You don't need any special skills, fancy ingredients, or expert knowledge to make these delicious treats.
We know baking can be intimidating, and while there are plenty of challenging recipes out there, there are many more that anyone can make. The recipes in this collection demystify the world of baked goods, proving that even self-proclaimed non-bakers can pull off a delicious, homemade treat with panache.
You'll find a wide array of baked goods here—brownies, cakes, cookies, muffins, and more—what unites them all is their ease. There are no long ingredient lists and no hard-to-source items. You don't need special equipment, nor must you have prior knowledge of baking fundamentals. So pull that butter out of the fridge, fire up your oven, and get ready to have a little fun. Bake something sweet that is guaranteed to make you (and likely many others!) smile.
Related: Our Favorite One-Bowl Baking Recipes That Make Cleanup a Breeze
Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
With their familiar cross-hatch pattern and undeniable peanut butter flavor, these cookies have a strong nostalgia factor. They also happen to have a blissfully short ingredient list and a brief baking time, making them pretty much the perfect cookie.
Vanilla Pound Cake
Rich, buttery, dense pound cake is a joy, whether you serve it on its own with a cup of tea or spruce it up with whipped cream and berries. Either way, this simple recipe is a keeper. All you need to make it are butter, flour, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and salt.
Thomas's Fudgy Brownies
Fudgy brownies in just two steps? Sign us up. The batter comes together all in one bowl, and then you just pour it into a pan and bake. A combination of chopped bittersweet chocolate and unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder gives the brownies a beautifully nuanced flavor.
Easy Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Although you can certainly make carrot cake a two- or even three-layer affair, this simple version is just one layer and is no less delicious. You bake it in a 9-by-13-inch glass pan, cover the cooled cake in classic cream cheese frosting, and serve.
Chocolate-Cherry Granola Bars
Homemade granola bars sound impressive, but they're actually quite easy to make. This recipe, in particular, is a snap, as it calls for store-bought granola, which transforms beautifully into bars when you mix it with cereal, cherries, and chocolate chips. Honey, egg whites, and butter bind everything together.
The Best Banana Bread
This easy baking recipe is one of our all-time favorites. The banana bread is a cinch to make; the only tricky part is waiting until the bananas are overripe before you begin baking to ensure they impart the sweetest flavor. The other secret to this terrific quick bread is sour cream, which helps keep it moist and dense.
Snickerdoodles
This classic American cookie is easy to make, and you may not even have to take a trip to the store first, as it relies on many common ingredients. The best part is that no decorating skills are required. Just roll each ball of cookie dough in a mix of cinnamon and sugar.
Peach-Pie Crumble Bars
To make the crust for these bars, you simply press most of a butter-sugar-flour mixture into an 8-by-8-inch cake pan. Then, scatter the rest on top of the fruit for a deliciously crumbly finish.
Apple-Oatmeal Muffins
These tasty little treats are great to have around for whenever you need a sweet pick-me-up. You will need two bowls to make them (one for dry ingredients, one for wet), but that's about as complicated as the prep gets. You can even leave the apple skins on if you don't feel like peeling them.
Cappuccino Brownies
Instant espresso powder infuses these chocolatey treats with rich coffee flavor. Along with the powerful powder, cinnamon and nutmeg lend warm and toasty notes. The fact that the batter comes together all in one saucepan is just the proverbial icing on the cake.
Lemon Scones
Lemony and rich, these scones don't require any special skills or equipment. Just be sure your butter is very cold (frozen, even!), which will ensure the scones have that signature flaky texture.
Apple Galette
Don't be scared off by making a pie crust from scratch—this one comes together in just 10 minutes. And unlike some pies, a galette is meant to look rustic and imperfect.
Cinnamon Coffee Cake
If you've never made coffee cake before, this is an excellent intro recipe. Here's why: it's just a cake with a cinnamon crumb topping (no streusel or other mix-ins woven into the batter), and you can combine all the ingredients by hand—there's no need to use a mixer.
Pecan Sandies Cookies
Befitting their name, sandies are soft and crumbly. That's due largely to the omission of leavener and eggs—and a boon to bakers who like short ingredient lists. This one is only six items long!
Classic Cornbread
Try this easy cornbread at breakfast with butter and honey—eggs, grits, and sausage optional! Or serve it as a side for chili or pretty much any soup or stew. The simple recipe takes just 10 minutes to prepare, and all you need are two mixing bowls.
Read the original article on Martha Stewart.
