Baked Goods

They take just 10 minutes to prep.

It's hard to eat just one.

Homemade vanilla extract takes just two ingredients — vanilla beans and alcohol (like vodka) — and you can be as straightforward or creative as you like. Though it does take a bit of patience as you wait for the alcohol to extract the flavor from the beans, the delicious results are well worth it. It’s super easy to make and you only need two ingredients! Homemade vanilla extract is the perfect gift for friends and family who love to bake.

So simple and delicious.

Ever had a classic French palmier? A flaky turnover filled with fruit? A bite of puff pastry filled with cranberry sauce and brie at a cocktail party? All these delicious treats start right here, with this dough. Yes, you can buy puff pastry at the store, but if you’re in the mood for a real baking project, you can make it yourself at home. All you need is a pastry scraper and a French rolling pin, and simple ingredients like flour, water, and butter.

It is hard to overstate how simple yet stunning pineapple upside-down cake is. This cake has retro charm, but it’s a classic whose appeal hasn’t waned since it first appeared on the home baking scene. It starts with a rich butter cake that, once removed from the pan, reveals a design of caramelized pineapple rings studded with maraschino cherries. Each bite is little treasure chest of flavor — tender cake, mingled with the sweet and slightly tangy notes of pineapple and cherry.

Everyone will ask you for the recipe.

Perfect with a cup of Joe.

More feta = more happiness.

Meet your new favorite sweet.

It's perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or really anytime.

Looks fancy, but it's so easy to make.

So light, so citrusy.

It’s perfect for breakfast or dessert.

Enjoy with a glass of good wine.

Fruit cobbler meets banana pudding.

Homemade takes the cake.

Serve a la mode.

Chewy, nutty, chocolaty perfection.

Nothing could be better.

It's impossible to eat just one.

A must for any chocolate-lover.

The key to a really good pizza is, of course, the crust. I make pizza at home at least once a week, so you can be sure this recipe comes to you after years of very meticulous kitchen testing! (Totally new to making pizza? Check out our absolute beginner’s guide to pizza making, too!)Also, the fact that this dough comes together in just a few minutes and doesn’t need time to rise means that you can have pizza for dinner any night of the week.

King cakes are made around the world as part of the festival of the Epiphany, but in New Orleans, king cakes have truly taken on a life of their own. From the start of Carnival on January 6 through Mardi Gras at the beginning of February, you’ll find one of these sweet, color-splashed king cakes just about everywhere. Did you get “the baby”? That means you bring the next cake — and we have just the cake you’ll want to bring.

This one’s for all the chocolate-lovers out there.

Cooking eggplant is quite easy and works in a million different ways: grilled eggplant, crispy baked eggplant, stir-fried eggplant, and stuffed eggplant, to name a few. (You just want to know what mistakes to avoid when cooking it!) But whenever fall rolls around I find myself consumed by an abiding drive to roast things, and oven roasted eggplant is one of the best and easiest things to do. Globe eggplant: You’ll need 2 medium eggplants or 1 large eggplant.

I wonder if Taylor Swift loves them too!

A bowl of chocolate mousse is a decadent treat, but a layered chocolate mousse cake with a cookie crust is next-level. There are many varieties of chocolate mousse cake. Some have chocolate cake crusts rather than the cookie crust; others are chocolate cake layered with a mousse frosting. But we think our double-layered chocolate mousse cake is one of the best. This mousse cake is set in the refrigerator rather than baked and is served cold.

And go back for seconds!

There are plenty of days when we’re fired up and eager to begin a baking project. Unfortunately, those moments don’t always line up with when our chocolate dessert cravings hit. More often than not, we start wanting a warm, fudgy homemade brownie right as we sit down to relax in front of the television, perfectly content to not move for the rest of the night. Unfortunately, we can’t just snap our fingers and have a brownie appear.

The ice cream isn’t really optional.

I promise you.

Almost everything you need is in your pantry.

Baked chicken breasts don’t have to be dry and boring. They can, in fact, be moist, tender, and full of flavor — something you actually look forward to having for dinner. The secret? The parchment paper method. By covering the chicken with a piece of parchment paper, the chicken bastes in its own juices so they never dry out. It’s basically a cross between braising and roasting and is sure to become one of your new favorite ways to cook chicken.

Oh, and they're ready in under 30 minutes.

Flaky biscuits, creamy gravy, can’t lose.

And they’re a breeze to make.

It's even great for beginners.

These are beyond worth the effort.

It's perfectly retro.

Over my years of writing for The Kitchn, I’ve shared almost all of my favorite holiday cookies, from my mother’s famous peppermint cream-filled butter cookies (followed by the much less finicky peppermint cream squares the following year) to rugelach and gingerbread cookies. I’ve saved one of my most beloved cookies for last. These candy cane cookies are the best.

It's our go-to brunch dish for a reason.

It was only a few years back when my mom first decided to bake stollen for Christmas morning. Traditionally, she baked her signature coffee cake after stockings, but with a house filled with more holiday guests than usual, she decided to expand the morning menu.I can still remember her kneading the dough on the 23rd, and when I later walked past the countertop, I encountered the most supple, glistening dome of dough I had ever seen.

You'll make it on repeat.

Get baking!

Dinner party plans stressing you out? Puff pastry cheese straws are here for you. These crispy, flaky, cheesy twists require just two ingredients and a few minutes of your time, and yet they deliver big — real big — out on the buffet table. Make puff pastry cheese straws for your next holiday party or serve them with cocktails for happy hour at home.Our cheese straws are made with puff pastry, which is cut into strips and then twisted into “straws.

Get set for your cookie party.

No mixer required.

It's perfect for beginners.

They’re a classic for a reason.

It calls for pantry staples.

There’s nothing better than freshly baked cookies on Christmas. But do you need an occasion to bake them? Of course you don’t! A lazy Saturday or a rainy weeknight is absolutely reason enough. After all, it doesn’t get any more satisfying than biting into a warm cookie fresh from the oven — and we could all use a little extra cozy right now. Everyone has their own cookie preferences, be it chocolate chip or shortbread.

These are totally worth turning on the oven right now.

A buttery classic.

Consider them the ultimate comfort cookie.

It's all about the icing on the cake.

So buttery. So garlicky.