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Desserts in Jars Weekend with Shaina! (Cookbook Winners Announced!)

Desserts in Jars

I am so, so excited for my sweet friend Shaina. Her brand new, super adorable cookbook just came out yesterday! It’s Desserts in Jars: 50 Sweet Treats that Shine. Fifty recipes, all completely dedicated to desserts, and all in cute little jars. I’m in love.

Desserts in JarsMaking Pull-Apart Cinnamon Breads, page 36.

Back in October, when Shaina was in the midst of baking multiple desserts a day to photograph for her book, I was lucky enough to convince her to come stay with me for a weekend so I could “help.” :) And by that, you know I totally mean “taste test all those fabulous desserts!!” :) We had such a fun, much-too-short weekend goofing off in the kitchen, staying up way too late gabbing, and indulging in some of the most delicious desserts I’ve ever tasted. All in all, we ended up baking up a grand total of 11 desserts all in two short days! :)

Desserts in Jars
After baking, we’d head to the scrapbook room and pick out props and backgrounds for the photo shoot.

Desserts in Jars
Then style it and take it outside for a photo! :)

Desserts in Jars
This beauty is Shaina’s Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Pots de Creme (page 77). So incredibly good!

Desserts in Jars
Another one we did were these Tres Leches Cakes. So cute! I keep looking at the photo in the book (page 20) and thinking, That’s my backyard! That’s my spoon! I’ve made scrapbook pages with that paper! Lol :)

Desserts in Jars
Morning lighting setup in my kitchen :)

Desserts in Jars
And this. This was my favorite. This was life changing.

Desserts in Jars
Peanut Butter and Jelly Parfaits, page 88. Make this first. So dangerously delicious!!

Desserts in Jars
You know I saved the best for last! :) How cute are these Macarons in a Jar?? Page 63.

Desserts in Jars
I am absolutely in love with french macarons and this was my first time making them. It was such a breeze with Shaina’s foolproof recipe! They are so cute and fun to make. So many fun flavor combinations to choose from! I seriously want to travel around and have macaron making parties now. Who’s in?? :)

Desserts in Jars
A secret note ;)

Desserts in Jars Giveaway!

I’m so thrilled to be able to offer a giveaway for five (5) signed copies of Shaina’s wonderful new book.

To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. What’s your favorite dessert?! :)

Contest ends Saturday, June 30 at 8 pm CST. One entry per person, please. Winners will be chosen by Random.org and notified by email.

 

Time’s Up!

The winners of a signed copy of Shaina’s new book, Desserts in Jars: 50 Sweet Treats that Shine are:

#174 Cindy
#465 Nolwenn
#568 Marie
#608 Autumn
#670 Jamie

Congrats girls!! You are going to love it!! :)

 

Have a great weekend, friends!! xoxo

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998 Responses
  1. Becky

    My grandmother’s homemade black raspberry pie made with raspberries she would grow herself. She died at age 98 and didn’t leave a recipe because she never used one to make them so no one can make one like she did. I miss her and her pies so bad.

  2. Jeanne

    I just love the idea of Desserts in Jars!!!! I want that book! Looks like it was a lot of hard work but worth it!

  3. katie

    Oh my goodness, asking me to pick a favorite dessert is a question that simply cannot be answered. Apple pie. Any kind of pie really. Cookies. Cupcakes. Banana bread. Brownies. Give them all to me!

  4. Bobbi~

    Grasshopper Pie!! My second favorite in the summer would be a peach crumble and third would be strawberry shortcake with chocolate chips….can you tell I love sweets(a little too much:)!

  5. Jennie

    Can you tell me what reflector you used to take these gorgeous photos? I’m in the market for one and was wondering what you use/like. Thanks!

