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Kieffer's follow-up to her hit 100 Cookies, this book is perfect for the winter holidays. Kieffer's newest baking book is chock-full of sweets and treats that are ideal for gifting or for a special weekend dessert. I can't wait to try the Hot Chocolate Cake and the Meyer Lemon White Chocolate Scones. — Deana R.

I love Anna Thomas’s can-do attitude and global-inspired, veggie-centric recipes (the Sherry-Glazed Roasted Root Vegetables are a holiday staple at my house). As someone who loves to cook, but often has to cook for a crowd of dairy-free, gluten-free, and meat-finnicky eaters, Thomas’s approach of building dishes from the vegetables up means fewer pots and happier diners. If you do a lot of entertaining or just find yourself struggling to plan one meal for a variety of diets, Vegan Vegetarian Omnivore is a first-rate kitchen staple. The beautiful photos and sample menus are a sensational bonus. — Rhianna W.

I can’t but help fall in love with every new Marcus Samuelsson cookbook and The Rise is no exception. The Rise is a global celebration of Black cooking and of Black cooks. Americans owe a great deal of our food history to unsung and forgotten cooks of yesteryear. Samuelsson brings back respect and a feel of history to these folks whom time and society have erased. Here are 150 Black American recipes that will energize your kitchen. — Tracey T.

Now that I've made over half of the recipes in Blotto Botany, I can say that I am now obsessed with herbal cordial making. A cross between an herbalism guide and a cocktail recipe collection, this handwritten and collage-illustrated book feels like a zine written by a warm, witchy friend. When I make these drinks, I feel like I am making potions. I am particularly in love with the Dreamer's Cordial, which gave me some of the most incredibly vivid lucid dreams of my life. — Ariel K.

Unlike most cookbooks, this one is organized by situation and occasion, instead of ingredient or recipe type, making it easy to find recipes appropriate for the weeknight dash or a lazy weekend at home. I’m looking forward to trying the Pork Burgers with Cabbage Slaw and the Charred Broccoli with Spicy Avocado Sauce.— Deana R.

What could be more comforting, or versatile, than dumplings? Liz Crain’s Dumplings Equal Love opens up a whole world of dumplings, from yummy classics like gyoza and pierogi to fabulous innovations like the Nettle and Caramelized Onions Dumplings. There are even dessert dumplings like Bananas Foster Dumplings. The book is stuffed (see what I did there?) with info on tools, different doughs, styles, and techniques. The recipes are fun and easy, and the results are so, so good. — Gigi L.

Weeknight Baking has been especially indispensable in quarantine — I mastered the banana bread (when I kept overestimating how many bananas I could eat), impressed my roommates with a holiday brunch Dutch baby (when none of us could travel to see family), and always had access to a fresh-baked single-serving cookie (even when my favorite bakeries were closed). Lopez provides a ton of thoughtful notes about substitutions and techniques, ensuring that everyone can make these unforgettably delicious treats no matter their schedule or skill level. — Michelle C.

The Noma Guide to Fermentation
by Rene Redzepi and David Zilber

If you buy only one cookbook this year, I implore you to snatch up The Noma Guide to Fermentation. Written by the chefs behind Copenhagen’s world-famous restaurant, this incredible resource will teach you how to use the ancient art of fermentation in ways you never could have imagined. — Lucinda G.

This is possibly my favorite cookbook of the last couple of years. Rosenstrach’s recipes are weeknight-simple, made with easy-to-find ingredients, and many of them have adaptations for the omnivores in your family (a terrific boon if one is trying to go plant-based but their housemates are dedicated meat-eaters). I’ve made the enchilada recipe twice in the last month, and my family is already asking for an encore. — Deana R.

"Bress ’n’ Nyam" is Gullah Geechee for “bless and eat.” CheFarmer (chef and farmer) Matthew Raiford raises food on the land that has been farmed by his family for six generations. This is as much a history of community as it is a cookbook about the lineage of African foodways. One of the first recipes in the book is for Reezy-Peezy, which I made for dinner. After having just one bite my husband said, “This is exactly what I was hoping to eat for dinner.” In the midst of a pandemic, that is a satisfying compliment. Thank you, CheFarmer Raiford. — Tracey T.

A Dorie Greenspan recipe is one that you can make successfully on the first try. Her recipes are simple and straightforward, easy to read and follow, and the end result is invariably incredible. In this new book, she gives us new recipes for classic items. I'll be baking my way through this book all winter long! — McKenzie W.

I expect this is going to be one of the Very Big Cookbooks for the holiday season. David Chang, founder of Momofuku, teams up with Priya Krishna, author of Indian-ish, to create a huge book full of no-recipe recipes — which is my favorite way to cook. It’s 400 pages of great foundational cooking know-how, delicious food, and gorgeous photography. — Deana R.

Is Filipinx the perfect cookbook? Every recipe is mouthwatering, every page is gorgeous and informative. I feel incredibly lucky that Dimayuga has shared these tasty dishes, made them accessible (even for a so-so cook like myself), and brought so much joy to my kitchen table. Be prepared to cook through the whole book. — Michelle C.

Some of my favorite travel experiences comes from finding some hole-in-the-wall place that serves amazing small bites — a bittersweet event because you know that after you return home you’ll never have those meals again. Well, if you are missing Japan’s bar food, The Real Japanese Izakaya Cookbook is here for the rescue. These are authentic recipes meant to be made in American kitchens. If you don’t regularly keep a few items such as mirin or dashi in your pantry you may have to make a trip to the Asian grocery, but these items are generally easy to obtain. — Tracey T.

Who knows if we will get one of those big snowstorms this year? But just in case we do (or if we don’t and you want to pretend!) this book has you covered. From recipes for hot drinks and cozy snacks (Swiss Mister Cocoa Mix? Smashed Potatoes with Caviar and Sour Cream? Yes, please!) to how to build the perfect snowman, you’ll find everything you need for a perfect snowy — or merely cold and rainy — day. — Deana R.

I’m adamant about this: every kitchen should have a copy of The Joy of Cooking. Need to braise a chicken? Joy will teach you how. Want to make strawberry jam? Joy will lead the way. Craving mapo tofu? Joy’s here for you. John Becker and Megan Scott’s fantastic 2019 update of this culinary classic guides home cooks through flan, sourdough, pad thai, fried chicken, cucumber pickles, escabeche, and thousands more American and international recipes; basically, if you can imagine it in your tummy, it’s in the book. While I believe everyone should have as many cookbooks as possible, The Joy of Cooking is genuinely the only one you’ll ever need. — Rhianna W.