I stand by The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook which was given to us for a wedding gift. 23 years later, I still reach for it for several recipes and its falling apart.
My absolute favorite baking book is Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson. She does a great job of explaining the rationale behind her steps, and everything I've made from there has turned out fantastically. The other book I'd recommend is Good Housekeeping. It's around $35, but it has a huge variety of recipes including a holiday cookie section in the back