  6. Darcie (My Modern Country)

    I missed the giveaway deadline, but I still wanted to comment. I love this post and will definitely be getting the cookbook. Everything is SO CUTE, and looks delicious. Really enjoyed seeing the “behind the scenes” photos :)

  7. Melinda @ Mom on the Make

    Homemade Rocky Road Brownies!! The Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Pots de Creme from this cookbook look amazing. :)

  8. michellelove

    SO hard to choose just one, but if I’m honest, I’ll always be true to the good ol’ basic – brownies.

  9. Cathy

    Right now, cupcakes. Just about any kind, as long as it’s piled high with frosting. LOL

    The book looks great, and like another poster said, I too enjoyed seeing your photo “setup”.

  10. Nicolette Shanklin

    I cannot eat sugar, so I love carb smart ice cream in diet A&W root beer. the best sugar free root beer floats. I would love to have a copy of the book, so I could try and make some sugar free versions. :)

  11. Karen B

    Favorite dessert? I just made a blackberry cobbler and it was by far the best fruit cobbler. What a fun time you had with your friend!

  12. Kristina

    I recently tried macarons for the first time and they are my new favorite! My first one was pistachio flavor from a little bakery in NYC. So so good. Would love to learn to make them.

  13. Lib M.

    My favorite dessert would probably be something with coconut; although, I love ice cream, too! My husband said he likes to think that I like all desserts equally, which certainly isn’t true, because I hate raspberries. They taste like dirt to me.

  14. Lauren

    So many to choose from…..but I’d have to vote for a really good chocolate cake (real cake, not flourless nonsense) with chocolate icing.

  15. Laurel

    Just stumbled across your blog…love it!!! I’d have to say coconut cream pie, but lately anything with blackberries! I’m dying to try those macarons, can’t believe I haven’t had one yet.

  16. Debi Griffin

    I want a tour of your KITCHEN! Love the pics. Thanks for sharing with us. I can’t wait to make some of these yummy desserts!

  17. Melissa

    I am SO excited to find you through PW.
    I love your style.
    My favorite dessert… right now it’s Skinny Cow. I’m trying to loose 10 lbs before my brother-in-laws wedding in three weeks. On a normal day it’s chocolate chip cookies. Huge weekness….
    Safe travels!
    Blessings from Oregon.

  18. Christa M

    Since we’re in the middle of a heat wave, I’m craving fresh mascarpone with yummy seasonal fruits. But, macaron will always be my first love.

  19. Krissy

    ONE favorite dessert….is that even POSSIBLE?!??! I think I have like 200! ha! ha! If I HAD to pick just one, it would most definitely be apple crisp, fresh from the oven, over ice cold straight-from-the-freezer french vanilla ice cream…don’t forget the caramel drizzle….oooh lala!!!! lol…ok, great…now, I think I HAVE to bake tomorrow! =D

  20. Jane Chow

    Wow!!! Too many to choose from. My favorite dessert changes daily from where I am to what I am doing. I have to say I was drooling over your pictures…. And now am craving tres leches from Cafe Rio. Best tres leches in the world!!!

  21. Marsha

    I love any dessert with chocolate….but then, I just love dessert!
    Thanks for the chance to win. I’m in for the macaroon party.

  22. Brooke

    My Nanny’s (grandmother, who passed away 2 years ago) homemade lemon meringue pie. No one could make meringue like her ! (Still dont know what her secret for the meringue not collapsing was !)

  23. Brittany

    These recipes look great! They would be perfect for my sister-in-law’s shower and wedding. She’s decorating with Mason jars!

  24. Dennie

    to see those favorite desserts in a jar makes me drool =)~ , and oh how i love those colorful macaroons <3 then i could share with my friends, hmm mmm mmM~

  25. Stephanie Lee

    As of now, the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie N’ Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar recipe from this website! So good! :)

  26. Lisa

    My favorite dessert is cupcakes!! Especially little mini ones that a local place sells because they are just the right ratio or cake to frosting and the perfect size. I hope I win!!

  27. Tanda

    My favorite dessert is anything someone else has made! I would however, love to get this book so I can try to make some at home…they are beautiful!

