12 best cooks illustrated food processor

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From Sky-High Cakes to Cake Pops

This book covers cakes of all kinds, from single-layer fruit-filled cakes and individual-size desserts to those as many as 24 layers high. But while different types of cakes require different techniques and methods to achieve the desired outcome, all cake recipes have six key steps in common: measuring, preparing the pan, mixing, transferring the batter to the pan, baking, and cooling. Recipes feature photos that illustrate each of those processes.

Patriotic Poke Cake

We used a simple white cake as our base; it was tender and flavorful but also had enough structure to handle a syrup soaking.

Smith Island Cake

Many recipes for the sleek ganache-like frosting include milk, but we used heavy cream to give the frosting more body for supporting the cake's many layers.

Olive Oil-Yogurt Bundt Cake

Baking our cake in a Bundt pan made for a refined presentation, and we found that an easy-to-make lemon glaze (with a touch of tangy yogurt) further transformed this modest everyday cake into an elegant dessert.

Ultimate Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Filling

For a final bit of decadence, we spooned ganache onto the cupcakes before baking, giving them a truffle-like center.

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139 Foolproof Recipes

The Ultimate Burger is filled with burgers of every type—from the juiciest, beefiest grind-your-own-meat burgers to crispy turkey and chicken burgers, bison burgers, lots of seafood burgers, and veggie burgers of all stripes, from black bean and falafel to portobello and spiced cauliflower. And what’s a burger without creamy, crunchy toppings; crispy, can’t-eat-just-one fries and onion rings; steal-the-spotlight salads; and frosty drinks to wash it all down?

Inside the Book:

Classics and Showstoppers

A burger inspired by dolsot bibimbap, a Korean rice bowl, featuring rice with a crisp crust, sauteed leafy greens, pickles, Korean chili sauce, and a fried egg.

More: Smashed Burgers, Reuben Burgers, Donut Shop Burgers, Grilled Blue Cheese Burgers with Bacon and Tomato Relish

Beyond Beef

Ground pork can take on intense flavorings, so we loaded our pork burger with the heady Italian combination of fennel, rosemary, and garlic. Looking for a green heartier than lettuce to complement the herb-infused meat, we found that sauteed broccoli rabe fit the bill perfectly. A bright lemon-garlic mayonnaise pulled everything together.

More: Lamb Burgers with Halloumi and Beet Tzatziki, Crispy Salmon Burgers with Tomato Chutney, South Carolina Shrimp Burgers with Tartar Sauce, Grilled Tuna Burgers with Wasabi and Pickled Ginger (on lettuce buns!)

Turkey and Chicken

While they’re great on their own, we enhanced these turkey burgers with the flavors of Thanksgiving. We bloomed sage, garlic, and celery seeds in butter in the microwave and brushed this mixture over toasted buns to mimic the>Spiced). Adding rich smoked gouda cheese and a simple homemade cranberry relish sealed the deal.

More: Turkey-Veggie Burgers with Lemon-Basil Sauce, Brie-Stuffed Turkey Burgers with Red Pepper Relish, Chicken Burgers with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, and Balsamic Glaze

From the Garden and Field

The complex, savory flavor and satisfying texture of these homemade vegetarian burgers are your reward for an extra bit of prep. An earthy mix of lentils, bulgur, and panko paired with onions, celery, leek, and garlic give the burgers a deeply flavorful base. Cremini mushrooms provide meaty flavor, and ground cashews amplify the meatiness even more. Our delectable slaw of cabbage, celery, and apple is mixed with a mayo-based spread flavored with rich apple butter, garlic, and vinegar.

More: Quinoa Burgers with Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and Marinated Feta, Southwestern Black Bean Burgers with Chipotle Sauce, Vegan Pinto Bean and Beet Burgers

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Don't You Wish All Pie Charts Looked Like This?

We’ve packed The Perfect Pie book with 180+ foolproof recipes along with beautiful new photos for every pie and recipe step photos galore so you know exactly what to do, whether you’re whipping cream or meringue, making our easy pat-in-pan dough (no rolling!), or weaving an intricate lattice top crust.

This book goes beyond pies to tarts, galettes, pie pops, muffin tin pies, and crowd-pleasing slab pies. In addition to the best-tasting, easiest-to-make versions of everyone’s favorites, we feature new flavor combinations such as Blood Orange Chocolate Tart, Apricot Pie with Vanilla Bean and Cardamom, and Lavender Crème Brûlee Pie.

Let these flavors and different versions of pie inspire you. Bake away!

How To Make a Lattice Pie Top

We know that baking pies can be intimidating, from finding the best way to cook (but not overcook) custards to weaving lattice tops, so we’ve devoted each chapter of The Perfect Pie to a different pie type or technique.

The First Slice Always Falls Apart

Make 3 slices cuts before slicing. The extra cut allows movement in the pie, making it easier tidily wiggle out the first piece. This book includes some of the best tips and innovative techniques from 25 years of test kitchen pie-baking discoveries and everything our grandmothers taught us.

