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Here's an excerpt from Pure Vanilla: Irresistible Recipes and Essential Techniques by Shauna Sever! You can find this excerpt for free in our sampler, and you can download it here. 

Meringue nears the top of our list of Best Foods on the Entire Planet. It's so beautiful and delicious in its simplicity and serves as a backdrop for so many different flavors and add-ins. But, as purists, we find its angelic texture and melting sweetness ideal for showcasing pure vanilla flavor. It's a delicious treat that your darling will love.

Halloween is over, but the Old Ones won’t sleep for long. You never know when they’re going to burst out from the shadows, from a closet…or from inside your pie!

Ever since California-based artist Sandy Yoo created a dangerously delicious pie last year, I have yearned to attack this food decoration project. Finally, the time has come! Dear Reader, I must reveal the horrific details of this most dreadfully supercool endeavor, so that you can make your own Piethulhu (did you see what I did there?).

What You’ll Need:

–    Enough pie dough for two 9-inch pie crusts 
–    Pecan pie filling (I used my favorite recipe from Joy of Cooking)
–    Rolling pin
–    Knife
–    Extra pecans

I’m a recipe-follower, so your first step is to find your favorite pecan pie recipe. NOTE: Since it’s all about the crust decoration, you can Cthulhu-ize any type of pie, from Chess to Cherry. I was in the mood for pecan pie, so that’s the way I went. Just hold on to a couple of the berries or nuts you’re using for the filling; you’ll need these for the eyes.

Prep the bottom crust in a greased 9-inch pie pan, and add the pie filling. Set aside. Roll out the second pie crust, nice and thin. 

Begin by making the tentacles. Using a knife (it doesn’t have to be sharp), cut 8-12 tentacles out of the rolled-out pie dough. A good way to do this is to cut one side straight, one side curvy.

Here at Quirk Books, we put lots of time and thought into our book covers. And that's why they've won awards and accolades all around the world and in space. But I think we can all agree that one thing would make our amazing covers even better: Me. So here's a glimpse into an alternate universe which is the same as our own, except I appear on every Quirk book cover!

THE COOKIE DOUGH LOVER'S COOKBOOK by Lindsay Landis ($3.99)
KINDLE / NOOK / KOBO / IBOOKSTORE

Food blogger Lindsay Landis has invented the perfect cookie dough. It tastes great. It’s egg free (and thus safe to eat raw). You can whip it up in minutes. And, best of all, you can use it to make dozens of delicious cookie dough creations, from cakes, custards, and pies to candies, brownies, and even granola bars. Included are recipes for indulgent breakfasts (cookie dough doughnuts!), frozen treats (cookie dough Popsicles!), and outrageous snacks (cookie dough eggrolls! cookie dough fudge! cookie dough pizza!).

Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to…read?!? This year, instead of giving books to your Halloween visitors (because those get heavy!), fill your neighbor childrens' plastic pumpkins with one of these sweet book-inspired confections.

It's here, you guys! It's finally here!

Tomorrow kicks off the first ever Hello Kitty Reading Day, a celebration of Hello Kitty's 40th anniversary and the great books published around her. A lot of other publishers are playing along, including Abrams, Penguin, Perfect Square, Priddy Books, Sourcebooks, and, of course, us! Brett dished out all the details in this post a few weeks ago. 

Want to join in the fun? Over on the Hello Kitty Reading Day website, you can find participating locations. If nothing is going on near you, don't worry! Today we're handing out this handy Hello Kitty Reading Day Event Kit, just for you. 

You can check it out embeded below, or download it off our Scribd page. There are plenty of fun activities you can enjoy at home. Check it out! 

Hello Kitty Reading Day: Event Kit by QuirkBooks