Cookbook Previews: Cookies for Everyone

Mimi Council’s “Cookies for Everyone” book was released on November 5, 2019. It features “100 customizable bakeshop recipes.”

I received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book begins with a look at basic ingredients from Farm and Fridge and from your pantry. There’s an important tip involving weighing your eggs so you get exactly the right amount, since too much egg makes your dough sticky and too little makes it dry. She includes helpful info on butter, milk and cream, fresh fruits, and various types of flours for baking.

Next, the author moves onto Essential Tools – I definitely needed a reminder to buy cookie scoops, and the author really prefers we use digital scales for baking. I don’t own one yet, reluctant to try to cram another item into my packed, small kitchen cupboards.

The recipes begin with Soft & Chewy Cookies – I would immediately begin with this section, since my father and I prefer cookies to be soft, not crispy or crunchy. (We might have very delicate roofs of our mouths, or should I say wimpy?) Recipes in this section include classics like Double Chocolate Chip Cookies along with Frosted Gingerbread Cookies and Apple Pie Cookies.

There’s a whole section of Vegan cookies that I’ll skip since I eat dairy – you’ll find recipes for chocolate pecan pretzel cookies, ginger snaps, and lemon sugar cookies there if you care to look.

Vegans will want to avoid the Butter Cookies chapter, with its recipes for Chocolate Hazelnut Minis, Coconut Shortbread, Chai Shortbread, and Crack Butter Cookies.

In the Sandwich Cookies section, recipes include Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies, and Coconut Lemon Sandwich Cookies.

The next chapter is about Biscotti, with traditional Italian style biscotti flavors as well as inventive ones like Chai Tea Biscotti.

I hadn’t thought of Florentines as cookies, they seem more like.. mini unfrosted cakes to me. You’ll find really unusual ideas here, like Banana Florentines and Cookie Dough Florentines.

Next up is a section for French Macarons – I still haven’t attempted making any of these. Too crunchy for my personal taste, I suppose. Besides classic basics like Vanilla and Chocolate Macarons, you can learn to make Cinnamon Honey French Macarons and Banana Split French Macarons.

At the end of the book, you’ll find recipes for Cookie Necessities such as Butterscotch Sauce, Caramel Sauce, Chocolate Ganache, Chocolate Milk and Strawberry Milk, and Cookie Glaze. You’ll also learn how to make strawberry preserves for the filling for Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies.

Here’s my favorite part of this entire cookbook: Each recipe has customization tips included at the end. There’s tips for making them gluten free, and for baking them at high altitude. Since there’s an entire section for vegan cookies, and there aren’t any meat products in the cookie recipes, the entire cookbook is useful to vegans and vegetarians and gluten-free people. (Keto people, you’re on your own!)

I also like the author’s sweet introductions to each cookie, mentioning her experience enjoying the type of cookies in her past or sharing memories of people who have baked them for her. And each chapter has a couple of pages introducing the type of cookies and sharing incredibly helpful tips on making them turn out a success.

Cookies for Everyone is available on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble (affiliate links).

-Carrie