I believe that if you’re a cookbook, this has to be the best time of the year.

Everybody is talking about you (and in my case sometimes talking to you). You’re front and centre in the bookstore. More likely than not, either you or one of your cookbook friends are being wrapped in pretty paper and stuffed warm and snug under a bunch of evergreen branches strung with lights.

Who wouldn’t want to be a cookbook?!

Needless to say I buy a lot of cookbooks throughout the year and the days of me longing for a cookbook for Christmas are long gone. I just buy them for myself whenever I want.

But for those that do not have a cookbook addiction and who do long for Santa to leave a cookbook, or two, under the tree, here’s a list of my favourite cookbooks of the year (note: some of these may not necessarily have been published this year but I discovered them this year).

Canal House Cooks Every Day by Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton .

I’ve been a huge fan of Hamilton and Hirsheimer’s for quite some time. Their cooking oasis at The Canal House is enviable and I love their blog. Their cookbook is a compendium of the sharp, focused dishes they prepare. I’m not sure how others would describe Canal House cooking but to me it’s like elevated comfort food. It’s very simple and clean. In it’s spareness, Canal House food leaves no room for poor ingredients because if the heart isn’t good then the rest of it sure isn’t going to be good either. This is a big book and it’s weight and substance is comforting. It makes me happy to think of all the deliciousness ready to be cooked. I loved this one .

What Katie Ate: Recipes and Other Bits and Pieces by Katie Quinn Davies.

I stalk Katie Quinn Davies’ blog, What Katie Ate, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. As soon as I see a new post up I pounce upon it. As much as I love the recipes and the way she cooks, the visual appeal of her blog feeds the hungry just as well. Her book is an extension of her blog. Her recipes are this perfect cross between stylish but not too fussy (so you don’t have to have an army of elves in the kitchen to actually help you make all this food). More than anything, it’s just pretty to look at and hold cancer chinese medicine.