Spring has sprung, and with that, a new cookbook drop featuring oh-so-many baking titles. There’s More Than Sweet, an ode to seasoned desserts; Cake From Lucie, a collection of bakes with a side of whimsy; and Morning Baker, which will convince you to order specialty ingredients (like barley malt syrup) to your cart. The list also includes the 50th anniversary edition of The Taste of Country Cooking, a book that pays homage to the food icon, Edna Lewis, plus much more. Read on for our standout titles of the season (organized by release date), hand-chosen and cooked from by our staff.. Hello, Home Cooking by Ham El-Waylly. This is one of my favorite reads so far this year. In Hello, Home Cooking, Ham El-Waylly, a dear friend of mine, shares his Egyptian-Bolivian heritage, his years working in Michelin-starred restaurants, and his own trials and triumphs in cooking at home. It is deeply personal and wholly unserious at the same time. I made the Cinnamon Pita Crunch and it blew everyone’s hair back in the Test Kitchen. Twice-baked squares of pita, glazed with a buttery caramel and cinnamon sugar, were excellent drenched in cold milk. Kinda Shish Tawook Spread (burnished chicken pitas with garlic toum and pickles) was bountiful and straightforward, especially if you forgo making your own pita (I forwent). This cookbook isn’t here to sell you the easiest or quickest version of anything, though it does contain such recipes. It’s the journal of a confident chef who celebrates the joy that can be found in cooking, the memories food can create and unlock, and the thrill of breaking rules. —Shilpa Uskokovic, senior Test Kitchen editor. Hello, Home Cooking: Do-Able Dishes for Every Day. $35 $33 (6% off). Amazon. $35 $33 (6% off). Bookshop. Soomaaliya by Ifrah F. Ahmed. You may pick up Soomaaliya in hopes of indulging in the many delectable offerings from the Somali diaspora, and yes, that will happen. But you are in for so much more. The book is rich with narrative, offering an exploration of Somali culture through the lens of writer and chef Ifrah F. Ahmed. Ahmed learned Somali cooking from her mother, Xaawo Cabdulle Ducaale, who instilled the importance of their traditions as they migrated to Seattle. She writes, “Despite being the breadwinner and working two jobs, [she] began a campaign to immerse us in our culture. For me, that meant weekly cooking lessons.” It’s a beautiful reminder that we are cumulative forces of those that came before us. The recipes are bountiful, including weekend projects (like Cambaabur, spiced sourdough pancakes) and dishes to feed a crowd (like Kalamuudo, pasta with goat ragù). Some of my favorites include Bajiye, savory black-eyed pea fritters; Baasto Lisaanyo, Somali lasagna with cumin and cilantro in the sauce; and Bariis Isku Karis, one-pot goat and rice, Ahmed’s childhood favorite. —Inés Anguiano, associate Test Kitchen manager. Soomaaliya: Food, Memory, and Migration. $39. Amazon. $37. Bookshop. Oha
