50 Best Selling Cookbooks & Kitchen Gift Ideas
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Every December I marvel at how much my cookbook and kitchen wish list has grown over the year. While I buy things as the year goes on, more things go on my list than come off of it. Then the end-of-year lists come out with best sellers, editors picks, and new products… suddenly I’m like a little kid huddled over the JCPenney Christmas catalog feverishly making a list for Santa. In an effort to help you narrow down what to add to your list, this is the first of three gift guides that I’ll be putting together for you this holiday season, each with a slightly different theme. This one is a roundup of some of the bestselling and highest rated cookbooks and kitchen items in 2012. Maybe you’re shopping for others that love to spend time in the kitchen, or you’re putting together your own wish list… either way I guarantee you’ll find lots of new ideas in the way of cookbooks and things to play with in the kitchen!
Amazon Best Cookbooks of 2012
1. Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust by Ina Garten
2. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman
3. Modernist Cuisine at Home by Nathan Myhrvold
4. Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller
5. Practical Paleo: A Customized Approach to Health and a Whole-Foods Lifestyle by Diane Sanfilippo
6. Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
7. True Food: Seasonal, Sustainable, Simple, Pure by Andrew Weil
8. The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook by Griffith Day and Cheryl Day
9. Burma: Rivers of Flavor by Naomi Duguid
10. Whole Larder Love: Grow Gather Hunt Cook by Rohan Anderson
James Beard 2012 Cookbook Award Winners
Cookbook of the Year: Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking by Nathan Myhrvold
American Cooking: A New Turn in the South: Southern Flavors Reinvented for Your Kitchen by Hugh Acheson
Baking and Dessert: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home by Jeni Britton Bauer
Beverage: Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, with Cocktails, Recipes & Formulas by Brad Thomas Parsons
Cooking From a Professional Point of View: Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking by Nathan Myhrvold
General Cooking: Ruhlman’s Twenty by Michael Ruhlman
Focus on Health: Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson
International: The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert
Single Subject: All About Roasting: A New Approach to a Classic Art by Molly Stevens
Most Purchased Cookbooks of 2012 by Brown Eyed Baker Readers
1. Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito
2. The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
3. The Cookie Dough Lover’s Cookbook by Lindsay Landis
4. The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
5. Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito
6. Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield
7. Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients by The Editors of Whole Living Magazine
8. Baking Illustrated by America’s Test Kitchen
9. New England Soup Factory Cookbook by Marjorie Druker and Clara Silverstein
10. The Best Soups and Stews by Cook’s Illustrated Magazine Editors
Amazon Best Selling Kitchen Items
1. Wilton Disposable 12-Inch Decorating Bags (Bakeware)
2. Corkcicle Classic Wine Chiller (Barware)
3. Keurig My K-Cup Reusable Coffee Filter (Coffee, Tea & Espresso)
4. Lodge Logic 12-Inch Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet (Cookware)
5. Libbey Craft Brew Sampler Clear Beer Glass Set (Glassware & Drinkware)
6. Mr. Beer Premium Gold Edition Beer Kit (Home Brewing & Wine Making)
7. Ginsu International Traditions 14-Piece Knife Set with Block (Kitchen Knives and Cutlery Accessories)
8. Wilton Easy Flex 3-Piece Silicone Spatula Set (Kitchen Utensils & Gadgets)
9. Cuisinart SmartStick Immersion Hand Blender (Small Appliances)
10. Thermos Stainless King 16-Ounce Food Jar (Storage & Organization)
Most Purchased Kitchen Items of 2012 by Brown Eyed Baker Readers
1. Progressive International Freezer Pop Maker with Wood Freezer Pop Sticks
2. Norpro Stainless Steel Cannoli Forms
3. Ateco 4-Piece Set of Standard Couplers
4. Wilton Disposable 12-Inch Decorating Bags
6. OXO Good Grips V-Blade Mandoline Slicer
7. KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attachment
8. John Boos Block Board Cream with Beeswax
10. Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat
What were some of your favorite cookbooks and kitchen toys of 2012?!
I love this post! I have some of the cookbooks in the various categories and many of the others are on my wish list – but it’s nice seeing them all in one place as well as the kitchen equipment, too!
