The Cookie That Changed My Life: And More Than 100 Classic Cakes, Cookies, Muffins, and Pies That Will Change Yours by Nancy Silverton & Carolyn Carreno (11/14/23)

The eagerly anticipated baking bible from America's most respected authority: 100+ recipes for cookies, cakes, breads, breakfast pastries, and much more, from Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Banana Bread, and Yum-Yum Coffee Cake to Twice-Baked Ham and Cheese Croissants, Chicken Pot Pies, and her favorite Peanut Butter Cookie.

"Nancy Silverton baked a brioche so perfect that it brought Julia Child to tears...Nancy showed us how to strip away the extras and spotlight the essentials. She’s still doing that and we’re all still learning from her." —Dorie Greenspan, author of Dorie's Cookies

Nancy Silverton made her reputation as the original pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck's restaurant Spago. Two years ago, Silverton bit into a particularly delicious peanut butter cookie and had an epiphany: every single thing we bake should taste this good. And so she decided to return to her roots, and set to work perfecting the rest of the American baking canon.

From Lattice-Topped Apple Pie to Carrot Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting (the secret? Carrot puree) to Cornbread (is it too much to ask that it actually taste like corn?), she shares recipes for the platonic ideals of our most beloved baked goods.

Alongside the classics—Lemon Bars, Key Lime Pie, Layered Buttermilk Biscuits—Silverton includes a handful of her own inventions: Double-Decker Chocolate Cookies (double the fun!), Iced Raisin Bars (a better fig newton), and Chocolate Brandy Cake (chocolate and brandy!)—all sure to become future classics. With more than a hundred perfected recipes, The Cookie That Changed My Life is a veritable encyclopedia of the very best things to bake.

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Praise for THE COOKIE THAT CHANGED MY LIFE

"Every baker needs this book. The recipes sound so enticing and look so appealing you will want to make them all. And Nancy’s directions are so foolproof you will be happy that you did." —Ruth Reichl; author of Save Me the Plums

"Whenever Nancy bakes or cooks she wins over even the most discerning palette! When it comes to the home or professional baker this book is a MUST!" —Wolfgang Puck

"Nancy Silverton baked a brioche so perfect that it brought Julia Child to tears. She baked bread so remarkable that it brought thousands to her door hoping to learn from her. She baked from her heart, and she baked from her soul. She baked frpom curiosity and from passion. And she led the way for all of us to try to do the same. Today, it’s easy to take artisan breads, simple cakes and unfussy desserts with full flavors for granted, but that’s because Nancy showed us how to strip away the extras and spotlight the essentials. She’s still doing that and we’re all still learning from her." —Dorie Greenspan; author of Dorie's Cookies

“This book should be an American staple in every household. Having eaten one of Nancy’s cookies, I need to rest after my sugar high - and dream of tomorrow’s cookie that will change my life.” — Dominique Crenn; restaurateur/chef Atelier Crenn

"Nancy is such a talented author and an accomplished baker, and in her new book she perfected and personalized many familiar recipes of pies, cookies, and cakes. It is always refreshing and motivating to see a new book that pays homage to the classics. And everyone should know that Nancy will always add a personal and delicious twist." —Daniel Boulud; Chef & Restaurateur

"Nancy is a curious chef and baker. She wants to try things to understand if they are as good as they are supposed to be or not, or even better than expected . I am not as curious as she. Nancy Is taking classic desserts, baked treats, and asking, ‘I know this is the classic recipe but can we do it better? Make it more delicious?’ If I were ever to make a peanut butter cookie, do you know where I am going to look for the recipe? Right here in this cookbook. Because I know that Nancy wouldn’t let me down. Not when it is so important to her to get it right.That is why we all need this book.” —Massimo Bottura; restaurateur and chef patron Osteria Francescana

"I am always excited by a new Nancy Silverton cookbook. But I was not prepared to be gobsmacked! This is truly a cookie, cake, savory and bakery tome. Nancy has chosen classical and new bakery recipes from her friends, colleagues and mentors. Nancy has remastered these recipes in a way only she can. The resulting cookbook includes new takes on corn bread, banana bread, snickerdoodles and peanut butter cookies, all delivered with tour de force. Nancy has that unique ability to extract every last bit of flavor from the most ordinary of ingredients. Nancy transforms bakery classics into ethereal treats. You will not be able to put this cookbook down!" —Jonathan Waxman; Chef & Restaurateur; author of The Barbuto Cookbook

"The Cookie That Changed My Life is a heart-warming cookbook full of delicious and easy-to-make recipes; the whole family can make them at home, and they will love it. Nancy’s passion and love for her craft really shines through in this cookbook—and rubs off!” —René Redzepi; chef of Noma

"Let there be dancing in the streets… Nancy Silverton is sharing her sweet magic with us, once again!  Her genius riffs on our most beloved and nostalgic recipes are nothing short of perfection.  For the last 30 years, from her first book Desserts to The Cookie That Changed My Life, Nancy has, in fact, changed my life and been my baking hero and greatest source of inspiration!" —Claudia Fleming; Executive Culinary Director of Daily Provisions