Stella Parks' take on American home baking is at once rigorous and fun. She has rethought and reinvented a string of classics, from snickerdoodles and fudge to cheesecakes, coconut cream pie, and a home versions of a cluster of branded snacks such as animal crackers, Oreos, and Fig Newtons. Her meticulous recipes are often preceded by carefully researched notes on the origins of the particular treats that sometimes demolish treasured stories or culinary myths (Ruth Wakefield of the famed Toll House Inn did not invent the chocolate chip cookie).

Although Parks clearly loves these all-American favorites, she is completely willing to adopt innovations in their pursuit, for example, gently roasting the sugar she uses in an angel food cake variation to heighten the flavor. Since she is the baking editor of seriouseats.com, this makes perfect sense to us.

All recipes include measurements by weight as well as volume.

Color photographs throughout. Hardcover.