# Need Help with Your Holiday Prep?
The holiday season is here... and with it, hearty Thanksgiving feasts and other tasty holiday treats! Whatever you're celebrating and wherever you're starting on your cooking journey, we've got some great cookbooks to guide new cooks and to inspire "seasoned" pros. So, before you and yours gather 'round the table, head to the Library and gobble up a few of these handy cookbooks!
Short on time? Pick up your holds curbside. You can find tons of great cookbooks (and magazines) on Digital Library apps like Hoopla Digital and Libby. Many of these titles are available instantly.
# Library Staff Favorites
The Artisanal Kitchen: Jewish Holiday Baking by Uri Scheft
Bake your way through the Jewish holidays with 25 insanely delicious, foolproof recipes—including Poppy Seed Hamantaschen for Purim, Coconut Macaroons for Passover, Apple Babka for Rosh Hashanah, jam-filled Sufganiyot for Hanukkah, and so much more. These dishes from master baker Uri Scheft, author of Breaking Breads, capture the Old World/New World/out-of-this-world flavors of contemporary Jewish and Israeli cuisine.
Baking for the Holidays: 50+ Treats for a Festive Season by Sarah Kieffer
Here's a festive holiday baking book to celebrate a very special time of year. Sarah Kieffer, author of 100 Cookies, beloved baker behind The Vanilla Bean Blog, and creator of the "bang-the-pan" method, offers more than 50 delicious recipes for seasonal brunches, cookie swaps, and all those Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year's Eve parties.
Kwanzaa: From Holiday to Every Day by Maitefa Angaza
From preparation to celebration, make your Kwanzaa a family tradition! Whether you’re a first-time celebrant or a seasoned veteran, here is a must-have reference for making Kwanzaa special for you and your loved ones. With this book, you’ll learn: Planning for daily observance and festive gatherings, the seven principles at the heart of Kwanzaa, how to involve everyone in your Karamu (feast), recipes for traditional dishes, Zawadi (gifts) that reflect your values, popular Kwanzaa songs, and much more!
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays by Ree Drummond
Ree Drummond—accidental country girl, award-winning blogger, Food Network personality, and #1 New York Times bestselling author—shows you how to ring in your favorite holidays with inspired menus for breakfasts, brunches, lunches, dinners, parties, deliveries, and feasts, accompanied by fun instructions and hundreds of her signature step-by-step photos.
The Neely’s Celebration Cookbook by Pat and Gina Neely
The Neelys believe that life should be celebrated, holiday or not. Along with menus for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter Sunday, and every known holiday in between, here are all the fixings for a year of down home celebrating, 120 recipes including Hoppin’ John Soup and Deep-fried Cornish Game Hens for New Year’s Day; Smothered Pork Chops and Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes for “Welcome Home, Baby”; One-handed Turkey Burgers and Mint Tea for “Spring Cleaning.”
The Unofficial Disney Parks Holidays Cookbook by Ashley Craft
The magic of the holidays meets the magic of Disney with these 100 recipes inspired by Walt Disney World and Disneyland’s hottest holiday celebrations, festivals, and special events. You’ll learn to make: Valentine Swirl Dole Whip from The Tropical Hideaway for Valentine’s Day, Frozen Apple Cider from ABC Commissary at Halloween, the Patriots Platter at Liberty Tree Tavern for a classic Thanksgiving meal, the Lock Shock and Barrel Sundae from Auntie Gravity’s at Christmas, and more!
Totally Kosher by Chanie Apfelbaum
Known for bringing a trendy edge to kosher meals, Chanie’s recipes are approachable, playful, and tasty, and introduce exciting global flavors to the kosher canon of Jewish-inspired dishes—such as Miso Matzo Ball Soup, Instant Pot Paprikash, and Brownie Bar Hamantaschen that marries brownies with the Purim cookie favorite.
Muy Bueno Fiestas by Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack
Celebrate any occasion with this stunningly designed cookbook, featuring 100+ recipes for traditional and contemporary Mexican-inspired cuisine as well as DIY crafts that make every event a fiesta! Show your love on Valentine’s Day with Heart-Shaped Berry Empanadas, celebrate Mother’s Day with Guava Mimosas, whip up Chile Braised Pork Ribs for Día de los Muertos; make a big batch of Red Chile and Chicken Tamales for the December holidays, and much more.
Feasts of Good Fortune by Hsiao-Ching Chou
Covering everything from traditional Lunar New Year menus with recipes passed down generations to Thanksgiving get-togethers celebrated with tantalizing side dishes, author and former James Beard Foundation cookbook committee chair Hsiao-Ching Chou (Chinese Soul Food) brings her on-ramp approach to Chinese cooking full circle with fresh, uncomplicated home cooking for celebrations typical of the Chinese American experience. Master dumplings, scallion pancakes, and more, to contribute to “tuan yuan” (the act of coming together) that define family meals in these 75 tried-and-true recipes anyone can tackle.
Vegan Holiday Kitchen by Nava Atlas
Veteran author Nava Atlas brilliantly fills the biggest gap in the vegan repertoire with more than 200 delectable, completely doable recipes for every festive occasion from Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas to celebratory brunches, lunches, dinners, potlucks, and buffets. From Coconut Butternut Squash Soup and Green Chili Corn Bread to Hearty Vegetable Pot Pie - these recipes might just convince even the most skeptical eater that vegan cooking is well worth celebrating.
Gluten-Free & Vegan Pie by Jennifer Katzinger
Home-baked pie, fresh from the oven, is practically an American tradition. But baking your favorite pies without dairy, eggs, gluten, or animal products calls for a different approach to both fillings and dough. With an emphasis on popular sweet pies such as banana cream pie, blueberry maple, pumpkin chiffon, and traditional apple, and with more than a dozen recipes for various kinds of pie crusts, this cookbook is a must for any pie lover, especially those with gluten-free or vegan diets.
