Member Reviews
This Christmas Cookbook is filled with a wonderful variety of Holiday desserts from all over the world. Recipes are well laid out and easy to follow. Beautiful illustrations of all the recipes are provided throughout. Definitely a go-to cookbook for holiday baking.
This is a wonderful holiday cookbook filled with step by step instructions and festive ways to decorate delicious and beautiful Christmas desserts. Not only are all of the great classics here but there are quite a few new and creative recipes as well. I thank Netgalley and Cider Mill Press for the opportunity to read and review this cookbook
A lovely selection of Christmas recipes. The only negative is that the author assumes you have a food processor to do all the hard work and uses cups for some measurements, which makes it difficult to interpret, but I'm looking forward to trying some of the recipes. Thank you for the ARC!
The Christmas Baking Cookbook is the perfect companion for the holiday season, offering festive recipes that will fill your kitchen with warmth and cheer. From classic cookies to inventive seasonal treats, this book has something for every skill level. The easy-to-follow instructions and delightful photos make it a joy to use, helping you create sweet memories along with delicious baked goods. A must-have for anyone who loves baking during the holidays!
I felt this book had a good variety of recipes. I liked that it had more unique foods as well as the classics that everyone loves. Definitely made me warm and cozy and in a Christmas spirit
The Christmas Baking Cookbook offers a large selection of classic recipes for the holidays, mainly from North America and Europe. What's interesting is that you can find your usual recipes (gingerbread cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, yule log cake), as well as some less famous but equally interesting ones (the lebkuchen for instance, caught my eye).
The book has a useful appendix with a bunch of custards, doughs and other preparations that serve as a base for more elaborate desserts.
Despite its rich content (more than a hundred recipes), the Christmas Baking Cookbook left me unimpressed. Here's why :
The book feels very generic and impersonal : Between the lack of creative recipes (most of them are traditional) and the fact that the visuals are stock photos only ... It’s just not the kind of book that I would purchase for myself. I also feel like introductory paragraphs would've been welcomed to tell us more about the origins of some recipes (some are from Northern and Central Europe) and/or useful tips (don’t just let people try out cannelés or maracons without any warning, what's wrong with you 😭)
Recipes for the holidays Vs. Holiday recipes : I don’t know if it makes sense, but to me the difference is clear. The book does offer recipes that are usually associated with the holiday festivities (especially in the cookies section), but most recipes are just "festive" or "fancy" ones that aren't specifically made during the holiday season, which makes them off topic in a way ? ... But it is still nice to have a lot of recipes to take inspiration from.
Thank you NetGalley and Cider Mill Press for providing this e-book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
This one!
Found it! If you only needed one Holiday baking book, this would be the one.
Extensive recipes for cookies, cakes, pies, breads and all things holiday and baked.
Tidy layout, neat as a pin and lovely color photos. The Christmas Baking Cookbook is very user-friendly.
I really appreciated that there were recipes from many different countries, cultures and holiday traditions.
Highly recommend.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book provides a broad collection with things from cookies and pies to breads and cakes and also a diverse collection including bakes such as baklava, challah, and babkas. Also the icings and such in the appendix were helpful as I haven’t got a trusty recipe for royal icing yet. The steps of the recipe are easy to follow and the conversion table saved me so much time as I usually have to keep swapping apps to google the conversion. I personally appreciated that the active and total times were split at the top of each recipe as it helps me determine if I am medically strong enough to be on my feet for that long before rather than starting a recipe and struggling. The photographs provided are beautiful and appetising. However, there are no calories and/or macros provided which can be helpful if you're struggling with body image or eating but makes it more difficult if your actively food tracking or on a specific diet.
Vivid pictures, with some classic recipes revamped and some delicious sounding new recipes I can't wait to try. This collection is packed with over a hundred recipes that range from classic gingerbread cookies to some truly unique treats like eggnog-flavored cupcakes. The recipes are designed to be accessible to bakers of all skill levels, so whether you’re a pro or just starting out, you’ll find something that’s right up your alley. The step-by-step instructions take any guesswork out of the There's more than just cookies, too. Brownies, muffins, breads, buns, cakes, pastries, pies... And a few options for Gluten-Free and Vegan.equation, which is a huge plus when you’re trying to whip up something special in the kitchen. There are so many wonderful recipes in these pages, cookies, pastries, cakes, bread, and several other recipes for you to choose to bake for your enjoyment or gifts. This book would also be a wonderful gift as we are approaching the holidays. Many Thanks to netgalley, the author and publisher.
This could be the only Christmas baking cookbook I need. Cinnamon Babka? Oh my the goodness in these pages! Every single recipe is easy to follow and easy to make.
