A cookbook is a wonderful gift for the person in your life who loves spending time creating in the kitchen. If you aren’t sure which cookbooks are worth picking up this holiday, here are 16 of the tastiest cookbooks to gift this holiday. There is something here for every chef. From the baker, to the healthy eater, to the mad scientist. You’re going to love this list.
I love all of these. I do have most of them. Yes, I have a bit of a problem, I know. But the ones I don’t have are all on my list. If you are a cookbook fan, you can just share this list with anyone who wants to know what’s on your Christmas list.
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16 of the Tastiest cookbooks to gift this holiday season
- 100 Cookies – Sarah Kieffer – The creator of the pan banging cookie sensation brings you this wonderful book of cookies. Who Doesn’t need more cookies in their repertoire?
- Ball Complete Book of Home Canning – Robert Rose – These days so many are trying their hand at home canning. And there isn’t a more trusted source, than Ball.
- Skinnytaste Air Fryer Cookbook – Gina Homolka – Is an air fryer on your list this year? If so, you will definitely need this to go with it. Gina gives you simple, delicious, healthy air fryer recipes your family is going to love.
- Milk Street Cookish: Throw it Together – Christopher Kimball – Milk Street books have their own shelf in my house. I love how they explain why things work and why they don’t. I have certainly become a better cook because of that. These are easy weeknight meals.
- Modern Comfort – Ina Garten – She has her own shelf too. She is the queen of simple, elegant entertaining. If you want to become a better cook. Then you can’t get a better teacher than Ina.
- Magnolia Table Volume 2: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering – Joanna Gaines – I love every recipe in this book. I don’t even put it away anymore. It just sits on my baking table, always ready to be used.
- Cravings: Hungry for More – Chrissy Tiegen – This is the second book for Tiegen and it is as good, if not better than the first. Chrissy has a true love for food and her wild personality shows in her recipes. Not only crazy delicious food, but she cracks me up. And you can tell she loves to get her hands dirty in the kitchen
- Well Plated – Erin Clarke – Well Plated is one of my favorite food blogs. You can always find a well-tested, simple, delicious recipe there and the book is equally wonderful.
- Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Two Volume Set – Julia Child – If you want to learn to cook, you learn from the master. That’s all I can say.
- Copycat Recipes – Julia Spoon – Stuck at home and craving a favorite food chain specialty? It’s hard to get out these days and now you can do it at home. I am personally grateful for the Starbucks Blueberry Muffin recipe.
- The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science – J. Kenji Lopez-Alt – Kenji is a scientist. He is my husband’s go to when it comes to recipes. He tests. And tests. And tests. Then he explains. If you have a chef who really wants to know the why things do what they do in a recipe, then you cannot go wrong with this book. The way I cook has literally been transformed by this man.
- The One With All the Recipes An Unofficial Cookbook for Fans of Friends – Teresa Finney – The cookbook for Friends fans. From Floor Cheesecake to Thanksgiving Trifle to Onion Tartlets. Tartlets. Tartlets (The word has lost all meaning). It’s all there!
- Smitten Kitchen Everyday: Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites – Deb Perelman – Another of my go to blogs. Deb’s writing is a joy to read and her cookbooks are simply amazing.
- The Defined Dish – Alex Snodgrass – This is my new personal favorite. Yes her blog is amazing as well, but this book is well used in my house. The enchiladas are a must! This book is Whole30 approved.
- Cook With Me – Alex Guarnaschelli – Her Italian roots really shine through in her recipes and ingredients. No frills, full of flavor, unpretentious and made from the heart.
- No Crumbs Left: Everyday Food Made Marvelous (Whole30 Endorsed) – Teri Turner – Yup another favorite blogger. Simple, flavorful, healthy and incredibly delicious. A must if you are thinking of trying a Whole30 after the holidays.
Gift It Right
Don’t just wrap it up. Personalize it! Write a little note in the jacket or add it to a basket with some specialty ingredients or spirits. Add a grocery list or some sticky flags and some pretty pens so the recipient can mark the recipes they want to try. Or maybe a meal planner notebook (I like this one from Skinnytaste and it would go great with her new meal prep cookbook). I plan on using all these ideas to gift these and they make great gift presentations.
Check out some of my other gift guides.
