lemon Bars are a lot more work than the usual version of this cookie -- you have to pre-bake the shortbread crust, cook the lemon curd, then combine the two and bake, but it's well worth it -- by far the best lemon bar I've ever made or eaten. The Melting Moments cookie, a fragile meltaway covered with high-quality dark chocolate is my personal favorite.

The only thing in this book that didn't work for me was the gingerbread for the gingerbread house. I won't go into the lengthy and hilarious story of how my kitchen-challenged friend and I tried to make a gingerbread house with our friends the 6 musician-brothers (also not cooks) -- but it was an unqualified disaster! The whole thing just fell apart endlessly. However, considering the glory of all the other recipes in the book, I'm quite sure that we did something wrong, and that the fault does not lie in the recipe.

Rating:
Summary: Simply the very best to be had.
Review: My husband and I make neary 1,500 cookies from this book each Christmas: To give as GIFTS!. We make about 12 dozen cookies of 12 to 13 varieties, then pack tins with one cookies at a time, from each variety, unitl the tins are full. Everyone always returns the tins when they are empty, so that we'll remember them next year! However, the publisher ought to be SHOT. We thought our copy was falling apart due to over use, but I can see from this page, that everyone else has the same problem!

Rating:
Summary: Best Cookies Ever!
Review: My roommate owned this book, but is not much of a cook herself so she gave it to me. I have made at least half of the recipes and they have all been fantastic! Also, I rarely make anything from a recipe without a picture, and this book has multiple beautiful photos of EVERY COOKIE, so you always know what your getting. Due to many moves, in addition to the one my roommate gave me, I have re-bought this book twice, and I absoultely do not regret it. It is a staple in my collection!

Rating:
Summary: A picture is worth a thousand cookies!
Review: People are never happy with their picture, but if these cookies could talk, they would say they look just like their pictures! Unlike some cookie books, these treats taste even better than they look. The book is easy to follow. The directions are given in order, very clearly. This book will neither confuse the beginner, nor bore the more seasoned baker. Co-workers drop at my feet on days that I bring Rose's cookies in to work! My paychecks do not swell, but my ego does, just for being able to turn out these great cookies. If you want to "eat life" as they say, a good place to start is with this book. [e-mail]
Rating:
Summary: Rose is the best
Review: Rose Beranbaum, the author, must simply love what she does. All of her books just shine with enthusiasm and mirth. Couple that with her precision and good taste and you have wonderful recipes, every time. There are full-color photos accompanying every single recipe, and Beranbaum's comments are truly fun and memorable.

The cookies range from homespun to exotic. One of the exotic cookies that I love is the delicate snowflakes made out of meringue. She also has the BEST homemade dog biscuit recipe I have ever made. Dogs will do absolutely anything in their power to get these biscuits!!

The cookies in this book are ones that you would serve to your most exalted guests, but most are easy enough to make any time, so don't wait for Christmas, use it all year round.

Rating:
Summary: A necessity for cookie bakers, eaters and lovers
Review: Rose did an excellent job choosing the recipes for this book. Some recipes could be difficult to make if you are a beginner, but if you are an adventurous baker, I am sure you will be happy to get this book. The instructions are clear, every recipe has a picture of the final cookie, all in all it is a very beautiful book to have. I have collected all of her cookbooks, and this is one of my favorites.

Rating:
Summary: Cookie Wonderland
Review: Rose did an excellent job choosing the recipes for this book. Some recipes could be difficult to make if you are a beginner, but if you are an adventurous baker, I am sure you will be happy to get this book. The instructions are clear, every recipe has a picture of the final cookie, all in all it is a very beautiful book to have. I have collected all of her cookbooks, and this is one of my favorites.

Rating:
Summary: The best cookie book on the market...for all year long
Review: Rose Levy Beranbaum is my favorite cookbook author for a variety of reasons and this cookbook demonstrates those reasons perfectly. The recipes are easy to follow and are very concise. Beranbaum always explains the reasoning behind the ingredients, methods, and tools. The photos in this book are not only beautiful they are really very useful...and your cookies actually come out looking like the photos. I use this book to make cookies all the year round, it is a great reference.

Rating:
Summary: BEAUTIFUL AND PRACTICAL
Review: Rose's Christmas Cookies is a beautiful and practical book. I, myself, found it more practical and useful than The Cake Bible since making a batch of exotic cookies is not quite so time-consuming as making an exotic cake. I also think the novice baker could get a lot of use out of this book, while I found The Cake Bible and The Pie and Pastry Bible more useful for advanced bakers. In this book, one will find recipes for every kind of cookie imaginable--to eat as well as for decorating. Rose also gives up tips on how to package cookies for sending through the mail, which cookies to send, etc. The directions are very complete and easy to follow--both for baking and for decorating. If Christmas is a big occasion in your home, as it is in mine, then this book will go a long way toward making it even better.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent, comprehensive cookie cookbook
Review: This book is designed for people who want to serve up the highest premium quality cookies imaginable. There are many recipes and each one is thorough and very concise. Each recipe offers background information and key points for the best success. Very helpful apendices that give information about a variety of tools to make processing of cookies easier along with professional explanations of ingredients. Many times the novice does not have an understanding of what specific terms mean and the author spends a great deal of attention with photos to terms such as the differences between coarse, medium, and finely chopped nuts displaying many varieties. I have had excellent results with my expectations being met. I have had this book for around two months and have produced many cookies, the book binding seems to be just fine. One additional note is that for a few recipes a highly accurate candy/deep fry themometer is required. Rose produces these fantastic thermometers and offers a list of sources where these can be purchased. Very fragile but extremely accurate.