The Cookies & Cups Cookbook: 125+ sweet & savory recipes reminding you to Always Eat Dessert First

I think there are only a handful of recipes I won’t try simply because I don’t like bananas or blueberries.

First, I was NOT given a free copy to write a review, I actually purchased the book. I'm an avid cookbook collector and baker.I have made several recipes from the book and will probably give it away to a beginner baker.The author stated up front how much she loves salt in her desserts, and the constant use of salted butter is proof. Use unsalted butter, always. Its the only way to control the amount of salt in your food, and food that is too salty simply doesn't taste good. Case in point, Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake. I made it as directed and it was far too salty for our liking. Also, too much butter in the Caramel Apple Topping; cut it by half so it isn't so greasy. Calling it a Caramel Apple Topping is a stretch - it's butter and brown sugar, boiled. No cream? No vanilla? The cake crumb was a little dense, and greasy around the edges due to the amount of butter in the topping.My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies were good; I used unsalted butter, though. I love mini chips in it - l nice gooey bits of chocolate in every bite.The S'mores Cookies were also good, although the graham cracker crumbs got lost and weren't evident for that true s'mores taste. I would use very coarsely chopped graham crackers and add them with the marshmallow bits and chocolate at the end, they will break up a bit more while mixing. Tip - add the marshmallows on top after 8 minutes in the oven or they melt too much and spread way out, and are not at all pretty, then bake an additional 4 minutes.I tried several buttercreams, to include the Perfect Buttercream, Brownie Batter Buttercream, and Creamy Chocolate Frosting. All had lovely flavor, were smooth and buttery, and not over the top sweet like some butter teams are. Again, I used unsalted butter. While they tasted very nice, they will not hold up well for piping as they are not stiff enough, regardless of how they look in the pictures. You will have to experiment a bit, and I'd start by cutting back on the butter - it's easier to soften a frosting than to stiffen one up.Ok, honestly, how many ways can we make Rice Krispy Treats??Adding Fruity Pebbles to anything is gross - artificial everything mixed with sugar.I made the Confetti Cake, but in cupcake form, and it was very good. Nice crumb, moist, held together nicely. Again, unsalted butter.The Salty Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies were good. Mine weren't as salty because I used unsalted butter, and they were perfect. I love the depth of flavor you get from browned butter - it's subtle, a little nutty. I would wrap the dough and chill for at least 2 hours though as they spread too much.My niece made the Hot Fudge Sundae Cake and although the kids liked it, it was far too sweet for me. The picture in the book has too much going on. She skipped the mini cones and maraschino cherries, thank goodness!The use of the phrase "salted caramel" in many titles is a stretch. I think there was perhaps one recipe that actually was salted caramel. But it's popular right now and sounds good in a title. Using the phrase "salted, caramel" would be far more appropriate.The Buffalo Ranch Slow Cooker Snacks did not last long at a BBQ! I did use unsalted butter, and only 1 TBS tabasco. Definitely a keeper!Only one word for the Garlic Bread Pasta - DRY. Even my self-proclaimed "pastavore" son didn't like it. However, I would recommend it, minus the pasta and half the butter, unsalted, as a delicious topping for casseroles or home baked mac and cheese.The Bacon and Pea Pasta. First, I never leave eggs raw in a dish. Besides a potential health risk, it's unappealing to me. So I doubled the sauce and baked it - turned out great! Kiddo loved it!I made quite a few dishes, and stuck to the recipes as written, except for using unsalted butter. Hit and miss. I will say her ingredients are easily found, quite frequently you probably already have them in your pantry, which is always a bonus. Would I buy it again, even as a gift? Probably not.

I purchased this cookbook back in 2019 after finding one of Shelly Jaronsky's chocolate chip cookie recipes online. Her cookbook and website have become my go to place for tried and true recipes, both sweet and savory. We are a family of 8 and I rarely find a recipe everyone loves, but this cookbook holds most of them.

