Hold the presses! When I did my recent round-up of holiday craft books, I let one slip through the cracks.

My favorite cookie baking book of all time has been Rose’s Christmas Cookies by Rose Levy Beranbaum. Really; it was all that anyone needed for the holidays.

Rose’s Christmas Cookies Rose Levy Beranbaum Retail Price: $29.95 Hardcover: 272 pages Publisher: William Morrow Cookbooks – (1998-11-04) ISBN / EAN: 0688101364 / 9780688101367

Then last year came Cookie Craft: From Baking to Luster Dust, Designs and Techniques for Creative Cookie Occasions by Valerie Peterson  and Janice Fryer. Sweet! I learned how to make fancy cookies like those you see in pastry shops; how to make cookies in beautiful shapes and cool designs that not only looked good but were tasty too. The price of the book was worth it just to for the tips on how to roll out the dough, and when to put it in the fridge. Plus, the professional design techniques are inspiring.

When I was at the Brooklyn Public Library, we had a cookie decorating program that was an amazing success. We could have used Peterson and Frye’s tips on how to make and freeze quantities of cookies for decorating.

With Cookie Craft Christmas, my new rolling pin and a couple of gingerbread people cookie cutters, I am ready to go.

Cookie Craft Christmas: Dozens of Decorating Ideas for a Sweet Holiday Valerie Peterson, Janice Fryer Retail Price: $14.95 Hardcover: 176 pages Publisher: Workman Publishing Company – (2009-10-07) ISBN / EAN: 1603424407 / 9781603424400

UPDATE — Just discovered (thanks to a sharp-eyed reader) that the Hungry Girl book mentioned below is actually recipe cards, which obviously doesn’t work as a library item.

Can you cook food at home that tastes like you bought it at various fast-food chains? Entertainment Weekly put together a panel of judges to see if the latest title in the Top Secret Recipes series, Unlocked produces dishes that taste like the originals.

The book failed; the home-cooked versions tasted too good.

Most libraries own all but this, the ninth title in the series.

Top Secret Recipes Unlocked: All New Home Clones of America’s Favorite Brand-Name Foods Todd Wilbur Retail Price: $15.00 Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Plume – (2009-11-24) ISBN / EAN: 0452295793 / 9780452295797

Speaking of cookbook franchises, the latest Hungry Girl title lands next month, in time for holiday gift giving.

Hungry Girl Chew the Right Thing: Supreme Makeovers for 50 Foods You Crave Lisa Lillien Retail Price: $16.99 Misc. Supplies: 54 pages Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin – (2009-12-08) ISBN / EAN: 031261036X / 9780312610364

Thanks to a feature in the NYT “Dining & Wine” section today, the University of California’s English-language version of The Pasta Encyclopedia, rose to #24 on Amazon’s sales rankings. Libraries we checked are not showing it on their catalogs.

In addition to demystifying pasta, like “Julia Child demystified French food,” the author attacks some long-held myths. She claims that Italians were eating pasta 200 years before Marco Polo supposedly brought the staple back to his homeland from China.

Encyclopedia of Pasta (California Studies in Food and Culture) Oretta Zanini De Vita Retail Price: $29.95 Hardcover: 400 pages Publisher: University of California Press – (2009-10-15) ISBN / EAN: 0520255224 / 9780520255227