Top 2018 cookbooks: Cookbook author and food blogger Alexandra Stafford of alexandracooks dot com and I have declared it so: The Twelve Days Of Cookbooks begins now, as in perfect gift picks for holiday giving.

Last year around holiday gifting time, my serious cookbook-collecting friend Ali and I talked about our all-time favorites of the genre. And this year, we’re focusing on the latest harvest, cookbooks that caught our attention among the many published in 2018.

Ali is author 2017’s “Bread Toast Crumbs,” a book I love to give as a gift, by the way.

We’re including recipes to some of the dishes Ali has cooked from the books that caught our attention this year—including the Salted Maple Pie from “Sister Pie” that’s a great holiday dessert. And we’re giving away 12 different books.