- Recipes
- Desserts
Kelli Foster
Kelli FosterSenior Contributing Food Editor
Kelli is a Senior Contributing Food Editor for Kitchn. She's a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and author of the cookbooks, Plant-Based Buddha Bowls, The Probiotic Kitchen, Buddha Bowls, and Everyday Freekeh Meals. She lives in New Jersey.
updated May 19, 2023
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If you’ve never considered yourself much of a baker, there’s a good chance that’s changed over the past month. Many of us have a whole lot more time at home and some of us are filling that extra time by turning to the comfort of carby baked goods, like banana bread and sour dough. While baking maybe felt intimidating before, there’s now a sense of purpose and accomplishment that goes along with baking a batch of biscuits, or a pan of brownies. We get it, and we want to help you along in your baking journey.
We’ve rounded up 30 of our absolute easiest recipes for first-time bakers — and for anyone who wants to whip up a quick and easy treat on a weeknight. They’re all the proof you need that it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to pull off impossibly-delicious baked goods that make you go back for seconds. And thirds.
These Four Categories of Recipes Are What We All Want Right Now
Sure, we’re all looking for easy treats to make right now. But easy is a broad term that can mean different things to different people. Here’s what we think makes these recipes super-easy:
- Recipes with a short ingredient list: Sometimes a handful of pantry ingredients is all you really need.
- Recipes that use just one bowl: Any time a recipe can be made with a single bowl, it’s an indicator it’s going to be no sweat.
- Recipes that start with a smart shortcut: We love a good shortcut, like using a box of frozen puff pastry for a fast and fancy dessert, or turning a box of cake or brownie mix into super-quick cookies.
- Recipes that rely on quick-mixing methods: Quick breads, muffins, biscuits, and cookies basically come together by mixing together dry ingredients followed by wet ingredients.
Baked Goods with a Truly Short Ingredient List
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2-Ingredient Nutella Brownies
Fudgy, chewy brownies made with just Nutella and eggs? If I hadn't tried it myself, I wouldn't believe me either.
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The World's Easiest Cookies
You just need four ingredients and a little elbow grease to make macaron-flavored cookies that are crisp on the edges and chewy in the center.
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Flourless Chocolate Cake
A truly flourless chocolate cake that manages to be light and rich at the same time. It's genuinely gluten-free, fabulously foolproof, and all chocolate.
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Nutella Puffs
These warm, golden Nutella-stuffed puffs are an easy treat for after dinner, or a sweet indulgence for weekend brunch.
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The Easiest Chocolate Pudding Cakes
The beauty of this decadent dessert is that it’s quick and easy enough to pull off any night of the week.
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2-Ingredient Yogurt Drop Biscuits
Self-rising flour and Greek yogurt are the secret to the easiest biscuits you’ll ever make.
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Baked Goods That Only Ask You to Use One Bowl
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One-Bowl Yogurt and Honey Olive Oil Cake
This humble cake is moist, tender, and perfumed with just a touch of fresh thyme and lemon zest.
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Chocolate Wacky Cake
Even though there’s no eggs or dairy, this simple cake bakes up moist and tender, thanks to a combination of baking soda and vinegar. The texture just might remind you of the classic comfort of boxed cake mix in the best possible way.
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Upside-Down Banana Cake
This one-bowl treat will help you channel your love for banana bread into an everyday snack cake.
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One-Bowl Bundt Cake with Chocolate Fudge Glaze
What makes this cake — beyond its ease and beautiful Bundt shape — is the layer of rich chocolate glaze.
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Easiest Brownies Ever
Some might call these basic, no-bowl-required brownies desperate, but we call them delicious.
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Vanilla Sheet Cake with Sprinkles
This vanilla sheet cake only requires one bowl for mixing and one pan for making, making it extra easy.
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Blueberry Muffins
A single bowl keeps these classic muffins easy, while lemon zest mixed into the batter and a crunchy sugar topping make them stand out.
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One-Bowl Pantry Blondies
Everything you love about chocolate chip cookies mashed up with the soft, chewy satisfaction of a brownie.
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Baked Goods with Extra-Smart Short Cuts
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3-Ingredient Slow Cooker Apple Pie
Slow cooker apple pie dump cake is everything you love about warm apple filling with a gooey, cake-like topping, and it comes together with 3 ingredients.
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Easy 5-Ingredient Mini Pumpkin Pies
Ready to bake the cutest mini pumpkin pies for your Thanksgiving table? Here's how to do it!
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Lemon Cookies
Sunny, sweet-tart lemon cookies made with just 4 ingredients.
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Gooey Butter Cookies
An easy, playful take on the St. Louis-style gooey butter cake.
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Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
They're soft, tender, and just a little bit chewy, with a delicate exterior that's coated with a thick layer of powdered sugar.
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Funfetti Cookies
A box of cake mix and a few pantry staples are all you need to make festive Funfetti cookies.
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Easy Freezer-to-Oven Fruit Crumble
This easy dessert can be made with any kind of frozen fruit, and is topped with a buttery brown sugar-oat crumble.
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Free-Form Apple Tart
A box of thawed puff pastry takes the place of pie dough, plus you don’t even have to peel the apples.
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Pie Crust Cookie Chunks
A pack of refrigerated pie dough is the secret to the simplest, flakiest, most buttery cookies.
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Baked Goods That Use Quick-Mixing Methods
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Banana Muffins
These one-bowl banana muffins are made entirely with pantry staples, and will be ready to devour in just 30 minutes.
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Who doesn’t love muffins that are totally doable on a weeknight?! These are very good with raisins, or 1/2 cup of finely chopped apples mixed in.
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Banana Bread
Here is a very basic and delicious recipe for delicious banana bread that takes all of 10 minutes to mix together. No mixer needed!
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Cream Biscuits
Since they’re made just with cream and no butter, these cream biscuits have a super soft and almost airy texture.
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Fast and Fancy Lemon Biscuits
With a touch of sunny citrus and coarse sugar, these pillowy lemon biscuits skew slightly sweet, feel instantly fancy, and come together in a single bowl.
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Peanut Butter Cookies
Peanut butter,peanut butter chips, andchopped peanuts make these simple cookies extra delicious.
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Chocolate Chip Cookies
A timeless classic that’s totally irresistible.
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baked goods
Baking
Dessert
easy
Recipe Roundup
sweets
