Baking with Cookie Molds: Secrets and Recipes for Making Amazing Handcrafted Cookies for Your Christmas, Holiday, Wedding, Tea, Party, Swap, Exchange, or Everyday Treat

by Anne L. Watson, Aaron Shepard (Photographer)

Overview

SPECIAL NOTE! -- ANNE WILL PERSONALLY ANSWER ANY QUESTION OF YOURS AFTER READING THIS BOOK. ASK ON HER WEB SITE, AND YOU'LL NORMALLY HEAR BACK WITHIN HOURS!

Beautiful to look at but hard to use. That's the reputation of cookie molds. But should it be?

In this groundbreaking book, Anne L. Watson restores cookie molds to an honored place in the baker's kitchen by revealing long-lost secrets of their use. With Anne's techniques and recipes, tasty cookies with lovely, detailed designs will literally fall from the mold into your hand.

Learn how to make traditional molded cookies like speculaas, springerle, and shortbread, as well as modern ones like White Chocolate Lime Cookies and Orange Blossom Wedding Cookies. Learn the tricks of sandwich cookies, layer cookies, chocolate backing, and exhibition cookies. And learn about the molds themselves -- the many kinds, their history, the best places to find them, how to treat them, what makes a good one, and which to avoid entirely.

With nearly two dozen recipes and almost a hundred photos, "Baking with Cookie Molds" will quickly have you making cookies that both amaze and delight.

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Anne L. Watson is the author of a number of popular books on home crafts and lifestyle, as well as many novels. In a previous career, she was a historic preservation architecture consultant. Anne lives with her husband and photographer, Aaron Shepard, in Friday Harbor, Washington.

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"Expert instructions guarantee readers a frustration-free experience when using decorative metal, earthware, and wooden molds . . . After reading this, you'll want to snatch them up." -- Lisa Campbell, Library Journal, Sept. 15, 2015 -- STARRED REVIEW

"A tasty treat of practical cookie making, historical cookie-mold information, and a wide range of recipes, all served with appetizing sides of baking history and great photographs." -- Kirkus Reviews, June 16, 2015

"Anne L. Watson deserves big hugs from bakers everywhere for resurrecting the beautiful and tasty art of baking with cookie molds. Loaded with practical advice on everything from the care and cleaning of molds to proper recipe formulation and molding technique, 'Baking with Cookie Molds' provides all the know-how one needs to put retired molds back where they belong -- off walls and out of cupboards, and into action in our kitchens." -- Julia Usher, author, "Cookie Swap," and Director, International Association of Culinary Professionals

"Cookie molds are lovely to admire but often end up as part of your kitchen decor rather than as a baking tool. 'Baking with Cookie Molds' will inspire you to use those molds as they were intended -- to create strikingly beautiful cookies -- and shows that those cookies can be delicious as well! Detailed instructions and photographs make it feel like the author is right there in your kitchen, baking alongside you and guiding you through each step." -- Christina Banner, author, "How to Build a Gingerbread House"

"A must read for novice and avid bakers! Anne's story and vast knowledge of cookie molds keeps you entertained from beginning to end." -- Karen Giamalva, President and CEO, LetsBakeCookies.com

"Friendly, warm, and inviting." -- Ken Hamilton, The Springerle Baker

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781620355077
Publisher:	Shepard Publications
Publication date:	11/30/2016
Edition description:	3rd ed.
Pages:	226
Sales rank:	737,376
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.61(d)

Table of Contents

A FEW FIRST THOUGHTS
Introducing Cookie Molds
How I Started
About This Book

OF TIME AND THE COOKIE MOLD

THE LOST SECRET OF MOLDED COOKIES

YOUR FIRST COOKIE MOLD
Types of Cookie Molds
Choosing Your Mold
Preparation and Care

YOUR FIRST MOLDED COOKIE
General Tips
Tools and Supplies
Recipe: Anne's Lemon Cookies

MORE ABOUT MOLDS
Cookie Stamps
Springerle Molds
Springerle Rolling Pins

MORE ABOUT BAKING
Other Tools and Supplies
Notes on Ingredients
Color and Texture
Baking Your Cookies

