Cookies Are Magic

Maida Heatter, aka "The Queen of Desserts" died last year and during the 70s and 80s, she published several titles that are now considered classics. Her precise instructions taught a generation of bakers and eased their fears about entering the kitchen. The recipes in this book have been assembled from Maida Heatter’s previously published books, including Happiness Is Baking, Maida Heatter's Cakes, Maida Heatter's Cookies, Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts, Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts, Maida Heatter's New Book of Great Desserts.

Last year, a compilation of her recipes appeared in Happiness Is Baking. This book follows the same format and is again illustrated by Alice Oche's colorful drawings. A preface by Deb Perelman was not available in the preview galley. Maida Heatter's notes on equipment, ingredients and how-to's are included in the opening chapter. The book appears to be designed exactly like Happiness Is Baking, which has a very attractive layout. My only gripe with it was that it is impossible to keep the book open so you have to use a weight to hold the pages down.

There are chapters on Drop Cookies, Bar Cookies, Icebox Cookies, Rolled Cookies and Hand-Formed Cookies. A More! chapter includes recipes for macaroons, crackers, marshmallows and other items that don't necessarily fit into any of the previous categories.

The book includes some of the recipes that I have tried such as Palm Beach Brownies, Pennies From Heaven, Pinwheels, and Positively the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. The large majority, however, are recipes that I haven't tried so I have my work cut out for me. Some of the ones that I need to try are Mrs. L.B.J's Moonrocks, Norman Rockwell's Oatmeal Wafers, Johnny Appleseed Squares, Lebkuchen, Vienesse Marzipan Bars, Maxines and the list goes on.

Award winning (James Beard Award three times and James Beard Hall of Fame Member) author and baker, Maida Heatter, has been dubbed “The Queen of Desserts,” and anyone who bakes is not only familiar with this classy lady, but has love and respect for her. She is an American baking icon, and over the years has written dozens of bestselling cookbooks. Cookies Are Magic: Classic Cookies, Brownies, Bars, and More is a compilation of some of Heatter’s best cookies, and is a cookbook worth putting on the cookbook shelf. Heatter died at the age of 102 in June of 2019, and has left a legacy of baking wonderful desserts without apologizing for the calories or time spent baking.

This excellent cookbook includes Heatter’s philosophy on baking, as well as a primer on ingredients, equipment, and hints for cookie baking success. Unfortunately, there are no photographs of the recipes, but there are cute illustrations. The recipes are such that most bakers will want to photograph the recipes as they bake them – there are no bad cookies, so baking every cookie in this book may be doable over a few months. Favorite cookies (so far) from this book include Positively-the-Absolutely-Best-Chocolate-Chip Cookies (and they really are!), Savannah Chocolate Chewies, and Coconut Grove Cookies. Many of the recipes are old-fashioned, and take us back to when food actually tasted good and was made from scratch.

This cookbook is well organized, and each chapter has a dozen or so different recipes for Drop Cookies, Bar Cookies, Icebox Cookies, Rolled Cookies, Hand-Formed Cookies, and More! (miscellaneous). Each recipe has Heatters personal notes for success, as well as vignettes regarding the recipe, and the instructions are easy-to-follow.

All told, you can’t go wrong with this excellent cookbook. Cookie aficionados will love the variety and ease of baking Maida Heatters best cookies.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

It's Maida Heatter, so of course the amazingness of this is a given. I wish she'd lived long enough to see her work showcased as well as it is but I am glad her wonderful cookie recipes are now going to be easily and readily available. For those who want to make and eat cookies, this book is a joy.

How fun was this book! I loved the personal stories of many of the recipes as well as finding new twists on old classics. I found a few recipes that really excited me and I am eager to try them soon. The general "baking for new bakers" section was really straightforward and full of nice reminders for the home baker. I particularly loved the assurance that she had tried every recipe to make it "no fail". YES! I love not failing at new things!

If you're purchasing this for home use, you'll definitely want the paper copy instead of digital. There are plenty of variations and encouragement to add your own twists. You'll want to keep track of those!

My only wish is that the book had used actual photos rather than illustrations of the baked goods. Partially because I"m a visual learner and partially because you eat with your eyes, it would have really taken the whole book up a notch for me.

I have always heard great things about Maida Heatter but haven't really read her cookbooks before. I have already bookmarked several drop cookie recipes! The Charleston Chewies look great. I wish the book had a few photographs, the illustrations are darling but I can't quite picture what some of the cookies are supposed to look like--like the big lemon ones.

It's obvious Maida Heatter knows how to bake cookies, but can I, an amateur, replicate one of her delicious goodies? Well, with this book I have high hope that I may be able to do that. Categorized into drop, bar, icebox, rolled, and hand-formed cookies, this isn't just a book with tons of recipes that make your mouth water, in every recipe she describes the precise technique, the do's and don'ts and things you have to be careful or even be relaxed about (does the mixture of your Kansas cookies appear curdled? It's OK.) Whether you have been baking cookies for a long time or just starting, this is the one book you need in your shelf.