Nuts

September 15, 2015

The "twists" in Jackson's (The Lemon Cookbook) new cookbook are modern variations on classic cookies. Plain blondies, for example, can be made into caramel-cashew or maple-walnut blondies. Similarly, a few substitutions can turn vanilla bean meringues into pistachio-rosewater or chocolate-anise meringues. Jackson includes a broad range of categories (e.g., scooped, rolled, sandwiched, sliced, holiday) and sticks to popular cookies that are easy to prepare and decorate. She also swaps a few out-of-favor ingredients, such as shortening and cornstarch, for more fashionable alternatives such as coconut oil and rice flour. Most bakers will already have a version of the base recipes (e.g., peanut blossoms, shortbread, chewy coconut macaroons) in their repertoire, but they'll be impressed by Jackson's tweaks. VERDICT Like Dawn Casale and David Crofton's One Girl Cookies and Tracey Zabar's One Sweet Cookie, this cookbook offers fresh inspiration for bake sales, cookie exchanges, and edible gifts.

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