It’s cookie season, and I’m pulling books out of our library for inspiration. One of the ones that is resonating with me this year is *One Sweet Cookie: Celebrated Chefs Share Favorite Recipes* by Tracey Zabar. I’ll admit that I was skeptical when this book came out. Compilations often lack the depth of passion that makes books written by a single author so compelling. Admittedly, most of us love cookies, so it wasn’t a stretch to think that many chefs have favorite cookie recipes worth sharing.
As many readers know, I grew up in New York City, the home of Zabar’s, and the origin point for many of the chefs in this book at the time it was written. Memoirs of the city always draw me in and then push me away with bittersweet contemplation. I love to read them, but they make me miss the New York that no longer exists.
Once I dove in, though, I realized that I loved this book. I tried several recipes, and they were all delicious. Tracey Zabar’s voice is clear and true, drawing you into her somewhat charmed life, without sounding as though she were bragging about all of the famous chefs who just happen to be making her cookies all the time. And they are beautiful and delicious cookies.
All of my childhood favorites appear, along with some interesting new twists. There are classic pizzelles and ricotta cookies, biscotti, madeleines, sugar cookies, spice cookies, fig cookies, rugelach, macarons and macaroons, and almost any variation of oatmeal and chip that you can think of. The headnotes, while short, always give you a reason to think about the recipe that follows and, very often, the motivation to make it in your own kitchen. It’s a great cookie book, and I would recommend it to anyone who loves cookies as much as I do.
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