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Dessert For Two: Small Batch Cookies, Brownies, Pies, and Cakes
Dessert for Two takes well-loved desserts and scales them down to make only two servings!
Who doesn't love towering three-layer cakes with mounds of fluffy buttercream? Who can resist four dozen cookies fresh from the oven? Wouldn't you love to stick your spoon into a big bowl of banana pudding? But what about the leftovers? Dessert recipes typically serve eight to ten people. Finding the willpower to resist extra slices of cake can be difficult; the battle between leftover cookies and a healthy breakfast is over before it starts. Until now.
Dessert for Two takes well-loved desserts and scales them down to make only two servings. Cakes are baked in small pans and ramekins. Pies are baked in small pie pans or muffin cups. Cookie recipes are scaled down to make 1 dozen or fewer. Your favorite bars—brownies, blondies, and marshmallow–rice cereal treats—are baked in a loaf pan, which easily serves two when cut across the middle.
Newly married couples and empty-nesters will be particularly enthralled with this miniature dessert guide. To everyone who lives alone: now you can have your own personal-sized cake and eat it, too.
370 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 3, 2015
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251 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
January 30, 2018
It seems many other reviewers based their ratings on the table of contents and photos in this book rather than on what is important - the recipes and how they taste. I waited to review this book until I had tried numerous recipes. Flipping through the pages I would've rated it higher, but after actually trying some...only 2 stars.
The book starts with the usual information - what baking equipment you'll need for these small batch recipes and a few pages about baking technique (e.g., why you should make cupcakes with oil rather than other fats or why you should buy sweetened condensed milk in a squeeze bottle). Then we jump straight into the recipes - all desserts, of course.
I enjoy baking, but since it's just my husband and me, I don't want to make 2 dozen cookies (because we will eat them all). On the surface, this cookbook was perfect for me. I just made my sixth recipe from this book - by no means did I try most or even half the book - but after six mediocre results, I honestly don't want to try another.
Here are the recipes I've tried: chocolate chip cookies, four-ingredient peanut butter cookies, snickerdoodles, butter cookies, brownies for two and blondies for two (sans the pecans, because my husband doesn't care for them). Our impressions were the same - the recipes were bland and most had unappealing textures.
The first attempt were the chocolate chip cookies - we found them to be an odd texture (too cakey) and no real flavor other than the chocolate chips. They were okay. The peanut butter cookies were okay, but definitely not enough peanut flavor and too sweet. The butter cookies were, as my husband put it, "like cardboard" and the snickerdoodles were too cakey and flavorless (our dogs liked them, though). The brownies didn't have that chewy inside and crusty outside we like - and AGAIN - very little flavor and the blondies were bland bars with butterscotch chips. The pecans, had we used them, would not have saved the blondies.
I understand not every recipe will be a hit, as we all have different tastes. Personally, I don't want anything overly (sickeningly) sweet and we do not like 1-note flavors (i.e., only tasting the butterscotch chips in the blondies). Also, neither of us like cakey cookies. However, after half a dozen attempts, from someone who is a relatively experienced baker, I cannot recommend this cookbook nor will I waste my time, ingredients or resources on another attempt any time in the near future. I have the Kindle edition, so I'll keep it and maybe I'll have a stab at one of the pies or cobblers, but - more likely - I'll use The Complete Cooking For Two Cookbook from America's Test Kitchen instead.
The book starts with the usual information - what baking equipment you'll need for these small batch recipes and a few pages about baking technique (e.g., why you should make cupcakes with oil rather than other fats or why you should buy sweetened condensed milk in a squeeze bottle). Then we jump straight into the recipes - all desserts, of course.
I enjoy baking, but since it's just my husband and me, I don't want to make 2 dozen cookies (because we will eat them all). On the surface, this cookbook was perfect for me. I just made my sixth recipe from this book - by no means did I try most or even half the book - but after six mediocre results, I honestly don't want to try another.
Here are the recipes I've tried: chocolate chip cookies, four-ingredient peanut butter cookies, snickerdoodles, butter cookies, brownies for two and blondies for two (sans the pecans, because my husband doesn't care for them). Our impressions were the same - the recipes were bland and most had unappealing textures.
The first attempt were the chocolate chip cookies - we found them to be an odd texture (too cakey) and no real flavor other than the chocolate chips. They were okay. The peanut butter cookies were okay, but definitely not enough peanut flavor and too sweet. The butter cookies were, as my husband put it, "like cardboard" and the snickerdoodles were too cakey and flavorless (our dogs liked them, though). The brownies didn't have that chewy inside and crusty outside we like - and AGAIN - very little flavor and the blondies were bland bars with butterscotch chips. The pecans, had we used them, would not have saved the blondies.
