Flour

If there ever was a perfect time to treat yourself to a dark chocolate-studded muffin for breakfast, it’s while sour cherries are making their much-awaited appearance at the farmers market. Sour cherry season is fleeting — blink and you just might miss it.

This impressive recipe is totally foolproof.

Transform your favorite sandwich into a savory muffin and suddenly your lunch routine is instantly more exciting.

It's so much easier (and tastier!) than traditional cheesecake.

It’s hard to dispute the fact that banana muffins are irresistible all on their own. They hardly need a helping hand, but you should give them one anyway. When you stir a handful of chocolate chips into the batter and top each muffin with lots of buttery, cinnamon-spiced crumb topping, you’ll pull a pan of banana crumb muffins from the oven that rival anything you’d buy at the bakery.

My very first job when I was in high school was at a bakery down the street from where I grew up. In the midst of boxing up cakes, slicing bread, and slinging donuts on Saturday mornings, I developed a deep love affair with crumb cake that opened my eyes to a world way beyond Entenmann’s. The buttery, plush dough, the fat crumbs, and powdered sugar were pure bliss. This is a crumb cake meets muffin combo that’s directly inspired by the classic bakery breakfast cake.

Does “breakfast for dinner” mean eggs or pancakes for you? I recently had a dinner revelation about breakfast baked goods: Muffins are just as delicious at 6 p.m. as they are at 7 a.m. If you’re feeling doubtful about Monday-night dinner muffins, let me tell you about these beauties. They are full of sweet potato, nutty Parmesan cheese, and fresh herbs. They’re crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside and perfect with a swipe of butter.

Modeled after the classic German Black Forest layer cake, these chocolate cupcakes deliver a spongy cake stuffed with a sweet cherry filling, a light and fluffy whipped cream topping, and the requisite shower of shaved chocolate. If you were looking for a new take on chocolate cupcakes, this is it. Like layer cakes, these filled cupcakes are best made over the course of two days.

Rich chocolate cake seems erroneously reserved for special occasions only, and instead we make cookies or brownies for everyday celebrations. Chocolate sheet cake will revolutionize your celebration cakes — decadent enough to rival layered birthday cakes, yet simple and easy enough for celebrating that B+ in algebra. This chocolate sheet cake and its four-ingredient frosting come together in about 30 minutes, so the only hard part is waiting for the cake to cool.

When Ella Helfrich of Houston, Texas, won second prize in the Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest in 1966 with her Tunnel of Fudge cake, she made more than just a winning cake — she created both a 1960s phenomenon and a memory that lingers so strongly for a generation of cake bakers and eaters that even though the ingredients she used are long off the market, many bakers to this day tackle her curious recipe. I recently joined those bakers.

Funfetti is fun, but you know what is even more fun? One-bowl confetti cupcakes, one of the many recipes that show off the versatility of our one-bowl vanilla cake recipe. Need a quick cupcake for your school bake sale or a cute dessert to take to book club? These funfetti cupcakes fit the bill and don’t require any special ingredients, skills, or cleanup. Funfetti recipes are ubiquitous on the web these days, but it was first introduced as a cake mix craze in the 1980s from Pillsbury.

This is definitely the sweetest way to celebrate.

Nothing says celebration like cocktails and cupcakes, except when you combine the two. These French 75 cupcakes, based on the classic Champagne cocktail, are light and sweet with a distinctly boozy punch. Frosted with a Champagne buttercream and soaked in a lemon, gin, and sparkling wine syrup, these cupcakes are sweeter than a typical cocktail, but boast more booze than a typical boozy cupcake.

When you plunge your spoon through the delicate, crackly crust of this single-serve dessert, the lush, oozy center is likely to remind you of a molten lava cake. But this chocolate-filled ramekin is something entirely different. The center is filled with warm, velvety pudding that has just the right balance of sweet chocolate and eggy richness, without overwhelming.

If Valentine’s Day had a mascot, it would be the chocolate lava cake. Luxurious and bittersweet, this dessert is Valentine’s Day in a mouthful. And while I enjoy a romantic night out, there is no love lost for me in avoiding overcrowded dining rooms packed like the most elegantly lit tin can of sardines on February 14. Instead, I will spend Cupid’s finest hour at home spooning a strikingly decadent molten chocolate cake out of the slow cooker.

The fact that Ina Garten managed to create a triple chocolate loaf cake that’s wonderfully light and tender — better suited for afternoon tea or coffee than as a decadent dessert — is a true gift. With its crackly top and walnut- and chocolate-studded crumb, it satisfies my daily hankering for a chocolate treat without leaving me with a stomachache (if I don’t go back for a second slice, that is).

You're gonna need a glass of milk with this one.

We’re calling this Bundt cake our triple threat. With a moist pumpkin base, a sweet brown sugar streusel, and a generous pour of salted caramel sauce, it’s the cake you’ll want to make this fall no matter the occasion. Bundts aren’t exactly the kind of cakes that need a helping hand to win anyone over — especially when there’s pumpkin involved — but don’t let that stop you from going the extra step with this cake.

