Sweet & Simple: Dessert for Two

by Christina Lane

How does she do it? Christina Lane, everyone’s favorite “for two” cookbook author has once again taken her favorite desserts and scaled them down to size. Here are nearly 100 delicious new recipes drawn from her personal favorites, complete with her signature gorgeous photography. Perfect for new couples, empty-nesters, and anyone who’s ever polished off far too much of a regular-size dessert, these cakes, cookies, pies, bars, and more are sure to please. Among the mouthwatering selections, you’ll find:

Gooey Butter Cake Cookies
Three-ingredient Flourless Chocolate Cake
Salted Butterscotch Tart
Peppermint Brownies
Greek Yogurt Cheesecake Ramekins
Baked Rice Pudding with Caramel
Lane uses pans in creative ways (a loaf pan, for example, is perfect for making two big brownies; muffin tins make great mini pies), but also takes advantage of smaller pans that are now widely available. Her familiar, friendly voice invites readers to whip up a little dessert and enjoy. She’s even included some light and skinny options for her fans. Sweet Simple is sure to be another instant classic!

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published February 7, 2017

Reviews

[Rose]

Sweet and Simple is an excellent small batch baking book. Simply ingredients allows the reader to whip up a quick dessert very easily. Christina conveys her recipes in easy steps and the result? Delicious!

[Erin]

I found this cookbook at the library, and as a single lady - well, smaller portions rock, so I don't either A) make too much and have to farm it out or B) go all pig-like and eat ALL THE THINGS that I choose to bake. Anyway! The concept worked for me. And so far, every recipe I've tried has turned out pretty freaking awesome. I'm going to have to buy my own copy of this. I especially have enjoyed the No-Bake Cheesecake; that stuff is freaking amazing. I made it, then licked one of the beaters, then sort of blanked out in this happy fugue-state of gastronomical bliss. Good stuff!

[Miss Clark]

Truth be told I rarely bake anything in as small a batch as this book provides for but I love the idea that since Lane took the time to pare these recipes down to 2-12 servings I could!

Top picks:

Gooey Butter Cake Cookies -12
Perfect Sugar Cookies - 10
Pecan Pie Carmelitas
One-Bowl Lemon Cupcakes + Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Mini Raspberry Pies
Cherry Cobbler
Cheesecake Dip for Two*
Chai Pudding + Gingersnap Crumble
Berry-Misu
Very Vanilla Cake - 6 in. cake
Crispy Pumpkin Cake
Chocolate Truffle Cake
Small Carrot Cake + Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

[Natasha Marie]

I bought this book based on the cover and loved the idea of small batch dessert recipes, especially for “at home date nights” with my husband. There are beautiful photos for each recipe, and I’m gleaning lots of inspiration. Most recipes seem fairly simple, though I’ve only attempted two so far. I made the pecan bars, and they were so good! And the pecan filling called for honey, not corn syrup! I also made the coconut and fruit chocolate bark. It was really good, too. Looking forward to trying more of the recipes out.

[Lisa]

I do have her other cookbook, and I think that this is a wonderful idea. Small batches of sweets to keep things fresh, and to keep away the possibility of eating more than you should. LOL I would totally buy this book. There do need to be more pictures in the book and some of the recipes do require many steps and or ingredients, but this is so worth it. I loved this, for sure worth the look see.

[SilverReader]

Households of reduced occupants rejoice! It isn't a bad thing to make a recipe and have stuff to freeze, but it is nice to now have this book that eliminates that need. I have tried a few of the recipes already and they do not disappoint. The portion sizes do run to the larger size so I have found that 6 cookies might end up being 9 or 10 with my sizing. Not exactly a bad thing.

[Nermisa]

I highly enjoyed this, I love trying new things but don’t love having to bake a huge portion of something that might get thrown out.
I got this book at the library but did end up purchasing it to have it.

[Heather D-G]

No rating as I haven’t made enough recipes. However, what I have made has been excellent, even with my substitutions to make everything gluten-free and vegan. If you are looking for smaller recipes that don’t make a huge amount, this book is a fine choice. Lots of tempting choices.

[Muriel]

I love the idea of creating smaller amounts of sweets. The orange chocolate chip cookies, zucchini cake, and cookie bars all look so delicious and will tempt me.

[Juli Anna]

I was really excited by this concept, but I didn't love the recipes.

[Mckinley]

Small bakes. Will try some.

[Catie]

I love Christina Lane's cookbooks. If you just want a few brownies or cookies, or a very small (6-inch) birthday cake, a pie for one, etc. this is your book. Simple, good recipes. I'm a home baker, and these stand up to the ones that make large batches that I learned from my mom, but don't often make because I don't want an entire sheet cake in my freezer.

[Anisah Karim]

The step by step book is perfect. I came across it in a bookstore. Since I think I have collected enough cook books that it ended up dusty on my bookshelf and boxes after trying a few recipes so with Christina's book I just look it up in my local library and request it.
The books has a mix of recipes that are simple in methods and ingredients and a more elaborate one ( by that I mean using electric mixer, more than 5 main ingredients and more than 5 steps).
I also like how Christina arrange the chapters by bakeware since I have a few bakeware that I hardly use.