  28. Madison C.

    My favorite dessert is probably carrot cake. Because… it’s healthy? With vegetables, or something?

    Yeah, sticking with that. :)

    Best,
    Madison

  29. Karen Adams

    My favorite dessert? As Drew Barrymore said in the movie Ever After, “I could no more choose a favorite star in the heavens than I could choose a favorite dessert”. Well, something like that. Dessert is my favorite meal of the day so I have it with breakfast, lunch and dinner… (Smile)

  30. Laura

    Just stumble across your blog. Love it! Seriously. And this cook book looks amazing. Anyways on to my favorite dessert. Vanilla bean ice cream with fresh cut strawberries and a little of Mrs. Richardson’s hot fudge. Delicious

  31. Pattyb

    My favorite dessert is white chocolate bread pudding with fresh raspberries. If Heaven has a taste, this is IT! Sooooo good and easy too! Thanks for the chance to win! Sounds like a great and fun book!

  32. Bobbi

    I would have to say the macaroons! I love to colors and have tried making them before and still need more practice! Plus thier gluten free (!) and my roommate can eat them too since she is allergic to wheat! What a great giveaway!

  33. Sabrina Radican

    My favorite dessert tres leche. My daughter in law makes it for me when I’m feeling blue and it makes me feel better and besides it is so yummy!!

  34. Catheryne

    I absolutely love your blog! Anything cookie dough related is my favourite dessert but a good lemon square is pretty amazing too!

  35. DixieG

    it looks like y’all had soooooo much fun!!! my favorite dessert (at the moment) is my wonderfully yummy 4 layer coconut cake….french silk chocolate pie comes in at a very close second:)

  36. Cynthia

    I can’t get enough wedding cake…the classic white, almond flavored, buttercream. I’ve crashed wedding for a piece! And now my kids bring me a slice when they’re invited!

  37. Julie

    My favorite is Blueberry Dumplings….my aunt made them every summer for special occasions and I LOVED them. Finally about 15 years ago I asked her to show me how to make them so I could continue the tradition. Mine are good but will never compare to hers.

  38. Jessie H

    Since it’s 108 outside, I’m going to have to go with ice cream! Ask me in the winter and it will probably be warm cobbler (with ice cream ;))

  39. Stephanie Sasek

    Just one dessert??? hmmm, this is the hardest thing I have dealt with all day.
    If I were to have to choose one for lets say my birthday, I would choose my mother-in-law’s recipe for Red Velvet cake WITH the cooked white frosting. Taste is just so authentic to the name and love the icing with it.

  40. Reagan

    I am a southern girl-and for us, with a peach farm just a few miles away-its my one cup cobbler for every summer event from july through late august! I just can’t get enough!

  41. Joyce

    I love anything chocolatey ….My mom used to make a sweet little dessert for us years ago. It was angel food cake with a chocolate/whipped cream mixture poured over the torn up cake. SO good! It would be awesome to try making MINI jars of it!

  42. KellyW

    Oh man, that is an impossible thing to answer – almost as hard as which kid do I love best ;)

    Anything with chocolate in it is my favorite dessert!!

  43. Alison H.

    Red Velvet cake! Love it – and I’m probably going to buy this cute little book even if I don’t win, how’s that for a win-win!?!?!

  44. Ana

    I’ve been a chocoholic my entire life, but something happened when I hit my late 20s…. my favorite is now creme brulee!

  45. AliciaC

    I can’t pick one favorite, but if I had to I would pick cherry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting over it. This bok looks super cute!

  46. Lizz

    I love chocolate of all kinds… but my “favorite” dessert changes with the times.. currently it’s ice cream sandwiches!

  47. Tabitha A.

    I love me some mud pie with a homemade cookie crust! May I just say I loved seeing how you set up your photo’s so fun!

  48. Chatelaine

    anything with goey and crunchy chocolate. i really have not 1 i would specifically go to – i should change that LOL

    great pictures, this book looks awesome!

