Shortcut baking can be easy and sophisticated for novices, experts, and everyone in between More than 800 quick and delicious recipes from the winner of The Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdownincluding the $25,000 winning recipe Beginning with a box of cake mix, brownie mix, refrigerated cookie doughor opting for an equally easy no-bake cookieis not only easier than pie, but also leads to sweet success time and time again. Home bakers have always taken advantage of newly available shortcuts, whether in the form of pre-shelled and chopped nuts, shredded coconut, measured sticks of butter, or the uniform bits of chocolate we know so well as "chips." Making quick, easy, and delicious desserts using store-bought mixes and other shortcuts is not about abandoning traditional cookie and dessert recipes, but about celebrating a host of new options. Each recipe in this collection has been streamlined for easy, everyday bakingif you can wield a wooden spoon, you have all the skills necessary to start turning out any of these mouth-watering treats. Go from Humble Beginnings to Scrumptious Endings With These Clever Shortcuts: A roll of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough becomes Decadent Chocolate-Dipped Toffee Chippers Start with applesauce and a package of devil's food cake mix to make Devil's Food Whoopies with Cocoa Fluff Filling With quick-cooking oats, a few minutes, and no oven, you can make German Chocolate Cookies Start with fresh pears and a package of vanilla cake mix to make Fresh Pear Cookies with Browned Butter Icing A package of spice cake mix becomes Chai Spice Cookies With miniature candy bars and a roll of refrigerated sugar cookie dough, you can make Candy Bar Cookie Pops Using a package of brownie mix you can wow your guests with Bananas Foster Chocolate Upside Down Cake And over 800 othersincluding the Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdown $25,000-winning cookie recipe