The nation’s publishers have released their usual healthy crop of baking cookbooks to help get you through this season of indulgence. Here are some highlights from the stacks:

– “The Essence of Chocolate,” by John Scharffenberger and Robert Steinberg (Hyperion, 2006, $35)

This richly illustrated book by the founders of Berkeley, Calif.-based Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, one of the nation’s leading premium chocolate companies, is for people serious about their chocolate.

The chapters alternate between terrifically attractive recipes (baked hot chocolate and chocolate caramels among the many) and telling Scharffenberger’s and Steinberg’s stories. Later chapters amount to a master’s course in chocolate.

Readers who just want a good chocolate cake recipe might be put off by the heft of the text, but it, nevertheless, is a fascinating journey through one of our most popular and potent confections. A section on savory preparations (including a cocoa and salt rub for poultry) is especially nice.

– “Tartine,” by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson (Chronicle Books, 2006, $35)

Drawn from the San Francisco bakery of the same name, this book targets the more serious baker. Most people wouldn’t bother to attempt their own croissants (a recipe that stretches over five pages of text) or fruit galettes (four pages), but “Tartine” also offers plenty of simple classics, such as brownies, quiche and pumpkin pie.

Whether you make them, the recipes in this book look and sound wonderful (including the lemon bars on brown butter shortbread), and there’s nothing wrong with a little eye candy to help set your aspirations.

– “One Cake, One Hundred Desserts,” by Greg Case and Keri Fisher (William Morrow, 2006, $29.95)

Why aren’t there more books like this? What a great concept. Case and Fisher use one basic yellow cake recipe to create 100 different desserts. It appears as the cake in molten chocolate cake, as the cookie in whoopie pies and as a layer in mimosa parfaits.

One nice design touch – the basic cake recipe is reprinted on the inside back flap of the dust jacket so you don’t have to flip through the book searching for it each time. My wife tried the maple cranberry upside-down cake, which she said was delicious and easy to make, though wasn’t as attractive as she’d hoped.

– “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World,” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero (Marlowe & Company, 2006, $15.95)

Even if you’re suspicious of vegan baked goods, you may find most of the 75 dairy-free cupcakes recipes here sound good. The banana split cupcakes, heaped with “buttercream” frosting, chocolate sauce, walnuts and banana chips, look particularly delicious.

The recipes are mostly simple and the book’s design attractive. I tried the pumpkin chocolate chip cupcakes, which tasted great (you’d never know they were dairy-free), but definitely needed to cook longer than the 22 to 24 minutes called for.

– “Brownies,” by Linda Collister (Ryland, Peters & Small, 2006, $12.95)

Some of the best brownies I’ve ever had. I tested Collister’s classic brownie and loved it. People who prefer a cakier brownie might want to cook it a little longer than the 25 to 30 minutes instructed.

I was also attracted to the espresso brownies, and the delightfully gooey-looking easy mocha brownies. Like so many of this publisher’s books, this one is gorgeously illustrated with lush photography.

– “Cobblers and Crumbles,” by Maxine Clark (Ryland, Peters & Small, 2006, $12.95)

Another beautiful book by this publisher. I like cobblers and crumbles because they are so foolproof. They also welcome tinkering, gladly accepting whatever fruit you have on hand.

Clark’s molasses banana cobbler is the sort of recipe you hope tastes lousy, because it looks so good you know that’s the only reason you wouldn’t eat the whole pan in one sitting. The cranberry and orange streusel crisp isn’t far behind, either.

– “Bob’s Red Mill Baking Book” (Running Press, 2006, $29.95)

Another whole grain cookbook from another grain and flour company. Earlier this year, King Arthur Flour released “Whole Grain Baking.” This month, it’s Bob’s Red Mill’s turn. Known for its vast array of stone ground flours, the Milwaukie, Ore., company joined up with cookbook author John Ettinger to craft more than 400 whole grain recipes.

Plenty of ground is covered in this book, from blue cornbread and oatmeal pie to skillet cherry cobbler and baguettes. And like King Arthur’s recipes, many of these call for blends of whole grain and all-purpose flours, which keeps the goodies lighter than what many people expect from whole grain baking.

I tried the whole wheat biscuits, which use equal parts whole wheat and all-purpose flours. The recipe came together easily, and the biscuits were good, though they could have been lighter. Most of the recipes are appealing, though including estimates of prep time would have been nice. Gluten-free recipes are marked, a nice touch that people with sensitivities will appreciate.