My experiences with baking is minimal at best, but basing it on what I used prior ...
924630
My experiences with baking is minimal at best, but basing it on what I used prior to this pastry board (rolled up teflon coated board and my quartz countertop), it makes a big difference!  The size is excellent (it basically negated the need to replacing the countertop on my kitchen island with marble) and the heft (though some reviewers found it daunting) ensures that with proper care, this will last awhile.  Initially I used it to make pie crust and, not only did it turn out well, but not having to powder the top with flour so often was outstanding and less frustrating.  I started venturing towards making home made pasta and that was a breeze, making bread was also simple.  Overall, this is an excellent product for the price and if you worry about storage due to its size, I have it on a vertical stand taking up little space on my kitchen counter.
2169182
I guess its helpful but I only used it 1-2 times. I found that the cookies would stick to the mat. I'm back to parchment, it's just easier.
4280808
Like others, I found that there seemed to be something missing in some of the recipes.  The chocolate sauce/frosting recipe, for instance, definitely worked as a sauce, but not as the creamy frosting depicted on the cover (even after refrigerated for 6 hours, as directed).

For the cost and effort, the results were unimpressive.  Even when followed to the T, recipes yielded decent (but by no means impressive) baked goods.  I had read that these cupcakes were rated "best cupcake" this past year in NYC.  I find this very hard to believe, as there are soooo many amazing cupcake places in NYC.  Perhaps the cupcakes at the shop are infinitely better than the ones you make at home from the recipes provided.

If you are vegan, the baked goods are decent - but they still don't compare to the real thing.  Ingredients are exorbitantly expensive, and recipes are finicky - don't substitute anything!
978658
It seemed that this cookbook was pretty basic, or too many ingedients. I like a cookbook that gives me variety and new experiences without too much work.
1590080
Do yourself a favor and just use a cookie sheet (sheet pan w/ no sides) or turn a cookie sheet w/ sides over and use instead
4369448
the baking time is not consistent depending on what you are cooking. but my cakes looked brilliant. go to the website to get better info than the pamphlet
663969
When I was a child I always wanted an Easy Bake Oven but was always told something like " no, you'll burn the house down." So when this one was offered to me I was just as excited as I would have been as a child.

When it arrive I wasn't too excited by the look of the oven but that didn't deter me from getting right down to baking. I found that what you are doing isn't really baking unless you call mixing a packet of powder and some water together baking.

The cookies took a very long time to make and didn't taste that great.

Overall, kinda a let down.
1664234
I have had a microwave oven for twenty-one years, and in that entire time I have never once cooked a single thing in it. I've heated peas, popped popcorn, boiled water, and rewarmed leftovers, but that's the limit of my interactions with the microwave oven. I got this book primarily for my adolescent son, who possesses both his own microwave and mini-fridge, and a somewhat inexplicable desire to create a completely self-sufficient dwelling in my basement. I am hoping he grows out of that before he's 30...

Anyway, the recipes in this book are pretty simple, but definitely a step up from instant oatmeal and bowl noodles hot. The biggest weakness, at least from my son's perspective and almost certainly from the perspective of any traveler or college student hoping to use the microwave in their room to whip up a date-impressing gourmet meal, is that many of the recipes require some ingredients to be cooked on a traditional stovetop. Bummer.
4063769
I give this appliance a 3 star ratingpartially because of the work involved in making mini pies. That's not the fault of the maker itself,but the whole concept of making mini pies.if you get one, be prepared to work your butt off. It's much easier just to make a large pie and cut it into pieces if you decide to wrap and freeze the pies.

so you decide you want to make mini pies. 1 fault with this item, is that the instruction book leaves a lot to be desired. Be prepared to experiment a lotin order to make acceptable mini pie. Example - there are no instructions on how to get the pie out of the appliance. You will probably destroy a decent looking pie by just trying to get them out.secondly, in order to get the top crust to brown properly, you must make sure that your pies are full enough that the top crust touches the top of the appliance. Your instruction book does not tell you this. Another negative, is that all four of the pie inserts do not heat evenly.just getting the bottom crust into the insertproperly can be a challenge.with a lot of time, effort,and experimentation, you will eventually be able to make decent and acceptable mini pies.  there are many other tips and tricks that need to be learned in order to master this appliance, none of which are addressed in the instruction book.if you're retired like me and have plenty of spare time, you might want to try this appliance. I, on the other hand, can find better things to do with my time.
4689097
Writing a recipe isn't as easy as some might like to believe. Everything must be thought out and explained from a perspective of a person who has never set foot in the kitchen.

With that said, I found several glaring omissions in the three recipes I chose to make. In the Raisin Snack Cake a footnote states "if using a loaf pan bake for 50-55 minutes". Being a veteran baker, I employ many sized pans...nowhere was mentioned what size pan to use for the loaf option in the instructions. Also, within the same text was "steeping the raisins in boiling water"....it does not however, tell the reader to use the included water in the recipe....I had to read the ingredient list several times to make certain that there was not enough liquid otherwise and make sure I wasn't supposed to drain the water.

Small oversights such as this found me making educated guesses in my attempts to make a palatable food item.

The introductory passages explaining why the special diets exist was informative but I gave up after 3 less than appealing concoctions.
1754782
Not much substance, but some good recipes to try.
3105753
It's true, you don't need a recipe for "take processed, packaged cake mix and add soda, preferably fluorescent, then nuke", repeated over 15 pages.  It's also easy, so perhaps I shouldn't be complaining.  I had rather hoped for interesting variants on the standard microwave mug cake for a rainy Sunday afternoon - in itself not too complex with egg/flour/oil.  I feel  the amount I paid for this "information" was too much.  I'm also a bit suspicious of the hearty 5* reviews, which led me to purchase.
1656746
I tried the peanut butter cookie with toffee pieces.  I immediately noticed that the recipe only called for 1/2 cup flour.  This of course had to be an error.  I contacted the author  but got no response.  I adjusted the amount, but would probably adjust again if I made them a second time.
I am more disappointed in the lack of response from the author than from the error itself.
I have also made the snickerdoodles and they were fair, but not outstanding.
1877876
I thought this would be good... but now that I have it, I don't like it.... I would rather just cook on parchment directly on my baking stone so I get a flat bottom...  I don't like the curved bottoms on my baguettes.  But that is my preference...  Nothing wrong with the pan.
2990305
The effect was minimal, I needed to use at least 5 packets together to make anything resembling the desired result.
639055
The recipes included do seem to be quick, as advertised, and do not rely completely on mixes and pre-packaged items to get there (some recipes do, many do not). Most include ingredients I wouldn't have around and wouldn't use the leftovers if I bought them just for this recipe. Or things I just don't particularly care for.

I will admit that two of my pet peeves are recipes that are so simple they are only useful for the most novice "cooks", or "fast" because they simply combine pre-packaged pre-prepared ingredients, and while *some* of these recipes fall into either category, it's not the vast majority.

The directions are clearly written and straightforward, the ingredients clearly listed.

Nutritional information included may be fairly complete, or may only show calories and fat, for instance.

Overall, three stars because of all the recipes included, I did not find a single one that interested me enough to try, but that isn't because they are inherently "bad" recipes. The chances that any other reader would find at least a few they wanted to try? I would say pretty good. And if so, they should be easy and quick.
985883
About half of these recipes worked right.  I'm not surprised by that, but I'm also not all that impressed