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Mimi dreams of clouds of flour and mountains of chocolate chips and, when she wakes up, all she wants to do is bake chocolate chip cookies. But she's never done it before, so she asks for Nonni's help. Nonni finds the recipe and teaches Mimi how to collect all the necessary ingredients and materials before starting. Then Nonni shows Mimi how to measure each ingredient. She also answers all of Mimi's questions, including why we add salt to a sweet recipe. And finally, they get to bake!

This is a cute and funny book, and the illustrations by Chiara Civati are delightful. The text clearly explains all the basic steps for a beginner. There are safety instructions, tips on getting ready, explanations as to why certain things are done, and - best of all! - a delicious recipe, plus variations. I read this book with my daughter, and then we baked the chocolate chip cookies. She was quoting the book back to me as we cooked (e.g. the brown sugar "making a sand castle", placing the cookies "four fingers apart", and being on "cookie guard" duty). Let me tell you, the cookies were delicious! Our verdict: "Best cookies ever!"

I love the relationship between Mimi and her Nonni (her grandmother) and the fact that they set the table for the whole family to share milk and the cookies they bake. My only concern is that the oven temperature is described as 325°, without specifying whether it's Fahrenheit or Celsius. While it would be okay to just use F in the story, both temperatures should be provided in the recipe at the end. By the way, 325°F is equivalent to 160°C.

I look forward to Mimi's next baking adventure. Happy baking!

I received this book in return for an honest review.

Full blog post: http://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com.au/2015/02/mimis-adventures-in-baking-by-alyssa-gangeri.html