Customer Reviews

More From Magnolia: Recipes from the World Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey's Home Kitchen

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I'd seen the first Magnolia cookbook in a friend's shelf for awhile now and even though she'd never bake anything from it (she never uses them, just collects them), I'd been wanting to do so for a long time so on a whim, I ordered both books. I just received them two days ago and already I have tried THREE different recipes from this one. Yes, it is a bit much but after the first one, my family begged me (they didn't have to, really) to keep on trying more stuff. Even though I haven't baked extensively from it yet, I'm an avid baker and have the feeling that most of these recipes will turn out amazingly well as they look and sound positively delicious. And well, millions of customers at the bakery can't be wrong, these really are good desserts!

The recipes are varied and all use fairly simple ingredients (no running around for exotic stuff at the last minute). The directions are very simple and almost any level baker will feel totally at ease following them. Add to this that she begins by giving a few really basic pointers (just in case you need a few more moments to familiarize yourself with the kitchen) and you got a very comfortable starting point to a great baking experience.

On the downside, I guess I could've used a few more pictures of the finished products but honestly, the book was good enough to more than earn my 5-star rating. These are simple, home-y, old-fashioned, mostly high-cal desserts that will probaly bring you fond memories of your favorite baker, be it your aunt, grandma or in my case, my mom. A tradition I definitely want to follow in this day of cutting time in favor of convenience. This really helps! An amazing book... a new favorite of mine and one I definitely plan to keep on using.

I absolutely love the Magnolia bakery's "Vanilla Vanilla" Cupcakes. I would travel from the Bronx to the Village in Manhattan just to buy some. Then I purchased the More From Magnolia cook book, hoping that I would be able to duplicate the cupcakes myself. I actually made them last night and to my delight, they taste just like the ones from the store. I followed the directions perfectly and came out with perfection. Creaming the butter for the recipe takes some elbow grease, but well worth it. If you love the cupcakes from Magnolia, but don't have the means to go to their store as frequently as you would like,get this cookbook! And if you follow the directions exactly, you will be able to satisfy your craving for the Magnolia cupcake.

I purchased this book based on a long-held love of Magnolia cupcakes. A friend took me there one lovely midnight several years ago and I was hooked. Being from Arkansas, no one understood my fascination until the pop culture references started accumulating and everyone wanted a piece of the Magnolia pie.

I did not purchase the first cookbook based on the criticisms of several disappointed Magnolia fans/friends. But, on a whim I purchased the second book. The cupcakes, of course, are fabulous. But it was the other desserts that ended up really wowing me. Torey is very creative, but not in such a heavy-handed way. All the recipes are classic with easy to find ingredients and simple preparation techniques.

So far I've made:
*Raspberry Cream Cheese Breakfast Buns (beyond words, fabulous)
*Pumpkin Walnut Cookies with Brown Butter Frosting (great for the fall, produced a very cakey, moist cookie--unique)
*Apricot Cream Cheese Struesel Bars (very good, but my least favorite so far)
*Brownies w/Caramel & Peanut Butter (Thumbs way up. My friends were on the floor after one bite. "Best ever.")
*Apple Tart w/Hazelnut Brown Sugar Crumble (Similar to a traditional Apple Crisp, but with an amazing crust and the hazelnuts provide great texture)
*Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Pecan Crust (So simple to make and a lovely combination of tastes)
*Peaches and Cream Pie with Sugar cookie crust (just as amazing as it sounds. The cookie crust could stand for a little improvement, but the filling was amazing.)
*Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (One of the best I've ever made)

I agree with previous reviewers that more photos would have been nice, but the delicious sweets more than make up for this single missing ingredient.

I've found that the reviews for this (and other) magnolia books seem to be very polarized. Professional cooks with years of experience getting terrible results and novice bakers getting fabulous results? If you're trying to decide like I was try making the cupcakes before buying the book. The vanilla cupcake recipe can be found on martha stewart's website, just search for magnolia. For me it turned out great, not quite as good as the bakery itself, but as close as I can expect from my junky oven. If you make them and like them, buy the book. If you make them and think they're terrible maybe the book is not for you...

This cookbook is even better than the first. The author is not a big fan of chocolate (she explains that herself) so don't buy it for chocolate recipes. She's a big fan of pecans and peanut butter. The recipes are very homey and delicious. If I'd never heard of Magnolia and received it as a gift, I'd be a happy woman. Hope you enjoy it, too.

I bought this book, like other reviewers, curious about the amazing sounding cupcakes made famous by TV appearances and word of mouth.

BUT- I've since made three recipes from this book that have been wildly dissapointing. The famous cupcakes, even though I followed the recipe exactly and consider myself an fairly experienced baker, were heavy and mouthy. I served them at a birthday and everyone was just suffering through them.
I tried again with another cupcake recipe last night-- the result was okay when they were warm and then dried up, resulting in dry, grainy revolting cakes. I told a friend about this, and he said, well of course they don't want to really share the famous recipe for cupcakes. So sad, but so true with this book.
I agree with the professional baker review that this book is dissapointing.

If you have had the good fortune of visiting the Magnolia Bakery and the better yet fortune of eating there, then this book brings the bakery home for you. Particularly helpful if like me there is a lot of sea between you and the hip challenging yummy place!
I love the cupcakes from here particularly because they speak to me of America and set my memories of great holidays in the US completely free! I love British cakes too but they are different in style, size and taste and on my doorstep, this book allows me to get a fix of Magnolia whenever I really have the hankering. If your haven't heard of the Bakery then this is a great book, if you have heard of the place it's a great book! It's Sister book is equally as good and the cupcakes are to die for! Fans of "Sex and the City", may remember Carrie and Miranda once sitting outside a Bakery eagerly scoffing butter iced yummies, well that was Magnolia, S and the C doing Magnolia in Manolos is praise indeed!

This cookbook is amazing, beyond the delicious cupcakes which really do come out just like the bakery, the other recipes are fabulous and easy to do. I highly recommend this wonderful addition to your cookbook collection.

I loved Magnolia's first book (absolutely the sweetest baking book ever) and this one is just as wonderful. Try the peach pie with sugar cookie crust and you will think you've gone to heaven!! As with the first book, the ingredients are often what you have on hand and the instructions are easy to follow, plus it does not take a whole afternoon to make something sweet and wonderful for your family. Just remember, you can never have too much sugar.

Based on the reputation of this bakery, I purchased the book. I made 2 recipes from this book so far and have been very disappointed. Looks like this one will gather dust on the shelf.