I understand not every recipe will be a hit, as we all have different tastes. Personally, I don't want anything overly (sickeningly) sweet and we do not like 1-note flavors (i.e., only tasting the butterscotch chips in the blondies). Also, neither of us like cakey cookies. However, after half a dozen attempts, from someone who is a relatively experienced baker, I cannot recommend this cookbook nor will I waste my time, ingredients or resources on another attempt any time in the near future. I have the Kindle edition, so I'll keep it and maybe I'll have a stab at one of the pies or cobblers, but - more likely - I'll use The Complete Cooking For Two Cookbook from America's Test Kitchen instead.
June 19, 2019
I've checked this book out of the library SO many times that I decided to just get myself a used copy. I also refer to the author's website a fair amount. Toby and I need to limit sugar intake but we both have huge sweet teeth. This cookbook helps. We can have small batches of sweets that don't sit around for days tempting us. Usually we get one Saturday evening dessert from these recipes. We enjoy it and it's gone. Sure I could take my own recipes and cut them in fourths or fifths to get smaller amounts but I'd rarely go to that effort. This cookbook has wonderful recipes that take the calculation out of it.
February 7, 2016
I LOVE to bake. The problem is that I rarely bake because I'm left with an entire cake for my husband and me to try to finish. We eat way too much then end up trying to pawn the rest of it off. Then I found this book and I am in love. I have to buy this book. However, there are a couple of cons:
1) You do have to buy some equipment. It's okay and it makes sense if you think about it - of course you need to purchase small ramekins and mini pie pans, thrift stores are great for this! However, there are many recipes the average kitchen can make without purchasing anything. You can collect the rest of the items over time.
2) You will eat more dessert than you ever did before. My tastebuds say this is not a con, but my body is telling me it is. Because I can make small portions and I can whip them up so quickly, I have justified making dessert almost every single day. Hopefully you have more self control than me, but I'm really not complaining.
This book is such a game changer. I absolutely cannot recommend it enough. This might just be the best purchase I have ever made on Amazon. Happy baking!
1) You do have to buy some equipment. It's okay and it makes sense if you think about it - of course you need to purchase small ramekins and mini pie pans, thrift stores are great for this! However, there are many recipes the average kitchen can make without purchasing anything. You can collect the rest of the items over time.
2) You will eat more dessert than you ever did before. My tastebuds say this is not a con, but my body is telling me it is. Because I can make small portions and I can whip them up so quickly, I have justified making dessert almost every single day. Hopefully you have more self control than me, but I'm really not complaining.
This book is such a game changer. I absolutely cannot recommend it enough. This might just be the best purchase I have ever made on Amazon. Happy baking!
October 17, 2025
I definitely didn't expect to like this as much as I did. It's not just the scaled down portion sizes; she had some really delicious sounding flavors and treats. I also love that (like me) she has a section at the end with which recipes will use up leftover egg whites, egg yolks, or sweetened condensed milk.
April 6, 2015
The Coconut Macaroons were a huge hit and so easy to make. Gluten free and sweetened with honey.
March 8, 2017
Read the full review at Read the full review at An Inkling Reviews
My son is a ridiculously picky eater and putting together school lunches for him is very stressful. In order to keep my son from getting bored, I'll alternate his sweet and savory snacks during the week. Typically this means I make two desserts over the weekend, package up what I need for lunches, and then give the rest to coworkers on Monday. (This prevents my husband from snacking when he gets home and ruining his dinner and making me angry.) I first ran across Lane's blog when I found her 1 Dozen Cut-Out Sugar Cookies recipe on Pinterest (they're also in the book). This isn't my favorite sugar cookie recipe ever, but I love that it makes a small batch of tasty cookies, the dough doesn't go in and out of the fridge 50 times, I don't have loads of leftover icing, and it's easy. And that's the great thing about this cookbook, I can easily try out different desserts without using loads of ingredients and making huge messes. If the kids don't like it, I'm not stuck with 24 cupcakes or an entire cake they don't want.
What I liked
The recipes are delicious: There's a great variety of sweets and it's nice to try something new and be fairly confident that you'l like the results.
