Baking by Feel: Recipes to Sort Out Your Emotions (Whatever They Are Today!)

Instagram foodie Rea-Tucker urges bakers to let their feelings guide their creations in her quirky debut. The collection can be used like a traditional cookbook, but Rea-Tucker recommends consulting the included emotions wheel to identify one’s emotional state and find corresponding recipes, which are categorized by general feelings: a spiced French silk pie is labeled “happy,” chewy kitchen sink cookies are filed under “sad,” and blueberry buttermilk donuts covered in icing feature in “mad” (and are more specifically pegged to the feeling of “annoyed”). No matter the mood, there’s a variety of delectable treats to satisfy a sweet tooth. A stout beer adds full-bodied flavor to triple chocolate cake, and salty brown butter caramels are a melt-in-your-mouth delight, though the jury is out on whether butterscotch cake with salted honey buttercream can actually ward off pessimism. Even so, bakers will savor these tempting options. Agent: Jenni Ferrari Adler, Union Literary. (Oct.)