Crumbs : Ben Mims

Crumbs brings together cookies, biscuits, and small baked sweets from around the world.

Featuring 300 recipes from nearly 100 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, it is an encyclopedic exploration of the world's cookie traditions.

Alongside familiar classics such as French macarons, Dutch speculaas, and German Elisenlebkuchen are an extraordinary variety of regional sweets, including stuffed festive cookies from Egypt, cumin seed cookies from Pakistan, sesame and pistachio cookies from Syria, and delicate rolled wafer cookies from Thailand.

Several recipes from Japan are also included, among them chinsuko, the traditional Okinawan shortbread made with brown sugar.

But the appeal of this book extends far beyond the sheer number of recipes.

Each recipe is accompanied by the story behind the sweet: where and how it originated, when it is traditionally eaten, what it means to the people who make it, and the customs and anecdotes that have developed around it.

Across the world, these small sweets may be made from similar ingredients—flour, sugar, butter, nuts, and spices—yet their shapes, textures, and aromas vary enormously from place to place, reflecting religious celebrations, festivals, family traditions, and regional histories.

The book also explains essential ingredients, equipment, and techniques such as shaping, rolling, and cutting.

Icons identify dairy-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan recipes, making it an extensive and practical collection for those who want to bake the recipes themselves.

With every turn of the page comes a new sweet and a glimpse into the food culture that surrounds it, making Crumbs a journey through the baking traditions of the world.