Fast & Easy: I love that I can put together a yummy treat in no time. Someone has a bad day, I can make them cupcakes. Want a little something sweet, have a brownie. Kid 2 really wanted to bake the other day, so we pulled out Dessert for Two and in 10 minutes had a dessert in the oven! I feel that my mom game is at June Cleaver levels!
Minimal cleanup: Best. Thing. Ever. You don't use a lot of dishes so you're not left with a mess. I am so much more willing to use this book because I can put everything together and wash the dishes in 20 minutes, maybe even less. In fact, I think this is a great cookbook for someone who doesn't have a dishwasher.
I don't use up all my baking supplies: I don't use up a bag of chocolate chips or 5 cups of flour every time I want to make something. At first it's really weird to only use 6 Tbs of flour, but these small batches really extend my ingredients. I feel better about experimenting because I'm not wasting loads of food.
List of equipment, The Baking Gospel, and dealing with baking "leftovers”: The equipment list and "Baking Gospel" are nice touches for beginning bakers. I really like that she provides a list of bakeware and none of it is ridiculous. Some of the smaller items, like the tiny spring from pan or the 6 inch cast iron skillet, can be found for a song at garage sales. (I just "borrowed" those from my dad.) The "Leftovers" page is a list of recipes that use up just an egg yolk, egg white, or a bit of sweetened condensed milk. In fact I made Lane's "Forgotten Cookies" because of a phone call from my dad.
Dad: I'm making a cheesecake -
Me: Yeah!
Dad: Not for you. But I have left over egg whites, do you want them?
Me: I could use one.
Dad: How about five?
Me: I really only need one, dad.
Dad: but I'm gonna have five.
Me: Really, just one.
I frequently get this type of call from him. He photocopied the recipes that use just egg whites so he doesn't waste them in the future. I just wish the list included what to do with the leftover can of pumpkin puree.
Rating: 4.5
We absolutely love Dessert for Two. We've made fast, easy, and yummy desserts without all of the hassle. My kids had fun helping, I looked like a rock star, and everyone enjoyed the results. I liked this so much that I will probably get my dad his own copy and, since he frequently cooks like he's serving dinner to a football team, I'm going to get him Lane's second cookbook, Comfort and Joy. This way he can try all kinds of new recipes without all of the mess or a jam packed fridge and freezer.
June 18, 2017
Great idea, but I find the recipes need "tweaking". For example, the jelly-roll... I googled an alternate method for 'rolling' next time, as the method provided cracked; Another example... the Banana Split Cheesecakes... try 100-105
grams of graham crackers and 2.5 (to 3?) TBSP of butter. Do not trust the author's grasp of the metric system... the "gram" measurements she provides do not necessarily equate the non-metric "equivalents" provided in the same recipes (especially when she's using "gram" measurements... a weight measure... to equivocate solid/liquid measures such as teaspoons or TBSP).
So far, I have found the finished products of the recipes to be good.
grams of graham crackers and 2.5 (to 3?) TBSP of butter. Do not trust the author's grasp of the metric system... the "gram" measurements she provides do not necessarily equate the non-metric "equivalents" provided in the same recipes (especially when she's using "gram" measurements... a weight measure... to equivocate solid/liquid measures such as teaspoons or TBSP).
So far, I have found the finished products of the recipes to be good.
December 6, 2016
Absolutely stunning hardback book with the Instragram style photographs that are so popular these days. (By Instagram, I mean soft tones and subdued colors) The book has an comprehensive index and clearly alot of thought went into the book's writing, recipes and design. I love cookbooks that are themselves beautiful and have plenty of tasty recipes to try. At $24.95, this book is not cheap but I got it anyway and I am looking forward to using it.
November 26, 2017
This is a great concept for some families/situations. Some recipes didn't seem worthwhile to me, but no cookbook will ever suit me 100%. I love the variety of cookie recipes and the concept of baking in mason jar lids. Those bits will come with me. I wish that there were a better sense of scale in the pictures, especially the cake recipes. These ended up looking like normal cakes in the photos, which doesn't do the concept justice at all!
June 10, 2021
I really wanted to love this book. I love to bake and liked the idea of not having tons of baked goods flying around the house. I tried 6 or 7 recipes and had 1 that I liked. The pea ut butter cookie was just strange. They did not turn out well. I felt like I was eating underbaked cookies. I think they only had 4 ingredients and it just didn't work. Most often I had issues with texture. Many things were just too dry. It was a beautiful cookbook, but I just couldn't get the recipes to work out for me.
February 8, 2018
Delightful recipes for the small household, no matter if small means it's just you or it's four room mates, a full size over or a toaster oven.
