Taste of Home Cookies: 623 Irresistible Delights (Taste of Home Baking) Paperback – September 17, 2009

Love this book, bought it for myself and had to order another for a friend. This book is packed with fun recipes and beautifully illustrated. Great gift too.

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.

So varied , wonderful brownies

Taste of Home cookbooks are noted for their beautiful photos and first-rate recipes. To that end, this cookbook does not disappoint. My only criticism...and for me it's a big one...is that 98% of the recipes have nuts in them. There has to be cookies that don't contain nuts. I specifically ordered this book because I wanted to bake cookies for the neighbors and their children. Not knowing their response to nuts, I was looking specifically for plain cookies without nuts. There is only a small handful of cookies that fit the bill in this cookbook. If you're a nut lover, this cookbook is for you. If you're not, please pass on this cookbook and find something a little less nutty.

I like the variety of cookies which included favorites

Wonderful recipes! Instructions are detailed and easy to follow. Glad I purchased this book as there are recipes you do not find in other books. An example is the Chocolate Cappuccino Cookies (attached a picture of them). They were on my cookie tray this holiday season and consistently received rave reviews. I've made so many great cookies from this book and eat too many, especially the brownie biscotti. The Chocolate Coconut Neapolitans are yummy and fun to present. So many good recipes.

I've purchased 5 of these books. First one for me and then my sister and nieces and recently my granddaughter. We let each other know which recipe we tried so we can mark in our books that it was "good" and what we liked about it. We all love it and have never had a fail.

I have been baking for years and have made more cookies than I can count. However, I got tired of searching through various recipe books, websites, or clipped recipes when wanting to try a new cookie recipe. I decided to buy this book after seeing it in a libary. This is a great investment. This will likely become your new 'cookie bible'. It has every cookie recipe imagineable. From chips to bars to no bake to refridgerator to spritz. Every holiday is covered as well. This book has over 600 recipes and many have pictures. It is reasonably priced and a smart addition to your kitchen. I have made it my goal to bake a different recipe each week throughout 2013. So far so good, except for my waistline! Enjoy.