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Why oh why do I read your emails at 2am!! Now I’m hungry and busy adding to my amazon wish list! Good stuff all around;)
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My favourite kitchen toy I wanted to purchase was progressive international freezer pop maker in the summer after seeing your fudge pops recipe, but living in England it was impossible to purchase. We have our own version but I love the design of these..( would have tried to get them shipped from u.s but it was fortune,)
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Hi! My 13 year old daughter just got a Kitchenaid, and the #1 item on her list is a KitchenAid Ice Cream Maker Attatchment!
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Hoping for three new cookbooks under the tree – Bouchon Bakery, Baked Elements & Sprouted! But any cookbooks will be gladly welcomed
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I love these editons that you do! I spend my work day shopping! lol
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I am asking for a hand-held mixer and a digital kitchen scale!
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If I had the space, I’d probably have library just for cookbooks! Amazingly, I don’t have a single one on your lists. I guess I know what to ask Santa for this year
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My favorite kitchen toy of 2012 is a Cuisipro cupcake corer that I bought from Williams Sonoma for $5. Best thing ever and I highly recommend!!
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this is a FABULOUS list, and so helpful! my mom and i exchange cookbooks every year and i’m always looking for great ideas for her. thanks for sharing!
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I must be spoiled because I have most of the kitchen stuff already, but those books….most of them are on my wish list. I just need to bite the bullet!
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I already own 5 of the 10 best selling cookbooks, + the new Ina Garten cookbook. I have a lot of gadgets already, but would love the Kitchen Aid attachment for ice cream. I got a stick blender about a year ago, and I cannot imagine life without it. Another gadget, recently acquired, is a thing called “Aero Latte.” It’s for frothing milk for making lattes and cappuccinos. I make concentrated Starbucks Via for the espresso, and then add the frothed milk. Saving zillions on money not spent @ the coffee shop.
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I have something I think you should put on your “Wish List:” for next year: A Bosch Universal Mixer. It is far superior to the Kitchen Aid, or any other mixer out there!! It has a variety of attachments. It is more expensive than Kitchen Aid, but well worth the investment!!!! Especially with the amount of baking and cooking you do! I have 2. My old one is 12 years old and I have never had a problem with it. I purchased me another one last year as I started a bakery in my home. I have purchased some for different family members, and they LOVE theirs!! Thanks for you awesome blog! I really enjoy it! Merry Christmas!
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I love to sit and read cookbooks!
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Oh my goodness, I seriously want to buy every single one of these!
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I love cookbooks and so does my daughter…we love The Barefoot Contessa…and we love to get your e-mails….thanks for sharing
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I actually already had the Wilton decorating bags on my wish list!
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I have a whole wall of cookbooks, plus the old chef that taught me gave me his books and my uncle (now passed) had given me some of his formulas when he used to be a baker.
I love collecting them and I have some from the 1930′s. They are so fun to look through. Some are in a magazine type form and the ads are very interesting. Lots of household cleaning tips and remedies.
Thanks
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Thanks for posting this list. It is so easy to forget what cookbooks and tools I have coveted over the year.
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A silpat!!!
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following via email
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following via pinterest
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Following via FaceBook
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Great post. Maybe I could leave it out for hubby for gift ideas. Favorite cookbook this year. How to eat weekends Sally Swift and Lynn Rosetta Kasper. Favorite kitchen toy my silicone bakeware.
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Wowza. A whole new slew of things to add to my Amazon wish list. Love it! Thanks!!
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I would love to get a new 7 quart Kitchen Aid Mixer, but I doubt I will.
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Kindle Fire HD!!! That’s ALL that is on my list!!
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I follow on Instagram!
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I’m a FB fan!
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I’m a Pinterestaholic of BEB!
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I subscribe to the emails!
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I want to read my daughters acceptance letter to college! That would be the best gift!
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Follow on fb
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I follow Brown Eyed Baker on FB!
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I subscribe to Brown Eyed via email
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I follow Brown Eyed Baker on Pinterest
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I subscribed to Brown Eyed Baker thru email
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Our favorite cookbook purchase of 2012 was Paula Deen’s Southern Cooking Bible. Reminds me of my grandmother’s southern cooking.
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my favorite cookbook is pioneer women.
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