Title:	Sweetness: Southern Recipes to Celebrate the Warmth, the Love, and the Blessings of a Full Life
	Author:	Christy Jordan
	Published:	2016, Workman Publishing
	No. of Pages:	304
	Cover Price:	$16.95 Paperback, $15.95 Kindle

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What a delightful book! Blogger and author, Christy Jordan’s book Sweetness: Southern Recipes to Celebrate the Warmth, the Love, and the Blessings of a Full Life, is loaded with not only mouthwatering recipes, but also positive, charming vignettes on life in general that will inspire readers, whether they are cooking or not.

Jordan hosts the excellent blog, Southern Plate, where she celebrates life and living, as well as eating southern food. Several of her recipes from the website are included in this cookbook.

Most of the recipes are easy to make, and the instructions are easy to follow. I did, however, use my mixer on some when she suggested that they be stirred by hand; I don’t have time for that. So far, I’ve made three versions of the Honey Nut Bars, our favorite being made with salted peanuts. The possibilities for these easy shortbread bars are endless, varying different nuts, and substituting other flavors of chips for the butterscotch chips. Another favorite, which blew a week’s worth of Weight Watchers points, is the Feather-Light Chocolate Biscuits. Yum! My husband and children devoured Mama Reed’s Caramel Apple Cake; it’s especially good with ice cream. Other recipes in the queue are Lemon Custard Poke Cake, Water Pie, and Easy Fudge Meltaways. To be honest, there isn’t even one recipe in the book that I don’t want to make.

Although there are nice pictures, there isn’t a picture of each recipe. Most cooks, especially beginners, appreciate knowing what the finished product is supposed to look like, so that is possibly the only drawback to the book. The book is well-organized, has a good index and table of contents, and it is fun to read.

If you or your significant others have a sweet tooth, this is a must-have cookbook that will be used often and your finished dishes will draw raves.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying an advanced review copy of this cookbook

This book may be purchased at Amazon:
Sweetness: Southern Recipes to Celebrate the Warmth, the Love, and the Blessings of a Full Life, Paperback
Sweetness: Southern Recipes to Celebrate the Warmth, the Love, and the Blessings of a Full Life, Kindle