Oreo mash-up
Oreo purists, cover your ears (and eyes): The new cookie in town not only doubles up on cream filling, but DoubleStuf Heads or Tails also incorporates one side of the vanilla cookie from the Golden spinoff. Most will probably agree that it's win-win: a variety pack in one sandwich cookie.
Buy a 15-ounce bag for about $5 at grocery stores nationwide.
Dairy-free fun
College student Kelly Peloza offers vegans with a hankering for baked goods 140 recipes to pick from in "The Vegan Cookie Connoisseur" cookbook ($17.95, amazon.com). Not only are the recipes inventive -- think inside-out peppermint patties and coconut caramel butter cookies -- but the book's photos alone have us drooling.
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A reliable classic -- updated
From the editors of Good Housekeeping, comes a revised, expanded edition of "The Good Housekeeping Cookbook" (Hearst Books/Sterling, $35), published to coincide with the magazine's 125th anniversary. The 1,275 recipes include 240 new dishes (African sweet potato and peanut stew), all surrounded by tips on cooking techniques, tools, nutrition and safe food handling.
If the recipes aren't enough, you can find additional inspiration in the sidebars sprinkled throughout: Five ideas for ... instant spuds; quick pear desserts; more ways to enjoy ham. The Quick and Easy Weeknight Meals chapter, though, plays a little fast and loose with the terms "quick" and "easy." Pork tenderloin with roasted grapes? Ham steak with apple chutney? Delicious, we're sure -- on a Sunday.
This collection of recipes and tips rises to any occasion, whether you need a hearty winter meal (red wine and rosemary Porterhouse), a luscious dessert to pass (praline cream puff wreath) or an entire holiday menu, complete with appetizer and drink suggestions, a what-to-buy list and inspired ideas for leftovers. And all recipes have been tested at least three times in the Good Housekeeping test kitchens, so you can't beat the reliability.
