Holiday Gift Giving Guide: Books

There are two gifts that are better than all the rest: books and food. And if you can somehow combine the two, even better. Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite recent publications—covering everything from cocktails and side dishes to the Mediterranean diet and multicooking—that will cover everyone on your list. Make sure you order by December 15th to ensure delivery by Christmas!

Cheers to America’s Test Kitchen’s first-ever cocktail book! Whether your loved one prefers stirring, shaking, muddling, blending, or all of the above, this book has a cocktail for everyone. Organized by technique, this book takes on go-to classics, non-alcoholic options, and brand new drinks created by our test cooks. How to Cocktail will liven up any party, and any gift.

Bowls are all the rage, taking over restaurant menus, the internet, and lunch boxes across the country. But now you can bring that restaurant-quality taste into your own kitchen with our newest cookbook, aptly named Bowls. This book is full of stunningly beautiful bowl recipes that are both trendy and tasty. Not only will these recipes light up your loved one’s Instagram feed, but they will allow them to cook healthier dinners and lunches that they are excited to eat (and make).

If you have a child in your life who loves to help in the kitchen, America’s Test Kitchen Kids has developed cookbooks that will help teach them the basics of cooking, but will also give them confidence to keep cooking. The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs and The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs will expose kid chefs to creative and fun recipes they will enjoy making. We also have two fun children's books, Stir, Crack, Whisk, Bake, an adorable new board book, and Cookies for Santa, a story of how Santa's favorite cookie saved Christmas.

From purees to smoothies to family meals that everyone can enjoy, this cookbook includes the very best (kitchen-tested!) recipes to get anyone through the early years. Whether the young families you know are trying to introduce their child to solid foods or engage kids in the kitchen, The Complete Baby and Toddler Cookbook is the essential cookbook they need.

Do you have an avid baker in the family who is always looking for big weekend project? Well, they will never run out of ideas with one (or all!) of our Perfect Baking trio: The Perfect Pie, The Perfect Cookie, and The Perfect Cake. With each book containing hundreds of recipes, you might want to include a few bags of flour and sugar with your gift. Your loved one will need it as they work through all of the go-to classics and new creations our staff of test cooks developed right here in the test kitchen. 

If you need the perfect gift for the person who is always hosting dinner parties, they will never run out of ideas with The Side Dish Bible. With over 1,000 perfect recipes, this book is full of side dish ideas to pair with any main course or appetizers. Even when they aren’t hosting, your favorite host or hostess will always be able to find the right recipe for the occasion.

Know someone who uses their multicooker for everything? We all do. And, we can’t really blame them. These gadgets can really do it all. Our book, Multicooker Perfection, not only provides lots of recipes for the multicooker fan in your life, but it also provides advice on how to get the most out of it as well.

The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook is for that friend who spent a semester abroad in Valencia and fell in love with the paella. (Then again, who doesn’t love paella?) Besides the cuisine’s reputation for being downright exquisite, the Mediterranean diet has been proven to be among the most healthy on the planet. This book is packed with 500 foolproof recipes you’ll love to eat (and feel good about eating).

This book distills 20 years of test kitchen expertise into a comprehensive kitchen guide. It’s perfect for the recent college graduate who, up to this point, may have relied on mom and dad or the folks in the dining hall for meal prep. The New Essentials will present a new approach to building skills and gaining culinary mastery with a lineup of delicious recipes that are paired with insightful, practical "Think Like a Chef" sidebars with tips and how-tos to help your college grad tackle all kinds of recipes with confidence.

Our follow-up to the New York Times best-selling The Science of Good Cooking is the perfect gift for the passionate food-science geek in the family. Cook's Science focuses on 50 essential ingredients and investigates the science behind making them taste their very best.

This title is for the friend who loves their sweets, but who also wants to cut back on the sugar. Naturally Sweet includes more than 100 recipes—including one for the iconic chocolate chip cookie—that eliminate 30% to 50% of the sugar used in traditional recipes. This book is packed with educational information, such as a guide to help familiarize cooks with different natural sweeteners like Sucanat and date sugar.

This one is for the loved one with a green thumb. Does your best friend grow perfect summer tomatoes? Are your aunt’s cucumbers the best cucumbers you’ve ever tasted? Is your father the world’s best pepper grower? Give them a copy of Foolproof Preserving and help them enjoy their harvests all year long.

Your dad’s favorite hat already proclaims he’s the “Grill Master,” so you might as well make it official and give him a copy of Master of the Grill. This outdoor cooking bible contains 692 recipes, ratings, tips, and techniques that will keep the family’s grill guru occupied for many summers (and maybe even winters) to come.

This book is for the friend or family member who’s dying to learn more recipes to cook in their well-seasoned, well-loved cast-iron skillet. (OK, it’s also for the friend or family member who isn’t aware yet that they love cooking in cast iron. In that instance, they’re going to need our cast iron kit.) Cast-iron skillets are incredibly versatile, durable, and 100% chemical free. Whether searing a flank steak on the stovetop or baking an apple pie in the oven, a cast-iron skillet is up to the task—and Cook It In Cast Iron is the perfect guide.