CATAGORIES: So You Think You Can Bake?, Eat Cake For Breakfast, Cookies, Brownies and Bars, Cake, Frosting, Pie, Party Snacks, Pizza and Pasta, Salads and Sammies, Family FavoritesI'm pretty disappointed in this book. I've made five things and there are only about six more I'd actually make and there's no telling how they'd turn out. Of the things I've made only two were what I'd call really great, the sheet cake and oatmeal cookies. The great thing about the oatmeal cookies is that you can add whatever you want to the batter if you'd like, like chocolate chips, chopped dried fruit or nuts. There's an attractive color photo for each and every recipe, which is very nice, and I love the cover. There's maybe eight recipes that have silly childish sprinkles or cereal decorating the top or stirred into the batter, which is very unappealing to me as an adult.**I received this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review._____________________________​THINGS I'VE MADE:COOKIES AND CREAM COOKIES- I made half the recipe and got 28 cookies. I omitted the chopped Oreo's and white chocolate chips. I added chopped lightly toasted slivered almonds and 1/4c. mini semisweet chocolate chips. My dough balls didn't spread much at all during baking and were very thick. When they came out of the oven I flattened them with the back of a measuring cup. I flattened the rest of the dough balls before baking. These are bland-tasting, not sweet enough, and I'd never make them again. Dense too.EPIC CHOCOLATE PUDDING PIE- This pie couldn't have been easier to make. You bring ingredients to a boil on the stove, pour into prebaked pie shell and refrigerate for hours. I used a store-bought Keebler® shortbread pie crust and thawed frozen whipped topping instead of homemade whipped cream (I don't like it). I made half the recipe. The pie is a little bitter and not quite sweet enough. I think it would still be bitter with less chocolate so next time I make it I'm going to use bittersweet chocolate in place of unsweetened to see if that helps.CRISPY CHEWY OATMEAL COOKIES- These turned out great but needed a little more salt. I used unsalted butter when the recipe called for salted so I needed to add a little more salt than the recipe called for. I did but not enough. I omitted the coconut and white chocolate chips and added mini semisweet chocolate chips and finely chopped lightly toasted pecans. I'd definitely make these again. I made half and got 24 cookies. My first batch, pictured, were overbaked by about one minute and they got harder as they sat in an air-tight container.TACO PASTA- This was pretty good and required just one deep skillet to cook the pasta in then the meat mixture. It uses ground beef, taco mix, chili powder, cumin, corn, crushed tomatoes, salsa, shredded cheese.I made half the recipe but used even less pasta than called for. I used about 1 1/2 c. dry (5oz) instead of 8oz. I omitted the black beans. The salsa almost ruined this as the flavors didn't mesh with the other seasonings. I'll definitely make this again, minus the salsa.TEXAS SHEET CAKE- I made half of this chocolate cake in a 9"x1.5" round pan*. The cake is made with equal parts butter and shortening, melted. It uses a small amount of unsweetened cocoa powder. It's dense and very good. I added extra salt because I used unsalted butter, not salted like the recipe states. I made my own vanilla frosting for this, not the chocolate one in the recipe.*An 8"x2" round or square pan holds the same amount.

I didn't make too many recipes from this book, but have been a follower of the Cookies & Cups blog for a long time. I've made plenty of recipes from the blog with no disappointments, so it's only right I get the cookbook, too! I've made maybe around 6 recipes so far, about half sweet and half savory. The savory is decent, but most of the dinner options didn't make me too excited to try. I do appreciate that there are more than just sweet recipes, but the sweet ones are plentiful in this book. The recipes do remind me of maybe something you'd take to a bake sale, as they are simple with great results.Each recipe has a beautiful picture, and clear instructions. I'd suggest this book if you're looking for recipes that don't have outlandish ingredients, and will be easy to whip up. I'd also check out her blog for more great recipes!

I've been following cookies and cups blog for a long time ,and was waiting for her book ,her recipes are easy to follow ,the pictures are lovely ,the sweet part of the book was my fave.. Didn't like the mains part in the book ,although she have some in her blog ,my opinion the book could have been better without it , a really sweet book ,lots of great recipes 125 part 1 is cakes,cookies,brownies and bars,frosting,pieand pastry snacks part 2 is pizza and pasta,salads and Sammie's and family fave . cookies,brownies and bars are top ! If you like sally meckenny from Sally's baking addiction u will love Shelly and the cookies and cups book .

Love this book! Everything we've made from it comes out perfect first time. It's all in cups and find that tricky as prefer to weigh things but over all love it and can't recommend it enough.

I'm an American living in the U.K. so the measurements are not a problem for me. Also note, "powdered sugar" or "icing sugar" in the U.K. and cream cheese are slightly different beasts from the US versions so recipes involving those ingredients will turn out slightly different here. Overall I love the cookbook so much though that I've bought two as gifts for fellow American friends. The Macaroni and Cheese recipe is the best!

I love this book, easy to read, and full of great pictures and recipes. I hope she brings out another book very soon

Love this book it's so laid back compared to a regular cookbook and it's so easy to follow with delicious results!