We’ve all been there at some point: standing in the kitchen, covered in an avalanche of flour and eggs and wondering how you baked your cake with salt instead of sugar. Whether it’s a three-tiered cake or fancy French macarons, the precise world of baking can be overwhelming and often challenging for the average bakers of the world.
As an inexperienced baker myself, I can relate all too well: I don’t sift my flour, I don’t soften my butter, I don’t even remember to grease the pan half of the time. Luckily, in the age of Pinterest and the Internet, there is a recipe for everyone. Some of these recipes can be made with even with the most basic skills (hello, stirring).
Below are three easy recipes, all of which I tested out to check that they are as easy as they claim to be. In addition to attaching the recipe, I have also included some tips that I found helpful while making these treats.
1. Chocolate Mint Cookies
Baked following this recipe, these chocolate mint cookies are incredibly decadent, yet also incredibly simple. Similar to a mint brownie in taste and texture, these cookies would be perfect for a holiday party or for those who want to make sharing brownies a little easier. Because of the moisture content in these cookies, they stayed soft for days after baking, making them a good option if you need to bake something a few days ahead of time.
Ingredients:
Chocolate cake mix, vanilla, butter, an egg, cream cheese, mint Oreos, and mint flavored chocolate chips (Hershey’s, Andes, etc.)
Tips:
1. Stir your batter with a wooden spoon: The first obstacle came with I was trying to mix the cookie batter, which has a texture similar to that of clay (delicious, I know). I tried mixing with a hand mixer, a rubber spatula, and even my hands before landing on a wooden spoon.
2. Trust the baking time on the recipe: The recipe calls to bake these for 9-10 minutes, and this is truly all they need. These cookies are naturally very moist and soft, so don’t panic, you did not underbake them.
2. Black and White Cookies
After writing my previous article about popular Jewish desserts, I became nostalgic for the black and white cookies my family used to buy from a bakery near our house. Flavored with a hint of lemon and topped with chocolate and vanilla icing, the cookies made following this recipe tasted just like the cookies I remember from my childhood.
Ingredients:
Flour, sugar, an egg, baking powder, vanilla extract, lemon extract, cocoa powder, butter, salt, and powdered sugar
Tips:
1. Use the vanilla carefully: When making the icing, omit or limit the amount of vanilla you use, otherwise your pearly white icing will turn brown. I found that with all of the powdered sugar, the vanilla wasn’t even necessary.
2. Eat these cookies within a few days: Although the cookie itself will stay fresh for several days, the cocoa powder and powdered sugar in the icings begin to separate from the milk as time wears on, leaving your cookies looking like they’ve been dropped in powder instead of drizzled with icing.
3. A spoon is your friend: When drizzling the icing on, I found that taking a spoonful and slowly allowing it to pour on was the best way to decorate these cookies. Placing them on a cooling rack with a pan underneath to catch the excess icing was also helpful.
3. Pistachio Cranberry Bark
A perfect balance of sweet, salty, and rich, this bark is so easy it doesn’t even require a recipe. To make this, simply pour melted chocolate on a pan that has been lined with a later of wax paper. Sprinkle on the remaining ingredients to your liking while the chocolate is still hot, then place in the fridge to solidify. Once cooled, break into smaller bite-sized pieces.
Ingredients:
Dark chocolate, white chocolate, dried cranberries, pistachios, and salt
Tips:
1. The white chocolate is drizzled on for decoration, so you need far less of it than the dark chocolate: If you really love white chocolate, try switching up the ratio by using white chocolate as the base with a dark chocolate drizzle on top.
2. Really go crazy with the toppings: even if it looks like you have sprinkled on enough pistachios and cranberries, extra toppings further balances the dark chocolate underneath. I recommend covering almost all of the dark chocolate to ensure that it is well balanced.
Hopefully, these easy treats have reminded you that even the most basic baking skills can still create something delicious to share. From one average baker to another, good luck and happy baking!