If you are an apple pie lover, Apple Pie Perfect is your dream-100 recipes for apple pie in all its delicious incarnations, plus ten versatile crust recipes. There are pies with single crusts, pies with double crusts, crumb toppings, and no toppings. There are traditional pies (My Mom and Dad’s Brown Sugar Apple Pie), new twists (Baked Apple Dumpling Pie), multi-fruit pies (Apple-Plum Pie with Coconut Streusel), and pies for those who love apples in any and all forms (Shaker Boiled Apple Cider Pie). It’s all written in Haedrich’s homey, easy-to-follow style, with plenty of apple lore, tips, and advice, plus a complete pie maker’s guide to apple varieties. With Apple Pie Perfect, any home cook can turn out a mouthwatering version of America’s favorite pie. Ken Haedrich’s Apple Pie Perfect celebrates America’s most treasured dessert with 100 definitive recipes–everything from a traditional lattice-topped version and Haedrich’s parents’ brown sugar pie to newer incarnations, including Baked Apple Dumpling Pie, Apple and Brie Pie, and multifruit delights such as Apple-Plum Pie with Coconut Streusel. Apple Pie 101 and then some, the book first offers 10 versatile crust recipes, including the author’s favored All-American Double Crust (which requires both butter, for flavor, and shortening, for tender flakiness), plus a delicious whole wheat version, then proceeds to the pies, arranged according to the seasons. The recipes walk would-be pie makers through the process carefully, which should encourage even the baking novice to try their hand. Sidebars include tips (there’s even one on how to avoid a floury telephone receiver when called during crust-rolling), lore, and useful subrecipes (like the one for Spiced Ginger Apple Butter), plus a guide to apple varieties. These further expand the book’s usefulness. With a section on “handpies”–apple pie for the fingers, like Apple “Calzone” Pie–and recipes like No-Bake Apple Ice Cream Pie that appeal particularly to kids, the book is a sure best-stop for producing a true American food icon. –Arthur Boehm