  49. Jolene

    I love ALL desserts but since I was raised on a dairy farm, I would have to say my favorite is ice cream, in any form:)

  50. Sophia

    I am such a sucker for Macarons, so I would absolutely try the Macarons in a Jar first! BTW, count me in if you ever come to Virginia to have a Macaron making party. :)

  51. Tanya

    Favorite Dessert? Hmm… I guess I will have to go with cake. Pretty much any type of cake will do. I have a weakness for dessert and bread, so when you combine the two, there is no chance I will say no.

  52. Martha

    Beautiful book! My absolute favorite dessert is chocolate mousse – Beautiful layered in a jar with creme and maybe some raspberry creme. Y*U*M

  53. misjody

    Anything with chocolate! I love the pictures of Shaina and you styling the pictures. You make it look…possible! Thank you for the opportunities you are always sharing with your readers.

  54. Jacque

    fresh fruit sundae!!!!
    p.s. I’m a professional photographer and love, love, love what you did with your scrapbook paper for the book!

  55. Amanda @ Once Upon a Recipe

    Choosing a favorite dessert is nearly impossible, but I will say Banana Cream Pie – with a thick graham cracker crust and lots of whipped cream!

  56. Lizzy

    How fun that you were able to participate in the baking, designing and shooting of the book. It looks beautiful. Hard to decide which is my favorite but I definitely want to learn how to make macarons. Thanks for offering the giveaway.

  57. MaryAnn

    I am so glad that I found your site. I really would like to win the book, “Desserts in a Jar.” It would be fun to recreate them.

  58. Sue

    Wow! What great looking desserts and lovely pictures. I enjoyed seeing how you all set up the photographs. Anyway, I think my favorite dessert would have to be peanut butter pie! Lots of peanut butter and chocolate for this family!

  59. Kimberly

    My favorite dessert is anything chocolate! These desserts in a jar would be so much fun to make for work parties or to take on a picnic.

  60. Anna N

    OMG, is there a dessert that is NOT a favorite? I have a horrible sweet tooth and at any given time, any dessert is my favorite. :o)

  61. Sara Horton

    I *heart* desserts. If I had to choose just one (on a deserted island type situation) it would probably be cheesecake … but it would be hard to give up carrot cake, my mother’s strawberry cake, flan, and dark chocolate ;-)

    The cookbook looks beautiful!

  62. Gena@BakeAllTheThings!

    I have SO many favorite desserts. At the moment it’s a toss-up between friend cheesecake, salted caramel gelato, and my own blackberry almond pound cake!

  63. Chelle Chapman

    Key Lime Pie is my all time FAVE!!! I have never made it. Many times I have made Lemon Merengue Pie & I also love that B-U-T……………..Key Lime still has a sweet spot, (get it? LOL) in my heart!!! I would LOVE this cookbook. The first “In a Jar” recipe I ever made was , ‘Sand Art Brownies’. They were such a huge hit I made them a lot over the next 10 years. Of course I made plenty of alterations after the first batch. But they were still a hit. LOVE the concept of ,”Dessert in a Jar’. YUM!!!

  64. Diane

    My favorite dessert? The one in my hand! I love anything chocolate, and combine that with a smooth texture… oh yes, I think it might be chocolate ice cream! Hope I win!

  65. Francesca Watson

    Creme brûlée – totally love it, especially if it has an extra-thick crust on top. Yum!

    And I am totally up for a macaron-making weekend!!

  66. Gayle

    I think any kind of dessert using coconut as a major ingredient is what I love. Macaroons, Coconut Cream Pie, Coconut Chocolate Balls, etc. Bring on the coconut!

  67. Jennika

    Shoot! my favorite dessert? as long as it has cream cheese in it! I LOVE a lot of them!!! black tie mousse cake comes to mind! delish!

  68. jahree

    That dark chocolate hazelnut looks fabulous. my favorite dessert is anything chocolate! Thanks so much for the chance to win this cookbook. Sounds fantastic!!!

  69. Meghan

    honestly, to me there’s nothing like a warm chocolate chip cookie underneath some ice cream and fudge sauce! simple perfection.

  70. MaryB

    Oh, wow, that is a hard question! Sour Cream Lemon Pie? Creme Brulee? Ice Cream? I guess I’ll go with the pie for now. :) The book looks fantastic.

  71. Holly

    My favorite dessert is blueberry cheesecake with shortbread walnut crust. What a fun shoot with Shaina. Amanda, I wish you lived near me to help with my upcoming photography project.

  72. Beth

    The book is so beautiful! The photos look wonderful. This will make a great gift item for my friends – can’t wait to give it to them!! I can’t wait to try the recipes too! Good luck on your new recipe book!

  73. Cynthia

    Decisions, decisions – coconut cake or pie; pecan pie, homemade peach ice cream (with fresh peach topping) ala Durbin’s; fried pie, oatmeal raisin cookies

  74. Emily

    White cake with almond flavoring topped with buttercream icing. I could eat that stuff all.day.long. What a fun book and giveaway!

  75. Grace

    How can you ask what my favorite is? Soooo many. 1) Good old-fashion pound cake made with real butter topped with whipped cream. 2) Honey Pecan Pie 3) Toaster S’mores 4) Panna Cotta 5) Creme Brulee. Gosh, coconut cream pie?

  76. Lisa

    My absolute favourite dessert has got to be cherry cheesecake… that’s what I have when it’s my birthday, instead of cake!

  77. PatriciaD

    So hard to say which is my favorite, it can quite often have to do with what I’m cooking at that particular moment but one of my all time favorites is cheesecake.

  78. Donna C

    My favorite desert changes quite often, but right now it’s your gooey s’mores cookies!!! Love them so much… Have made them 2xs this week! Yum!!!

  79. Arilla

    A cream horn, a cannoli, anything made with white chocolate, pumpkin pie, key-lime cake, bread pudding with rum sauce…any and or all of the above!

  80. HollyB

    Decisions, decisions!!! It’s a toss up between chocolate chip cookies, brownies with walnuts and cheesecake with cherries!!!!!

  81. Linda S.

    My favorite is “Raspberry Chew Bars” handed down from my wonderful mother-in-law years ago. Crust on the bottom, yummy raspberry in the middle and a meringue on top.

  82. Pamela A

    I have to pick just one?!? But there are soooo many…OK – Cheesecake, but I would rather eat ice cream for dinner.

  83. Peka

    Green Tea Mochi is my all time favorite but “Shaina’s Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Pots de Creme” look absolutely delicious!

  84. Carrie

    My favorite dessert is a double layer chocolate cake, with raspberry jam in between the two chocolate layers. The whole thing covered in chocolate frosting and topped with fresh raspberries! Yummy! I can’t wait to try the Peanut Butter and Jelly Parfait though!
    :) Carrie

  85. Sallie

    My all-time favorite dessert was my grandmother’s homemade angel food cake with fresh whipped cream and strawberries. She had a magical way of getting her cakes to be so insanely high and fluffy! Unfortunately, at 98-years-old, she doesn’t remember the recipe and I was too foolish as a kid to pay attention!

  86. tiffany h.

    Hmmm…this is tough. Favorite dessert? I’m a simple girl and love homemade chocolate chip cookies. I also love a simple chocolate cake.

  87. Sara S

    Ooo, those Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Pots de Creme look amazing!

    My favorite dessert at the moment is a big, gooey cinnamon roll!

  88. Ashley

    I am not picky about my desserts at all, but if I had to choose, I would say chocolate cake with white icing. Yum.
    Thanks for the great giveaway!

  89. Diane Eck

    Wow!! It’s hard to pick just one!! I would have to say a really good homemade chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice-cream!! Or maybe….!!! :o)

  90. anna

    macarons! they are the BEST! i’m afraid to try them again, made them once and they were an awful blob. you say they are easy, i would love your book to see if you are right.