There are some new cookie books coming out just in time for Christmas!
Cookie Craft Christmas: Dozens of Decorating Ideas for a Sweet Holiday by Valerie Peterson and Janice Fryer, $12.95, Workman, ISBN-10: 1603424407
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1603424407/?tag=cakecentral-20
The Flour Pot Christmas Cookie Book: Creating Edible Works of Art for the Holidays by Margie and Abbey Greenberg, $16.95, Running Pr., ISBN-10: 0762435542
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0762435542/?tag=cakecentral-20
This one is already out.
Cookie Swap: Creative Treats to Share Throughout the Year by Julia M. Usher, pbk, $19.99, Gibbs Smith, ISBN-10: 1423603788
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1423603788/?tag=cakecentral-20
Thanks for the heads up on those.
They all look great, especially the Cookie Craft one!
Thanks for the heads up! I'm still waiting for Peggy Porschen's new book to come out (Cake Chic)! 
They all look wonderful. How exciting. I am going to order all 3. Of course, there are a lot of amazing cookies on CC, too. That's good because I am not at all creative and I need lots of inspiration. Thank you for letting us know about the new books.
I knew that The Flour Pot had a new one coming out, but didn't know about the others. I'm adding all three to my amazon wish list. Thanks!
I bought Cookie Swap today!!! At first I wasn't too thrilled with it BUT when I got home and looked more closely it wasn't as bad as I first thought, although there are several critiques I could make on it (which I won't.) My advice for anyone considering that book is to have Barnes and Noble order it for you first then look at it before you buy it -- you're not obligated to buy it like that. Just a heads up for y'all!
JULIA USHER'S book, Cookie Swap: Creative Treats to Share Throughout the Year is MAGNIFICANT! I am thrilled to be an owner of a wonderfully artistic and amazing book! I have already tried to "copy" the summer cookies and had fun with them! Of course mine aren't as beautiful or meticulously made as Julia's but what fun I had making them.
This book is a great book for beginners to more advanced bakers! The time that must have gone into this book is simply amazing! My hats off to Julia! CAN'T WAIT FOR ANOTHER BOOK, as I am HOPING to see someday sooner than later!!! 
[/b]
JULIA USHER'S book, Cookie Swap: Creative Treats to Share Throughout the Year is MAGNIFICANT! I am thrilled to be an owner of a wonderfully artistic and amazing book! I have already tried to "copy" the summer cookies and had fun with them! Of course mine aren't as beautiful or meticulously made as Julia's but what fun I had making them.
This book is a great book for beginners to more advanced bakers! The time that must have gone into this book is simply amazing! My hats off to Julia! CAN'T WAIT FOR ANOTHER BOOK, as I am HOPING to see someday sooner than later!!! [/b]
My issue with Usher's book is there are tons of ways to display cookies in it (that seems to be her focus) but many of the cookies are not given any instruction. How did she do the owl cookie (which appears on the front cover but nowhere in the book.) 
The cookie trees? Was that royal icing or chocolate she used to flood the cookie with? What kind of cookie did she use and why?? Nothing but a picture of them appears in the book with no explanation at all. The gingerbread wreath was cool but there were no templates in the back of the book to follow and the dimensions she gave there are no cutters for. (She does say to use a oval cake pan but for those of us who don't feel like purchasing the Wilton set that really doesn't get it.) And I couldn't for the life of me figure out her instructions on the beach ball and lemon slice cookies. I'm still scratching my head over those. The pictures of the cookies that did have instructions were clear across the book -- for example the candy corn cookies are detailed on page 122 with a picture of the final product on page 109. It just got a little crazy flipping through the book trying to find if I had missed something or not. On the good side though she has some beautiful design styles (ala Toba-esque and Peggy Porschen-ish) she uses and she has great use of color. Who would have thought moss green and gold for snowflakes? Beautiful!! Her witches fingers were downright scary (looked a little too real to me!) And I confess she has me intrigued with the wafer paper thing now. So like I said, you may want to look before buying (and if you're anything like me, buy anyway)! 
JULIA USHER'S book, Cookie Swap: Creative Treats to Share Throughout the Year is MAGNIFICANT! I am thrilled to be an owner of a wonderfully artistic and amazing book! I have already tried to "copy" the summer cookies and had fun with them! Of course mine aren't as beautiful or meticulously made as Julia's but what fun I had making them.
This book is a great book for beginners to more advanced bakers! The time that must have gone into this book is simply amazing! My hats off to Julia! CAN'T WAIT FOR ANOTHER BOOK, as I am HOPING to see someday sooner than later!!!
[/b] Gee, you'd think you wrote the book. Sadly, I wasn't as "thrilled" with it as you were.
