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Summary: SWEETEST BAKING BOOK EVER!!
Review: Absolutely the sweetest, old-fashioned baking book ever! I am a collector of baking books and this is my very favorite among them. What I love about it is the ease, the recipes only take up one page each and the simple ingredients (butter, sugar, vanilla, flour), well most bakers will have on hand. I have made several of the cakes for birthdays in our family and the Traditional Vanilla Birthday Cake was an especially big hit with the kids. It tastes like something Grandma made when you were a kid. I agree with my co-reviewer who said her daughter and her friends could not believe how much better homemade is. If you want a break from your crazy, busy day, step back in time with these old-fashioned recipes - this book takes me back to a simpler, slower time when sitting on Grandma's back porch with your pie, in your barefeet,was all you wanted to do.
Rating: 
Summary: Still waiting to get a hit
Review: After reading all the rave reiviews this cookbook got, I couldn't wait to start baking. Boy was I disappointed with the first two recipes I tried. The Chocolate Buttermilk Layer Cake was not sweet enough and very dry. The Strawberry Oat Bars were very bland (needed more sugar in pastry) and the baking time needed to be doubled for crust and crumb topping. I'll give it one more shot...
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Summary: Not For Beginners
Review: Before embarking on my own review of this book I read through the others, and I must agree with several of the not too pleased reviews. This book is filled with wonderful goodies to make, however, I did note a few typos in the book. The authors or the publishers fault? Who's to say, but this book is definately not a Baking 101 book. If you know your way around the kitchen and a cookbook, you can get through it okay. I have made several of the recipes (I have baking experience) and I must say, they can be hit or miss. I must also must agree with one reviewer: the oatmeal cookies were awful. But, several others (including the chocolate cake, cheesecakes, and magic cookie bars) were wonderful! Yes, if these authors write another cookbook I will check it out. Hope this review helped.
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Summary: Become an Instant Baker
Review: Each and every time I make the cupcakes in the book with the traditional birthday frosting I am bombarded by people insisting I give them the recipe-and anyone over the age of 40 then adds "it is just like my mother used to make" I like to leave something out of course-if they are going to do it right let them get the book:)- But it is a bakers MUST!
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Summary: Cheesecake Goddess
Review: Ever since I purchased the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, my friends and family have come to refer to me as the cheesecake goddess. There are several cheesecake recipes in the book and many of them lend for minor changes to make wonderful tastes to call your own. I have yet to master the crumb topped cheescake which is the piece de'resistance of this cookbook. It's close to the real thing, but I guess some things are just better left to the masters. Enjoy this book as you too will be the talk of family parties and pot lucks.
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Summary: Recipes are crowd pleasers
Review: I am a teacher who has a dream of owning a corner bakery like the Magnolia Bakery one day. Therefore, I cook desserts for the faculty at my school at least once a week. Everything I've made from this book has received rave reviews. The day I made the apple walnut cake, two of my colleagues went out bought the cookbook for themselves. The caramel pecan brownies and the chocolate sour cream cake were also a hit. Also, the white chocolate macadamia cookies are much better than the ones at the mall cookie store. This book is a must have for every new bride!
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Summary: Great recipes, Few pictures
Review: I bought this book after reading about it in a magazine that also showed wonderful pictures. Found some great recipes but was a little disappointed that there weren't many pictures.
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Summary: Nothing new, buy it if you need a basic dessert book
Review: I bought this book primarily because it has a few "big pan" recipes for brownies and bar cookies -- I get tired of doubling recipes and baking in two pans when I need to make a lot of them. So I got just what I asked for, and those recipes are quite good. Comparing the basic cake recipes to basic cakes in other books, they don't seem all that different, and no doubt don't taste any different, either. So go ahead and buy it if you need these recipes, but if you're satisfied with the chocolate, butter, or white cakes you already make, you won't get any revelations here.
Rating:
Summary: The jury's still out
Review: I consider myself to be a skilled baker and have tried the Chocolate Covered Log Cookies, the Lemon Vanilla Bundt Cake, and the Crumb-Topped Cheesecake. The cookies were good but not outstanding (though the recipe has great potential for doctoring up), the cake turned out quite heavy (like a pound cake) and coarsely crumbed, and the cheesecake was ok but the topping was difficult to slice through since it came out really hard. None of these recipes was very impressive, and I can't say I am very enthused to continue trying the rest. The recipes look like they would be yummy, but so far, the taste seems otherwise.
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Summary: a reader from maine
Review: I had high hopes for this book, but was disappointed. The blueberry muffins were terrible.The recipe called for three cups of flour, which I thought seemed like quite alot. The muffins tasted bland, like cooked flour. Maybe it's a misprint. I also made the butterscotch cheesecake brownies. They were very sweet, overdone at the edge and underdone in the center. I consider myself a skilled baker, and the directions were clear. I was not happy with the results.
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