Tis the season for giving and there are infinite epicurean-related gifts to shop for. Here is a list of perfect cook books for every one of your foodie friends and loved ones.  

• -For the novice cook:  
  • -How to Boil Water
  • -What to Cook & How to Cook It
  • -The Illustrated Kitchen Bible

• -For the English Major/ Literary Friend:  
  • -A Homemade Life:  Molly Wizenberg's whimsical prose is part memoir, part cookbook and is laced with intimate anecdotes and memories, associated with particular dishes - how a bite of  French Toast can conjure up a flood of fond memories of her father or how a French-style Yogurt Cake led her to the man on the opposite coast, whom she would eventually marry.   She flawlessly captures the momentous and emotional impacts that food can have on our lives, its ability to shape who we are and unite us with others.  
  • -Eat Memory:  is a thoughtful collection of food essays from nationally recognized writers that originally appeared in The New York Times and was compiled by food writer Amanda Hesser.

• -For Your Baker/Cupcake-Crazed Sister:
  • -The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook: 
  • -Baked:  New Fronteirs in Baking
  • -Baked Explorations:  Classic American Desserts Reinvented
  • -Sweety Pies:  An Uncommon Collection of Womanly Observations, with Pie
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• -For your Mother
  •   -The Pat Conroy Cookbook:  Recipes and Stories of My Life 

• -For the Adventure Seeker/World Traveler
  • -Around My French Table:  More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours
  • -The New Portuguese Table
  • -Momofuku

• -For the Sophisticated Gormande
  • -Bon Appetit Desserts:  The Cookbook for All things Sweet and Wonderful

• -For  Your Green Thumb, Eco-Friendly Friend:  
  • -In the Green Kitchen:  Techniques to Learn by Heart
  • The Farm to Table Cookbook:  The Art of Eating Locally
  • Fast, Fresh and Green

Hayley Teater is a chronicler of all things food-related, particularly of the dessert persuasion. She writes for her blog Tiptoes in the Kitchen (hayleygolightly.wordpress.com), which covers her various food escapades and interesting tales from the kitchen.