SOLD OUT! Joanne Chang with Rachel Leah Blumenthal: The Joy of Cookies

We have reached capacity and this event is now sold out. There will not be a waitlist. Signed copies of The Joys of Cookies are still available for purchase, to be picked up or shipped after the event.

Joanne Chang and Brookline Booksmith will also be at WBUR CitySpace on Tuesday, Dec 1. Learn more here.

• This event will take place at street level.
• If possible, events are livestreamed. Check out our store YouTube channel for livestream updates.
• ASL interpretation may be provided (based on the availability of interpreters) but must be requested at least 2 weeks in advance of the event.
• Please email us at [email protected] as soon as possible if you require ASL interpretation, guaranteed seating, or other accommodations. Seats are limited.We will do our best to serve your needs!

A warm, stunning, celebratory baking book of favorite cookies, classic and new, from James Beard award–winning baker and founder of the beloved Flour bakeries in Boston, Joanne Chang.

Joanne Chang says it all started with a chocolate chip cookie. Specifically, the Nestle Toll House chocolate chip cookie—the first she ever baked as a child with her mom: perfect, gooey, and warm. She baked cookies for her fellow Harvard students and study group and became known as the “cookie girl.” When she left her career as a management consultant to pursue her baking passion, she did it with a tray of cookies, jokingly declaring to her former colleagues that one day, these cookies will be famous! Now, the critically lauded baker, co-owner of the acclaimed Flour bakery, and beloved cookbook author is here to celebrate the joy of cookies that she’s shared all her life.

Joanne begins the book by answering a baker’s dozen of baking questions to help home bakers grasp the basics and avoid mistakes, then dives into cookies of all kinds, from classics to the new and adventurous. Chapters are organized by cookie-kind: Drop Everything and Bake These, The Bar Is High, Bake Rattle and Roll, Icing on the Cookie, Pipe Dreams, Art of the Cookie Sandwich, and Some Like It Savory. Alongside the recipes, Joanne shares, with effervescence and humor, stories of the cookies, the people behind them, and bits of her inspiring baking journey.

• Famous Chunky Lola

• Peanut Butter Miso Caramel Cookie

• Breakfast Time Cookie

• Chocolate Cherry Brownies

• Maple Shortbread

• Sticky Bun Crisps

• Chai Spice Palmiers

• Holiday Sugar Cookies

• Cornmeal Lime Sandwiches

• Oatmeal Cream Pies

• Parmesan Chive Coins

With beautiful photographs of every single cookie, The Joy of Cookies is a celebration worth baking, eating, and sharing.

An honors graduate of Harvard College with a degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics, Joanne Chang left a career as a management consultant to enter the world of professional cooking. She started at Boston’s renowned Biba, then Bentonwood Bakery, Rialto, and New York’s Payard Patisserie and Bistro, and finally Mistral. She returned to Boston with dreams of opening her own pastry shop. In 2000, she opened Flour, a bakery and café, and has since opened ten more locations in Boston and Cambridge. Flour has been featured in Gourmet, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, the New York Times, and Conde Nast Traveler and has received numerous Best of Boston awards. Chang also competed, and won, on Throwdown with Bobby Flay. In 2007, she opened a Chinese restaurant, Myers+Chang, with her husband, Christopher Myers. She is the author of six cookbooks and was the recipient of a James Beard Award in 2016 for Outstanding Baker in America.

Rachel Leah Blumenthal is the food editor at Boston magazine and has been covering the Boston-area restaurant scene as a reporter, editor, and photographer for over 15 years, including nearly a decade as editor of Eater Boston. A native of Sharon, Massachusetts, she lives north of Boston with her husband, two young boys, and a cat named after a pizzeria. Catch her on most social media platforms as @blumie625.

Brookline Booksmith, thriving in the heart of Coolidge Corner in Brookline, Massachusetts, since 1961, is one of New England’s premier independent bookstores. We offer a vast selection of books, ranging from current bestsellers to the most eclectic titles. We are also known for our beautiful and inspired gifts. Customers buy and sell gently used books in our treasured Used Book Cellar and enjoy our bountiful bargain book selection. We host award-winning events series (including our groundbreaking Transnational Literature Series), offering more than 300 author talks, community conversations, and book clubs annually. Find more at brooklinebooksmith.com!