What a lovely gift this would be for a favorite baker. The pictures are nice as well.
NetGalley October 15, 2024
Special thank you to NetGalley and the Editors of Cider Mill Press for an ARC of this Christmas recipe book! There is a wide variety of desserts that are sure to suit your tastebuds. Whether you’re baking for family, friends, or large dinner parties, there is something for everyone, including gluten free options. The instructions appear easy to follow and the pictures to compliment the recipe look divine. Highly recommend!
Loved this.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me access to this book. The recipes are easy to follow and accurate and the pictures look amazing!
A wonderful book with some very tempting photos, making you want to start baking something immediately. There are lots of creative ideas for seasonal events from Christmas fairs to parties.
I’ve been on the lookout for inspiration for my December baking, and The Christmas Baking Cookbook is exactly what I needed to spark my festive spirit.
This cookbook is a delightful treasure trove of 100 Christmas classics and unique indulgences, offering everything from traditional gingerbread cookies to innovative treats like eggnog-flavoured cupcakes. The step-by-step instructions make it easy to dive into baking, even if you're not an experienced baker.
I especially love the easy decorating techniques that will allow me to get creative and add a personal touch to my holiday treats. Whether I’m treating myself, delighting friends, or trying to impress my in-laws, I can’t wait to deck the halls with icing and enjoy the magic of baking this season.
This baking cookbook is the Holy Grail of all things Christmas baking. Baking fun and festive treats to share with friends and family has been a longstanding tradition in our household. Each year we pick 5 new treats to bake, and with over 100 decadent recipes, this cookbook is the perfect addition to our collection. The Christmas Baking Cookbook provides exquisite recipes for cookies, cakes, breads, pastries, pies, tarts, custards, and so much more. The recipes are easy to follow, and they have added a conversion chart in the back for ease of mind when doing precise measurements. This is such a beautifully illustrated and put-together baker's guide to holiday baking that will be a wonderful addition to any collection.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.
This book make me hungry the first time I went through it. I love that the recipes are traditional Christmas baking and most have recipes that are fairly easy to follow. Can't wait to incorporate this in my Christmas baking routine.
An amazing Christmas addition which is a necessity for those who bake around Christmas. I will definitely be trying out these recipes. Great range with something more traditional bakes and some unique.
I can’t wait to try these recipes! Baking for Christmas is great fun, and there are many scrumptious sounding recipes in this book. The directions are clear and easy to follow. There are old favorites and some tempting new recipes to try. I do wish there was a small blurb to describe the food, especially for the ones from various cultures.
Thanks to Cider Mill Press and NetGalley for the ARC.
The Christmas Baking Cookbook includes 100 recipes for cookies, cakes, bread and breakfast, pastries, pies and tarts, and custards and confections. Every recipe includes an ingredient list, numbered directions, and active and total times. Also, many of the recipes include a photo which is great. However, I feel the cookbook is missing some details. Most cookbooks include a brief introduction for each of the recipes, and it would have been nice if this cookbook did that to explain the cultural background and relevance to Christmas. For example, it would have been nice to know the background of Pfeffernusse as they are traditional German cookies or the connection of a Flourless Chocolate Torte to Christmas. Also, none of the recipes list any dietary allergins or restrictions or include nutritional information. The Christmas Baking Cookbook is a great selection of baking recipes, but do not expect any information about each recipe beyond the ingredients and directions.
There's a lot of good in the cookbook, but there's not quite enough to make it great.
There are a few phenomenal recipes in here- it almost feels like coming across grandma's secret cookbook full of the cookies that you ate too many of as a child. The first recipe I made was the Vanilla and Matcha Christmas Trees and they turned out delightful. It's a crisp, light cookie that's festive and full of flavor.
There is a wide variety of recipes in here from around the world, but there was a lack of commentary of where the recipes came from. It would have been really nice to have a quick sentence that said where the recipe was from.
The instructions in all the recipes seem very clear and well thought out.
The recipes are all in imperial format, which is fine for US readers, however, when it comes to baking, there's a very popular trend to use weight instead of volume, so this leads to a lot of bakers (and international readers) having to convert the recipes. As an avid baker, I've started gravitating away from recipes that don't offer both volume and weight measurements for recipes.
After the introduction, there really isn't much commentary or instructions in the cookbook. Typically, the author of a cookbook will add a few notes or suggestions when it comes to baking- recommendations that the author found to be helpful when making a recipe that may not have made it into the instructions.
That being said, the few pictures that are in the book are really lovely- they convey the sense of warmness, coziness, and a general Christmas feel.