What a great book! Linda Raedisch's The Secret History of Christmas Baking: Recipes & Stories from Tomb Offerings to Gingerbread Boys seemed right up our alley when we first ordered it, and after reading it, it did not disappoint. Definitely one of the best books in our shop. Just like with The Old Magic of Christmas, Linda Raedisch's other book about Christmas, I was genuinely sad to finish the book. This author knows how to tell a story well. I love her writing style. It's very approachable, very engaging. You'll feel like you're visiting with an old friend (a friend who has countless fascinating stories to tell).

Speaking of fascinating stories, we at Convivio Bookworks are endlessly fascinated by the origins of traditions, and here, Raedisch dispels some long-standing culinary myths and delves into the darker chapters of the West's centuries-long romance with sugar and spices. In addition to more than forty recipes for modern bakers, you'll find illustrated instructions for dressing up your cakes and cookie plates with paper stars, angels, and witches. From Linzer tartlets to Christstollen, you can turn your kitchen into an Old World Christmas market stall. You'll also learn lots of things you probably never knew... for instance: Did you know that the ancient Egyptians had their own version of gingerbread or that marzipan was once considered a pharmaceutical?

Interspersed with tales of sailors, saints, tomb raiders, and artisans, The Secret History of Christmas Baking proves that even the humblest holiday treat has a global backstory.

If Mrs. Beaton, Hildegard, and The Two Fat Ladies got together with a medieval monk and had a love child, it would be The Secret History of Christmas Baking. Linda Raedisch has made me rethink my aversion to fruitcake. Oh, and the book's peppered with crafts for when you can't face down one more cookie. I am insanely jealous that I did not write this book. — Natalie Zaman, award-winning author of Magical Destinations of the Northeast and Color and Conjure

The Secret History of Christmas Baking is many things: a compendium of (sometimes strange) culinary delights, a personal remembrance of family traditions, and a whirlwind tour of the sometimes sinister, occasionally tragic, and always colorful backstories of ingredients, recipes, methods, and madnesses that flavor our most beloved holiday treats. Linda Raedisch tempers a historian's eye with wry humor and reverence. This book is a must-read for any baker, marzipan enthusiast, or kitchen witch. — Caren Gussoff Sumption, contributing writer for Krampusnacht: Twelve Nights of Krampus