The 5 best festive baking cookbooks this Christmas
It’s that time of the year when I’m obsessed with baking anything with a hint of festive. Christmas is my favorite holiday, and even though it’s in the middle of Summer here, it doesn’t stop me from baking ALL the festive treats – thank goodness for air conditioning!
Like every year I always have an extensive list of books to read and cook from and after A LOT of research (and a significant amount of taste testing,) I’ve narrowed down my favorites. These are the 5 best baking cookbooks this Christmas… Ready, get set, and bake!
Advent
I’ve seriously been waiting for this book to be released for so long. Squeals!* My idea of festive baking heaven, this cookbook literally has every German festive baking recipe you can think of. Fans of Lebkuchen rejoice! There is a whole chapter dedicated to this traditional German gingerbread.
Recipe I can’t wait to try… Marzipan potatoes
New York Christmas
This is an oldie but SUCH a goodie! Full of recipes and stories from New York during the festive season, this one always has me dreaming about a white Christmas. There is also another book in the series called York Christmas Baking which is equally as inspiring. Think eggnog, candy cane cupcakes, and pancakes with maple syrup and cinnamon butter.
Recipe I love… Cranberry Gin Fizz
Advent – recipes and crafts for the countdown to Christmas
No, not a typo, just another lovely read. While this isn’t solely a cookbook, it’s probably one of the sweetest books I’ve ever bought. Beautiful festive photography alongside recipes and crafts like a DIY door wreath and how to make your own watercolor Christmas cards, this is one for the creative soul.
Recipe I can’t wait to cook… Red velvet cranberry cake
Classic German Baking
You may have heard me sing the praises of this one before. My mum’s family is German and we grew up on recipes just like the ones in this cookbook. It’s one of my most adored books of all time, with every German torte, strudel, and cake you can think of. While not a Christmas cookbook as such it still has all my festive favorites like pfeffernusse, springerle, and Spekulatius.
Favorite recipe… Stollenkonfekt (bite size stollen)
Elizabeth David’s Christmas
One for the traditionalists… a collection of Elizabeth David’s Christmas recipes from her career as a food writer. Full of classics like a turkey stuffed with apples and chestnuts, cranberry sauce, chicken liver pate, and pears poached in wine. It’s small in size but stuffed full of inspiration, recipes, and advice on creating a perfect Christmas gathering.
Recipe I can’t wait to cook… The Buckland plum pudding
Ok, so with my favorite festive baking cookbooks now out of the way, and as I’m a sucker for a good cookbook… Here are a few more cookbooks that I hope to find in my stocking early Christmas morning.
An unapologetic cookbook by Joshua Weissman is at the top of my list this year. If you haven’t heard of him, check out his Instagram full of hilarious, quite theatrical cooking tutorials. He’s super clever and his first cookbook is choc-full of food I’m just dying to make.
Part food voyage, and memoir, with a smattering of recipes thrown in Taste: My life through food by Stanley Tucci is my pick this Christmas for a good read. I’m a total fan and couldn’t wait for my copy to arrive (I sneakily read the first chapter, but it’s now wrapped and under the tree, waiting for my post-Christmas week of rest!)
A total feast for ALL the senses. Winter Wild by Janice Sutton is the most stunning cookbook. I’ve already laid the groundwork with some super big hints for this one! The backdrop is Tasmania’s iconic festival of darkness, the Dark Mofo Winter Festival. While it’s full of inspirational food and drink, the real showstopper is the food photography. And for a dark and moody girl (like myself), I’m totally in love with it.
And last, but definitely not least is A year of Sundays by Belinda Jeffery. Belinda’s recipes are always tried, tested, and a total treat to cook. Her latest cookbook is a collection of her recipes, memories, and musings from her Sunday morning Instagram posts. I met Belinda a couple of years ago and her Insta posts are so authentically her, full of so much inspiration and charm. I had a quick flick through a copy in the store when it arrived in the store last week and I definitely need it in my life!
Well, I think that’s my Christmas sorted! What cookbook is on your wishlist this year? Let me know in the comments.
x
