Title:	The Secret History of Christmas Baking: Recipes & Stories from Tomb Offerings to Gingerbread Boys
	Author:	Linda Raedisch
	Published:	September 8, 2023, Llewellyn Publications
	No. of Pages:	320
	Cover Price:	$17.99 Paperback, $13.49 Kindle

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Have you ever wondered where Christmas baking traditions came from? The Secret History of Christmas Baking: Recipes & Stories from Tomb Offerings to Gingerbread Boys by Linda Raedisch, will answer many of your questions. The book includes not only stories and facts about traditions that are unique to different places in the world, but also recipes and crafts that are connected to Christmas baking traditions.

Included are dozens of recipes that have traditionally been baked at Christmastime. These recipes are very appealing and most readers will want to try several of them. They are written in the traditional manner with the ingredients listed first, followed by step-by-step instructions that are easy to follow for both beginning and advanced cooks. There are lists of traditional ingredients for Christmas baking and the history and uses throughout, which is good information for cooks and bakers.

While there are many helpful illustrations, there are no photographs – None. This actually ruins the book. The stories make for good and interesting reading, but most readers want to see what the recipes should look like, and that’s impossible when there are no pictures. The prose is well written and the stories are fun and informative. This is a good book to curl up in a corner and read.

Anyone who wants to add to their Christmas baking repertoire and doesn’t care about photographs will want to include this book in their cookbook collection.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.