Cookie Swap

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Cookie Swap : Creative Treats to Share Throughout the Year

Cookie Swap

By author: Julia M. Usher Photographs by: Steve Adams
Product Code: 03788
ISBN: 978-1-4236-0378-8
Other ISBN: 1423603788
Binding Information: Paperback
Size: 9" X 10" X .56"
Availability: In stock
Price: $19.99

Download information sheet for Cookie Swap

As a specialized form of pot luck, a cookie swap has all the same traits that make a potluck so effortless to host. Guests share in the baking and cost burden by bringing their favorite recipes. Cookie Swap takes the popular idea of the cookie exchange party to new heights and in new directions. The cookie swap is perfectly suited not only to holiday gatherings but also to garden parties, showers, children's birthdays, summer get-togethers, and more.

With dozens of decorating and invitation ideas, 58 delectable recipes, mouthwatering photos, and tips on hosting the best swap possible, this book is sure to get readers' creative juices flowing in bringing together friends through the generosity of food and spirit.

Julia M. Usher, a celebrated pastry chef and food writer, has designed desserts for Chocolatier, Better Homes and Gardens, Bon Appetit, and Modern Bride, and such books as Vera Wang on Weddings and For the Love of Food. She lives in St. Louis and Stonington, Maine.

As seen in Martha Stewart Living! Tips and recipes for throwing a cookie potluck every season

Reviews

Review By: Nancy Hopkins, Better Homes & Gardens - May 12, 2009

A cookie is one of life's most precious, delicious gifts. Swapping them with friends is all the better. Julia Usher's gorgeous and doable ideas inspire us not only to trade cookies at holiday time but the whole year through. Filled to the brim with mouthwatering recipes and delectable photographs, Cookie Swap is a sweet treat to savor and celebrate. Nancy Wall Hopkins, Deputy Food and Entertaining Editor, Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

Reviews

Review By: Trish Boyle, Dessert Professional - May 12, 2009

This creative book has become my new gold-standard guide to cookie decorating. Talented baker Julia Usher provides foolproof recipes and teaches us decorating techniques, from the simplest bar cookie to elaborate showpieces. Her whimsical designs and ideas make this book as fun as it is informative. Open it to any page-you're bound to be inspired. Tish Boyle, Editor, Dessert Professional (formerly Chocolatier) and author of The Good Cookie and The Cake Book

Reviews

Review By: Nick Malgieri, Author of The Modern Baker, How to Bake, and Cookies Unlimited - May 12, 2009

Julia Usher's lovely cookies will inspire you to become a dedicated cookie decorating hobbyist. Nick Malgieri, Author of The Modern Baker, How to Bake, and Cookies Unlimited

Reviews

Review By: Susan Purdy, author of Pie in the Sky - May 12, 2009

Julia Usher is one smart cookie . . . and luckily, we can now all be invited to her Cookie Swap! Her new book has it all: complete basics for beginners, everything a home baker needs to perfect the simple art of "something out of nearly nothing," and imaginative creativity for pros. Well-tested recipes are reliable, fun, and scrumptious; photos are enticing; and party ideas are both practical and budget conscious. Essential for all bakers, this excellent guide to year-round cookie swap parties is a winner. Susan G. Purdy, author of Pie in the Sky

Reviews

Review By: Flo Braker, author of Baking for All Occasions, The Simple Art of Perfect Baking, and Sweet Miniatures - May 12, 2009

Julia Usher's over-the-top cookies and detailed, theme-inspired swaps promise joyful sharing and sweet memories for year-round entertaining. Flo Braker, author of Baking for All Occasions, The Simple Art of Perfect Baking, and Sweet Miniatures

Reviews

Review - September 1, 2009

Cookie Swap: Creative Treats to Share Throughout the Year
Julia M. Usher. Gibbs Smith, $19.99 paper (160p) ISBN 9781423603788
Encouraging Christmastime cookie swappers to up the ante with plans for eight themed swaps-including Valentine's Day, bridal shower, garden party and Halloween (plus Christmas)-Usher produces a wealth of eye-catching bakery, decoration and entertainment ideas for hosts of all experience levels. Recipes are helpfully categorized by skill level, time commitment and type, allowing readers to decide quickly if they're up for the task of Eggnog Cheesecake Streusel Bars, a one on Usher's scale (meaning novice-appropriate), or the mini Chocolate Chai Burgers on Sesame Seed Buns, a considerably more complicated recipe that merits a three. The result is a book that bakers can come back to as their experience and confidence grows, with at least one recipe worth tackling in each theme. Usher's suggestions for transporting cookies via vintage lunch box or Christmas ornament box, and party ideas like dish towels imprinted with vintage postcards, are easy and ingenious, sure to appeal to fans of the Barefoot Contessa and Martha Stewart (no surprise from the designer dessert maker whose work has appeared in Chocolatier, Better Homes and Gardens, Bon Appetit and Modern Bride). (Aug.)

Reviews

Review By: Barbara Mahany, Chicago Tribune - December 3, 2009

"No wonder Usher - who grew up to get a degree in mechanical engineering from Yale University, earned an MBA from Stanford University and at 47 is an accomplished pastry chef and cookbook writer - is intent on drawing folks back to the kitchen. She knows, firsthand, the heart-filled connection that's sparked there. And she has just the ticket to get us all baking the honest-to-goodness way."