Slab Pies

Slab Pies not only feed a crowd but travel well. Our Nectarine - Raspberry Slab Galette is a luscious sweet, tart with fruit that looks like stained glass framed by golden brown, melts-on-your-tongue pastry. Pure fruit flavor shines through (no thickener is needed, the juices evaporate as the pie bakes).

Muffin Tin Pies With a Double Dose of Flavor

Not every pie needs to be the same. Individual pies are just as satisfying!

Our Pear Rosemary Muffin Tin Pies

are mini, nutty, brown butter-walnut streusel-topped pies are filled with tender honey-like pears infused with fragrant, piney rosemary.

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Travel coast-to-coast through Italian America

Big Flavors from Italian America is a celebration of the foods, recipes, and places that inspired the cuisine so many of us have come to know and love. With 150 foolproof recipes, dig into the best of Italian American cooking with recipes that would make any nonna proud.

Tradition is what you make. Again, again, and again. Here's to starting some new traditions and making new memories of your own with amazing food!

Small Plates, Big Comforts

Prosciutto-Wrapped Figs with Gorgonzola

Many Italian immigrants planted fig trees in their backyards to celebrate late summer with this classic dish. This dish balances the sweet flavor of ripe figs with the savory and salty flavors of gorgonzola cheese and prosciutto.

Red Sauce Favorites

Drop Meatballs

Every nonna worth her salt can make meatballs in her sleep. For this recipe, we use saltines and gentle cooking to result in a streamlined route to tender meatballs in a brightly flavored sauce.

All About the Crust

Grilled Pizza

My experts cite Al Forno, the legendary restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island, as the birthplace of grilled pizza. Grilled pizza cooks quickly, so it's critical to have all of your ingredients and tools ready. We recommend par-grilling the crusts, then topping and finishing gilling each in quick succession and serving the pizzas one at a time, rather than all at once.

Bring Home the Bakery

Pistachio Cannoli

Cannoli might just be the most well-known sweet sold in bakeries in Italian neighborhoods across the United States. For this recipe, we fill store-bought cannoli shells with a traditional filling of ricotta cheese enriched with creamy, rich mascarpone, sugar, and chopped pistachios—a nod to the Sicilian origins of the treat.

On the Road

Follow Cook's Country food editor, Bryan Roof, as he travels in search of local specialties in stories woven throughout the recipe chapters, drawn from the popular "On the Road" feature in Cook's Country magazine.

"Home. That's the ultimate goal for any journey, really, to return home inspired and knowing more. My travels don't end when the plane touches down—far from it. Once I get back to the test kitchen, my team and i get to work creating recipes so anyone can make these dishes at home for family and friends. I hope you find Inspiration in these pages to help you fill your own kitchen with those warm, welcoming aromas and warm, welcoming feelings." — Bryan Roof, Executive Food Editor Cook's Country

Featured: Carmella Garofoli and her father, Basil DeLuca, roll-out portions of hand-kneaded meatballs in the commisary kitchen at Villa di Roma, a restaurant in the Italian Market on 9th Street in South Philadelphia, PA.

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450 Pages of Answers to 'How?' and 'Why?' to Satisfy the Curious, Smart Geek

If you’re the creative type, you need more than traditional recipes to master the kitchen. Whether you’re a science geek or a food geek, knowing how and why recipes work means you can refine your cooking, debug mistakes, and improvise toward deliciousness.

Understanding the science of cooking will boost your culinary game. With six chapters covering everything from how your sense of smell works to the chemistry of food, you’ll look at cooking in a whole new way!

Over 100 Recipes to Illustrate the Science

From the simple pancake to a crazy 500 pound donut, every recipe uses science to develop great culinary technique. Each recipe gives both American and metric measurements, and because the recipes are grouped by concept, you’ll learn to think about food based on the underlying principles. One chapter covers the key temperatures in cooking so that you notice the patterns as the heat is cranked up. Another section looks at how water and air impact your baking, whether with yeast, egg whites, or baking soda. And a chapter on hardware explores everything from pressure cookers to liquid nitrogen and blow torches.

20+ Interviews with Chefs, Writers, and Researchers

Gain insights into how chefs think in interviews with talented cooks like Jacques Pepin, Bridget Lancaster, and Deborah Madison. Learn how Adam Savage tackles scientific testing and how 'On Food and Cooking' author Harold McGee approaches food mysteries. Geek out with 'Modernist Cuisine' co-author Nathan Myhrvold, molecular gastronomy researcher Herve This, and knife expert Buck Raper. With 20+ in-depth interviews, there’s a wealth of learning for serious cooks and hungry scientists alike.

Completely Rewritten Second Edition

Same geeky humor; new recipes, scientific details, interviews, and labs. For foodies who love to read, you’ll find new interviews with culinary pros. If you’re into science, you’ll find new sidebars covering everything from the difference between beet and cane sugar to how Sherlock Holmes would tell where his tomato was grown (hint: isotopomers). This new edition also introduces a dozen labs for geeky parents wanting to experiment with their kids. With the entire text updated and revised, there’s lots of new material to delight home cooks and pros alike.