What do birthday cake, chocolate chip cookies, and animal crackers all have in common — besides, of course, all being desserts that we grew up loving? Answer: they each have a long and venerable history that started way before our own memories of those first sweet bites. As Jesse Oleson Moore, creator of Cake Spy and self-proclaimed dessert detective, puts it in her new book The Secret Lives of Baked Goods, "...recipes are not necessarily invented — they evolve."

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For as long as I've known Faith Durand, she has been ever so slightly obsessed with no-bake — a.k.a. bakeless — desserts. There's her love of panna cotta, and her tendency to layer delicious things with whipped cream. Of course, we also have her no-bake strawberry icebox cake, which has become one of our top recipes here on The Kitchn. 

Faith has now taken those years of playing with custards, fluffs, and other sweet stovetop creations, and she's put them into her latest book: Bakeless Sweets, which is being released today! So we thought we'd do an interview with Faith and get a peek into how she got hooked on these desserts, her favorite kitchen tools, and which recipes you should try first. 

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Most Americans are familiar with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall through his well-received River Cottage Meat Book, so it may come as some surprise that he has penned a 400-page vegetable-centric tome devoted to the appreciation and cooking of vegetables.  But it makes a lot of sense that this passionate, out-spoken pioneer of local food has finally turned towards vegetables. River Cottage Veg is a lovely book, a love song to the many inspiring things you can pluck from your vegetable patch and bring into the kitchen.

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If you have ever been to Seattle, then surely you went to Pike Place Market. And if you went to Pike Place Market, then surely you have stood under the awning near the fish market and waited eagerly for one orange-trousered gentlemen to yell, "HALIBUT!" and toss a ginormous glittering fish over the counter to another orange-trousered gentlemen. And if you haven't, you need to turn around and go back. My point is: this book. This book captures that experience better than a snapshot — plus you get recipes!

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It sometimes seems that big name chefs like Alex Guarnaschelli spring onto our favorite food TV shows fully-formed, already successful and possessing some inherent and unwavering internal cooking compass. Not so. Alex Guarnaschelli, for instance, comes by her culinary chops through a combination of genetics (daughter of a cookbook editor) and sheer determination. Old-School Comfort Food takes a step back from the big smile we all recognize and shows us where this bright chef came from.

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Simple, healthy, whole food is anything but humdrum in David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl's Vegetarian Everyday. The creators of Green Kitchen Stories blog are known for their vibrant approach and this cookbook is filled with creative flavor combinations, gorgeous styling, and colorful photography. 

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I dare you to open this cookbook from Seattle's Plum Bistro to any page and not think the recipe you find there is completely irresistible. Tiramisu pancakes? Check. Cauliflower bisque with fresh fennel? Yes, please. Black plum and ginger sorbet? Oh, you know it. Chef Makini Howell's recipes are vibrant, wholesome, and absolutely popping with all the fresh flavors of the season. ...Oh, and did I mention they're all vegan?

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With Daphne Oz, it's about the whole picture. Not just cooking healthy weeknight meals, but also about how to throw a good party. Not just making sure your kitchen is well-stocked, but also making it a beautiful, welcoming place to be. In other words, she's a lady after our own Kitchn hearts and we are happily besotted with her new book Relish.

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Who has two thumbs and loves avocaodos? This girl! And also, I'm guessing, a great many of you. But we've got nothing on Gaby Dalkin. Here is a gal who loves her avocados something fierce. We're talking breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a great many nibbles in between — her new cookbook has 80 different ways to work our favorite buttery green fruit into every meal of the day.

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If you have yet to experience the pleasure of cheese and beer together, or if you're a strict believer in pairing cheese with wine and wine alone, here's a book to open, widen, and/or convert your mindset. 

And if you're already on the beer and cheese bandwagon, there's no question that this is a book for you. 

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