The Perfect Cookie That Changed My Life: And More Than 100 Other Classic Cakes, Cookies, Muffins, and Pies That Will Change Yours

James Beard Award winner Silverton (Desserts) found inspiration for this stellar collection in a simple but delicious peanut butter cookie she ate during the pandemic lockdown. Afterward, she set out to develop recipes for the “absolute best version of the baked goods we all know and love.” Scrumptious treats to start the day include “yum-yum” coffee cake and monkey bread. While readers may think they already have the best-ever recipes for such commonplace cookies as peanut butter, chocolate chunk, and oatmeal raisin, Silverton’s persuasive takes will cause them to rethink that notion. What makes her versions stand out are the little details absent from most recipes, such as roasting and salting peanuts before baking them and squeezing clods of crumb topping in one’s fist and dropping them on the New York crumb cake “in clumps” rather than sprinkling them. These and other subtle touches elevate Silverton’s dishes from delicious to sublime. As a bonus, most recipes are easy and don’t require sophisticated techniques, so even beginners can create brag-worthy results. Silverton also shares valuable tips from her more than 50 years of baking experience, including best practices for freezing various doughs and the best tool for sifting flour. Home bakers will find much to savor. (Nov.)