Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies

In Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies, the goal is perfect results. For Medrich, a playful perfectionist who writes with wit, perfection includes big flavors, "noisy textures" that crunch and crackle, and lots of chocolate. Achieving it requires paying attention to details, such as using unsifted, bleached, all-purpose flour, measured so a cup weighs close to five ounces. Other meticulously detailed advice helps you make evenly baked cookies that are tender and rich, not dry or tough.

There are about 50 recipes in this book. Each is a gem, from the most buttery shortbread (using melted butter is a key) to the most sophisticated, barely sweet chocolate-chunk cookie, truly tangy lemon wafers, and incredibly easy Almond Macaroons. For killer brownies, Medrich offers a new technique she calls the Steve Ritual. Guaranteed to make the outside crustier and the inside creamier, it involves a pan of ice water. Beyond cookie recipes, Medrich includes a doubly peanutty filling for sandwich cookies and a careful guide to chocolate-dipping your favorite cookies and biscotti.

Luscious color photos and enchanting line drawings illustrate this articulate, one-of-a-kind cookie book. --Dana Jacobi