The best thing ever for when you want a couple cookies but don't want the leftover dough tempting you from the freezer.
The best thing ever for when you want a couple cookies but don't want the leftover dough tempting you from the freezer.
February 6, 2019
I enjoy the lush photos and the voice behind the stories. Looking forward to trying some of these recipes soon.
July 17, 2020
Interesting recipes - like the mason jar pie ideas. Like her suggestions on what recipes to use leftover egg whites or egg yolks...
January 11, 2021
Brownies for Two is a staple in our house. Enjoy!
March 2, 2021
Excellent photos and yummy looking recipes.
February 10, 2022
Well written, she did a good job of the math of making desserts smaller. I admit I haven't tried any of the recipes.
April 18, 2025
into the small batch idea of this book - a few recipes that caught my eye - especially the mississipi mud bars - but overall mostly liked it for the small recipe sizes rather than the inspiration
July 27, 2015
Sometimes you just want homemade, fresh-from-the-oven baked goods but don't want to be eating them for weeks on end. Dessert for Two is a lovely resource for anyone who questions why a cookie recipe needs to produce 42 cookies at a time. Filled with recipes for everything from cookies to mini-cakes, Dessert for Two has mouth-watering photos for each recipe, along with tips and ideas. In an age of obesity, recipes for smaller batches and cute sizes is a necessity. My reason for picking it up will also be a common one: my kids will all be off to college soon, so I'll be baking just for myself and my significant other.
June 28, 2015
Small batch baking? Yes. Yes yes YES. I'd been eyeing this book in my local bookshop for a good three months before a friend got it for me for my birthday. I've had one recipe from it so far -- the creamsicle cookies -- and they're damn good; the rest of the recipes look like they should be at the same level. This cookbook has a lot of recipes that are more on the "down-home" side, which is unsurprising given the author's Southern roots, and it's definitely giving the waistline a better way to enjoy comforting, tasty desserts.
December 11, 2016
This book is gorgeous. Like really really pretty. I love when there are photos of every recipe, and not just any photos, but beautiful amazing photos. I haven't actually yet made any recipes from this, but after checking it out from my public library I ordered my own copy because I see making many things from this. The recipes range from super simple to more complex but the scale looks just right for the two of us.
September 2, 2024
Lots of nice recipes when you only want to bake for one or a few people. All the classics, scaled down. Everything I've tried has turned out great.
My niece particularly loves the vanilla cupcakes, which I scaled down even further by baking in mini muffin tins. Add sprinkles to the batter for rainbow cake, and she wanted pink frosting. Honestly, I need to break down and buy a copy of this one, as I've checked it out from the library so many times.
My niece particularly loves the vanilla cupcakes, which I scaled down even further by baking in mini muffin tins. Add sprinkles to the batter for rainbow cake, and she wanted pink frosting. Honestly, I need to break down and buy a copy of this one, as I've checked it out from the library so many times.
December 26, 2015
I was disappointed to see pie crust that wasn't cooked all the way through in the photos of this book--no one likes a raw in the middle crust or a soggy bottom. This book seems to have been poorly edited. There were a few techniques for small baking and adapting larger recipes that I will take with me, but all in all I'm happy to have gotten this from the library instead of purchasing it.
May 3, 2016
I LOVED THIS!!!! I loved it so much I went to Amazon.com right away and bought it. I got it initially from my library on an inter library loan. There are pictures with every recipe, everything looks so yummy and the best part of it all is that they are small batches that make small portions. I can't wait to try this out.
June 27, 2015
This book is awesome for someone like me who wants to make a small batch of a dessert! Loved all the lovely pics of the sweets and the ever so easy to follow recipes had me wanting to bake as soon as I got home.
June 16, 2015
The recipes aren't that great. You're better off baking the normal size baked good and freezing the leftovers (brownies or cookies unbaked) or giving them away with extra love to friends and family. This book was a huge disappointment.
March 23, 2015
fantastic idea!
April 12, 2015
Finally, a book that scales desserts for two (or one empty nest individual). Good recipes for the most part. The meringue recipes give hope for small portions.
February 26, 2016
The four-ingredient peanut butter cookies and peanut butter swirl brownies alone make this worthwhile.
May 10, 2015
if you want to make small batches and have NO FREEZER or will power this is your book
October 13, 2015
I'll be buying this book for two reasons: it meets my needs in not needing large desserts around, and she has put together a nice compilation of ideas for you to create in miniature. A keeper.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews