Marchetti (Everyday Italian Cookbook: 90+ Favorite Recipes for La Cucina Italiana) has produced a sumptuously illustrated volume that demonstrates how to make classic Italian cookies. Four introductory chapters cover practical information: "Essentials of Italian Cookies Baking," "Ingredients," "Equipment," and "Essential Techniques." Following those are four chapters devoted to a particular region of Italy and cookies specific to those locations: the North (baci di Alassio, amaretti di Gallarate, caviadini, chifferi all nocciola), central Italy (biscotti della nonna, cantucci di Prato, frollini al farro, mattoncini), the South (amaretti Abruzzeri, baci di Dama Calabresi, cambellini al vino, quaresemali), and the islands (anicini, amarettus, cuccidati, tileccas). The final chapter includes directions for making basic doughs and preserves. Each recipe is preceded by a brief history of the cookie, including its relation to a holiday (when applicable), and all recipes include measurements in volume and weight. VERDICT An excellent volume describing specialties from each Italian region and how to create bakery-worthy cookies at home. Marchetti's easy-to-follow recipes will appeal to bakers of all levels.

– Jacqueline Parascandola, Library Journal

? In her ninth cookbook, Marchetti presents 100 recipes showcasing the special Italian touch for turning the same basic ingredients (butter, olive oil, nuts, and sugar) into unique, delicate, and craveable bites. As with all Italian cooking and baking, lore is baked into each recipe, such as the anecdote Marchetti shares about the famous alpine butter—rich canestrelletti and occhi di bue (bull’s eye) jam sandwiches. Bakers will learn more about regional ingredients and their influence—like cornmeal from the Po valley, which makes for a lightly crunchy bite when mixed with wheat flour in paste di meliga and krumiri and adds a deep golden hue to the Veneto’s raisin-studded zaletti. Bakers will be inspired to make the nutty meringues called brutti ma buoni ("ugly but good cookies") and the biscotti of the country’s central and southern regions. Anginetti (orange and anise cookie knots with a citrus glaze) exemplify southern Italian, citrus-infused creativity, and a smattering of wine-infused biscotti shows off a talent for incorporating easy-to-find ingredients in a lightly sweet, post-meal treat. This book is a must for dedicated bakers, encouraging a focus on Mediterranean sweets and spices, with an emphasis on natural flavors inspired by the regional foods throughout "the Boot."

– Jessica S. Levy, Booklist, Starred Review