MORE COOKIE RECIPES
Recipe: Apricot Jam Cookies
Recipe: Creamy Coconut Cookies
Recipe: Honey Speculaas
Recipe: Gingerbread Cookies
Recipe: Danish Butter Cookies
Recipe: Butterscotch Cookies
Recipe: Double Ginger Cookies
Recipe: Honey Almond Cookies
Recipe: Cinnamon Cocoa Speculaas
Recipe: Peanut Butter Cookies
Recipe: Maple Nut Cookies
Recipe: Walnut Lebkuchen
Recipe: Banana Walnut Cookies
Recipe: White Chocolate Lime Cookies
Recipe: Orange Blossom Wedding Cookies
Recipe: Perfection Springerle
Recipe: Gene's Scottish Shortbread
Recipe: Bella's Scottish Shortbread

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Sandwich Cookies
Layer Cookies
Chocolate Backing
Recipe: Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake Cookies
Recipe: Chocolate Chip Layer Cookies
Recipe: Peppermint Chocolate Cookies

CREATING YOUR OWN RECIPES
Your Basic Ingredients
Your Basic Directions
A Short, Sweet Story
Recipe: Strawberry Yogurt Cookies

SHOWING OFF YOUR COOKIES

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHERE TO LEARN MORE
Organizations
Web Sites
Email Discussion Lists

WHERE TO BUY MOLDS
United States
Canada
Germany

Editorial Reviews

"A 'honey' of a collection of old and new secrets for shaping edible-art cookies -- with less effort and more success. Will do much to keep this tradition alive!" -- Gene Wilson, HOBI Cookie Molds

"Well done! . . . An impressive book for all of us to treasure." -- Kyna Campbell, MyCookieMold.com

"A comprehensive guide with a selection of recipes along with detailed, step-by-step instructions. If you don't have a treasured family recipe for molded cookies and want to experience their beauty, you won't go wrong with this book." -- Connie Meisinger, House on the Hill Cookie Molds

"Excellent, spare-no-detail primer, ideal for cookie bakers of all skill and experience levels." -- Midwest Book Review, Nov. 2010

"A wonderful book not only for the seasoned baker but for the beginner also." -- Miss Lynn's Books & More, May 20, 2011

"Like other well done works of art, a good molded cookie starts with a flawless canvas (the dough), a first-rate design (the mold), and a teacher who is a master of the craft (Anne L. Watson). Watson as a teacher is phenomenal, and her groundbreaking book is the reason why. [Her] recipes for springerle, speculaas, lebkuchen, shortbread, and more are tasty, detailed, and meticulous." -- Sue Ade, Bluffton Today, Oct. 5, 2011

"Revolutionizes the springerle world. . . . There's no muss and fuss. Combine ingredients, chill, knead, roll, press, cut, bake. One hour." -- Patrice Romzick, Springerle Joy

"Finally, a book has been written that explains and shows how to use all types of cookie molds, stamps, and springerle rolling pins and molds correctly, along with recipes that actually taste good . . . Watson's book takes the guessing out of making beautiful cookies with molds and gives excellent step-by-step instructions that actually work . . . Every recipe I've personally tried has worked out perfectly, and it has been difficult to actually break down and let friends and family devour them because they are so pretty." -- Karen Hancock, Bella Online

FULL REVIEW -- KIRKUS REVIEWS, June 16, 2015

A tasty treat of practical cookie making, historical cookie-mold information, and a wide range of recipes, all served with appetizing sides of baking history and great photographs.

Watson (Island Women Trilogy, 2015, etc.) adds to her collection of how-to books on soap and lotion making with a colorful collection of recipes, decorative cookie lore, and clear, practical advice for bakers of all levels. Starting with honest descriptions of her own failures -- some cookies were "flattened into unrecognizable blobs" -- she provides historical context for molded cookies of all types, along with her secret ingredient to ease the unmolding process and produce exquisite treats. Few cooks will be able to resist her enthusiastic and encouraging call to kitchen action: "You'll have to experiment a bit, but don't let that daunt you. Remember, when you experiment, you may not get cookies you like -- but the one thing you're sure to get is information, and that's always helpful!" But Watson's book has appeal outside the kitchen; she weaves in a Saint Nicholas story and a detailed cookie-making lesson with style. Also helpfully included is a FAQ section and extensive resources for purchasing molds or learning more. A "historic preservation architecture consultant" by trade, Watson is organized, thorough, and undeniably readable. Her guide is also surprisingly entertaining. While relating her first attempt at molding, she says, "Since my reason for buying the mold in the first place was the making of beautiful Saint Nicholas cookies, I was very disappointed. For all I knew, so was Saint Nicholas." Shepard, her husband, provides dozens of clearly labeled photos for mouthwatering visual inspiration.

Engaging, precise baking guide that will have readers heading for the kitchen with enthusiasm and confidence.

From the Publisher