I definitely have to agree with you, BWB! Very pretty displays (gorgeous photography), but I think it's inconsistent at best. Sorry, but I don't get the cookie swap year round (and yes I read her story about her first swap) but it still doesn't make any sense. A swap lessons the burden but still gives you a nice variety of cookies for gifts. Why would you have a cookie swap for a bridal shower??? Plus, for a book about cookie swaps there is no information about how to host a swap. You'll get better info for that at holiday time from the BH&G Christmas Cookie magazine put out each year.
The lack of any templates is annoying. The oval Bob mentions had scallops so a pan isn't gonna help even if you're willing to put out the money and yes, that would've been fun to try. The haunted house is cute, but you have to "draw your own" replica. Didn't care for the layout -- some light blue type or the busy look of all the information on each page. If you're a beginner -- this book is not for you. It has beautiful ideas, but unfortunately not much in the way of instruction. The focus was definitely on grand displays.
I think it would have been better titled, Cookiescapes (or something along those lines.) If you do sweet tables -- this book is excellent for that sort of thing. Party ideas, too. Loved the "wedding cake" boxes.
Several recipes did look really good. The pumpkin cookies were too cute and the thumbprints with WC hazelnut ganache sound yummy!
It's definitely good for ideas. I just wish it had more content.
For those of you wanting/ needing more instruction the following books are much, much better:
Creative Cookies: Delicious Decorating for Any Occasion by Toba Garrett
Cookie Craft: From Baking to Luster Dust, Designs ... by Valerie Peterson
Cookie Decorating by Autumn Carpenter (avail at Country Kitchen)
Ha ha ha ha!! Honey I thought she wrote the book too! Folks, it's not that Cookie Swap is a bad book, it's really not. But there are so many cookie books out there that surpass it. But to each is own! I will say I'm looking forward to trying the candy corn cookies! 
... Folks, it's not that Cookie Swap is a bad book, it's really not. But there are so many cookie books out there that surpass it. ... I will say I'm looking forward to trying the candy corn cookies!
Exactly. It does have many good points, but I just wanted people to know it's not for beginners or those needing more instruction. It is great for ideas.
I appreciate any books on decorating cookies. They are so few and far between. It's a catch-22 -- if you don't buy the books they put out they won't publish any more. So I do want to be supportive, but I'd like to see better products.
Loved the way she made those candy corn cookies, too. Really, really want to try the pumpkin cookies.
Where are my manners??!!
2009dreamit, I would like to apologize for not extending a CC welcome. You are new to this site and I jumped in and didn't even note that you were a newcomer. We are actually a very friendly bunch here in our little "cookie corner" of CC. You will find folks will go out of their way to answer questions and offer encouragement. Please don't hold my lack of grace against anyone here -- I'm usually a bit more amiable.
I do stand by my opinion of Cookie Swap. Never thought it was a bad book -- neither did Bob -- and we both bought and recommended it (with some reservations.) I'm glad you found it so very helpful.
I trust the opinions of Honeydukes and bobwonderbuns, and I appreciate their thoughts on "Cookie Swap". I'll be heading off to the bookstore this weekend, and I will be curious to see what I think of the book. I LOVE looking at cookie decorating books, and it's always a thrill to find a new one. As Honeydukes mentioned, they are few and far between! For me, there couldn't be a more perfect Christmas or birthday gift than a cookie decorating book...flaws and all.
My "Cookie Swap" just arrived in the mail and I also think it is an interesting book, but I do have reservations about it.
I love the imaginative display of the beautiful cookies. I enjoy doing tablescapes and can see using some of these ideas with my own cookie recipes. (I'd love to find that little barn lunchbox on pg. 9
and the mini wedding cakes on pg. 78 are so cute! I can see them as mini birthday cakes, party favors, etc. And as beautiful as the rose cookies are on pg. 49, I would never mix them with fresh greenery. (I'm sure that's just creative license.) 
That said, I'm glad I bought it. It has really stimulated my creativity whether I ever get around to making any of the recipes.
Where are my manners??!!
2009dreamit, I would like to apologize for not extending a CC welcome. You are new to this site and I jumped in and didn't even note that you were a newcomer. We are actually a very friendly bunch here in our little "cookie corner" of CC. You will find folks will go out of their way to answer questions and offer encouragement. Please don't hold my lack of grace against anyone here -- I'm usually a bit more amiable.
I do stand by my opinion of Cookie Swap. Never thought it was a bad book -- neither did Bob -- and we both bought and recommended it (with some reservations.) I'm glad you found it so very helpful.
Honey I'm just as bad!! I did the same exact thing! I didn't even realize she was new! WELCOME to CC 2009dreamit!! (Better known as your new addiction!) I hope you didn't take exception to my views on Cookie Swap, they certainly weren't personal. Don't let that deter you from enjoying the vast wealth of information and sharing available here on CC. It's a great place to be!
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