Obsessed with the Best by Ella Quittner
There are two types of bakers in this world. The first, let's call them my partner, is a confident, intuitive baker who produces photo-worthy results with seemingly minimal effort. The second, let's call them me, loses sleep over whether their baking powder has expired or whether chilling the dough for longer would have yielded a better chocolate chip cookie.
Today’s post is about a new book that will feel quite familiar to anyone who has ever fallen down a kitchen research rabbit hole. I first heard about this book while listening to an episode of Milk Street Radio featuring its author Ella Quittner, where she described her rigorously methodical head-to-head tests. It felt like a book written specifically for me.
Obsessed with the Best is the culmination of Quittner's “year of bests,” a thoroughly tested, delightfully obsessive exploration of the absolute best ways to cook and bake some of the most familiar foods. The book walks you through 24 head-to-head tests of cooking methods to help you find the perfect choice for your palate, and from there, delivers more than 100 recipes.
To write it, Quittner spent more than a year traveling, from the Blue Ribbon Festival in Des Moines to Alabama's Black Belt, from Rome to Emilia Romagna, and from Osaka to Tokyo, where she gathered intel from expert chefs and home cooks, all in service of understanding what the “best” really means. Along the way in Japan, she encountered soufflé-style pancakes that “quivered like living pillows,” forcing her to consider at what point food becomes too beautiful to consume. In Rome, she discovered that a nonna’s love for her grandchildren tends to show up in her meatballs. Every test in the book is accompanied by a reported story infused with personal memories, making this as much a fascinating book of food history as it is a recipe collection.
The book is laid out in consecutive chapters: “Where to Begin?”, “From the Ground or Nearby”, “Attention-Seekers,” and my favourite chapter title ever, “Desserts to Eat in Bed.” The photography throughout, by Graydon Herriott, is the perfect accompaniment.
The first recipe is one for Tender Layered Biscuits, which is one of the recipes Quittner discussed with Kimball on Milk Street. As Quittner writes after baking roughly forty batches, “biscuits are just pie dough with a better personality.” I attempted a gluten-free version, subbing GF flour and extra buttermilk in place of the vodka. And while my layers weren't as defined as Quittner's, they are without a doubt some of the best biscuits I've ever eaten.
From there, the book covers a wide range of foods from foolproof poached eggs to fluffy pancakes, and even a potato chapter (a hierarchy I endorse as someone who grew up in Ireland). Every chapter is a reminder of Quittner’s remarkable dedication to searching out the best of any one thing.
I am and always have been a dessert person, so “Desserts to Eat in Bed” was the destination I had in mind when I opened this book. Quittner's Chocolate Chunk Cookie test covers flavour enhancers, alternative flours, dough temperature, and resting times. I won't lie to you here. This isn't a one-bowl recipe made for the moment you're craving a chocolate chip cookie. It's a multistep technical process reserved for lazy weekend afternoons when you have nowhere to be. The dessert chapter also covers Flourless Chocolate Cake, Buttercreams and Frostings, and Shortbread. There’s an entire section on whipped cream, need I say more?
In Obsessed with the Best, Quittner has done all the work so you don't have to (thanks, Ella!). And while the recipes are certainly more fussy than your average one-bowl situation (I have never in my life managed to stick to one bowl for any recipe), they are absolutely worth trying. It’s worth noting that these recipes do not require you to buy a ton of ingredients you will never look at again. Most of the recipes here call for things you likely already have in your pantry.
As Quittner writes at the beginning of the book, “I'm a flavor maximalist and a technique minimalist.” That's apparent throughout, and is something that makes this book appeal to cooks and bakers of all skill levels. Named a Best Cookbook of 2026 by both Bon Appétit and Food & Wine, and featured everywhere from the New York Times to Condé Nast Traveler, this is a book worth losing a weekend to.
About the Author
Ella Quittner is a journalist, screenwriter, and humorist who writes about obsession, culture and food. She has contributed to New York Magazine, The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Baffler, T Magazine, Food52, Bon Appétit, Saveur, Food & Wine, and many other publications. Ella grew up back and forth between the West Coast and East Coast. She has explored much of the United States and beyond, stopping to find the best bite every single place she goes (even La Guardia).
Obsessed with the Best: 100+ Methodically Perfected Recipes Based on 20+ Head-to-Head Tests by Ella Quittner is available for purchase in hardcover and eBook format. Check Bookshop.org to support an indie near you.
