I am an unrepentant Martha Stewart fan, having worked for years marketing her books. Yeah, perhaps she’s not all sugary sweet all the time, but the woman knows what she’s doing—and if she doesn’t, she hires the best people she can find who do.

Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook will be released on November 1. Lucky for me, I had lunch yesterday with a good friend who’s a former colleague at Crown (Clarkson Potter, Martha’s publisher, is an imprint there); she gave me this wonderful surprise. A quick leaf through the pages and one thing is clear: The book is freaking gorgeous! Tons of color photos throughout, including lots of step-by-step stuff (the kinds of things we all love to see on blogs because they’re often missing from cookbooks). The cookie section alone is worth the price of the book—it’s got everything from black-and-whites (my all-time favorite cookie, so that’ll probably be among the first things I try) to grapefruit sandwich cookies. There’s also an interesting-looking chapter on “Simple Baked Goods”—things like cornmeal drop biscuits and fig-walnut bread.

I’ve got to run to work now, but I can’t wait to come home tonight and spend some quality time with my new BFF, Miss Martha Stewart…