In an increasingly busy world — and Valentine’s Day season — where a single scroll can give you a bombastic array of gorgeously futuristic, pushing-the-envelope dessert photos, it’s reasonable to think that we’ve already seen just about everything when it comes to the world of cake. And that’s why it’s worth looking back. Because when you dig back in history and attempt to unearth some forgotten gems, you can land on the kind of cakes we need right now.

Gingerbread spices have ancient historical roots and feature a complex interweaving of tastes that is second to none when it comes to holiday baking. This cake — full of warm-yet-citrusy coriander; heady notes from the allspice, clove, and cinnamon; and depth of sweetness from molasses — delivers all the cozy, familiar tastes of the season with a bit of heat and pizzazz thrown in the mix. The result is an intoxicatingly fragrant cake with a delicate but still tight crumb.

Creamy, chilled, sweet, and rich, chocolate milk is a cherished childhood memory for good reason. When added to a Bundt cake, it creates a mellow chocolate flavor that’s a little milkier, rounder, and gentler than a more assertive dark chocolate. If you’re a milk-chocolate lover in any capacity, this cake was made for you — and it’s just begging for a cold glass of milk. Chocolate milk is the core ingredient in this cake.

I often forget just how awesome Bundt pans are. Case in point? This one-bowl vanilla Bundt cake with chocolate glaze. It’s as simple as our one-bowl vanilla cake baked in a Bundt pan to make it even prettier and then gilded with a layer of rich chocolate glaze. Bundt cakes are an easy way to turn everyday cakes into something special. The best part, though? This pairing of a simple vanilla cake and chocolate glaze looks and tastes a lot like a chocolate glazed donut.

We packed all the best fall flavors into an easy, crowd-pleasing dessert.

Rich, fudgy, and made from pantry staples.

If there's one thing that makes fudge brownies even better, it's mint buttercream and ganache.

Just in time for all those spring holidays.

What are apple dumplings? Think of them as bite-sized versions of apple pie (only better), with all the goodness of a flaky crust and gooey apple filling. Many are made with whole apples, but the ones I’m hooked on are made with diced apples, which make them super easy to eat. I love picking some up from a local farm stand as a treat for my family and, no matter what, I always eat one straight away. They’re that good!

Remember that classic coffee cake you grew up eating — the kind with the buttery cake and sugared crumb topping you loved so much? Well, we’re taking it just a bit further this season. This version, topped with spiced pecans and brown sugar crumbs, also gets a ripple of pear and cinnamon streusel through its center. Think of it as the snacking cake to take you through crisp fall mornings and beyond.

This is a darn fine coffee cake, with a sweet vanilla cake, generous streusel and nuts throughout, and a cinnamon-vanilla aroma that will make your house smell better than a bakery. Oh, and the cake part still only requires one bowl, thanks to our one-bowl vanilla cake. That first cup of coffee is starting to look even better. Okay, yes, there is a cake to contend with here, but it’s an easy one-bowl ditty that bakes up beautifully no matter what you bake it in.

Ready to be the hero of the brunch potluck that everyone talks about for months to come? Skip the casserole and go straight for the breakfast treat of the moment: sweet strawberry swirly buns. Think: fruit and cheese danish meets your favorite cinnamon roll, but way better. Not only do they look seriously impressive, but they’re also known to elicit squeals of delight with a single bite. Go for it and bite right in, or take it slow and unravel the swirl.

Light in texture, with a coating of butter, salt, and garlic, these are the soft breadsticks you remember from the first time you went to an Olive Garden (or perhaps even the last time you went). These famous breadsticks have a white, fluffy center and a tender, delicate crust. Soft and kid-friendly, these are sure to be gobbled up as soon as they get their slathering of butter and herb goodness when they come out of the oven.

These weeknight garlic knots take just one hour and have a cheesy surprise inside!

When Sister Schubert’s Parker House rolls appeared in grocery stores everywhere, cooks around the country rejoiced. Even the most seasoned bakers had to admit that hers were as good, if not better, than most homemade. The sausage-stuffed rolls are my personal favorite. And although I will always have a love for those delicious store-bought rolls, this recipe may have just kicked them out of my freezer for good.

This gorgeously burnished sweet bread has been an Easter tradition in Aachen, Germany’s westernmost city, since medieval times. Its name is derived from the local dialect’s word for Easter (Posch), combined with Weck, a regional term for white bread rolls. Poschweck therefore simply means “Easter bread.

If you need a roll ready in about an hour, look no further.

Naan is an Indian yeast-leavened bread, traditionally baked in a clay oven called a tandoori. You’ve probably eaten it alongside curry at your favorite restaurant, grabbed it from the bakery, or maybe you’ve already made it at home. While we often associate naan with Indian food, it can be a staple of the everyday dinner routine, as this is one of the fastest, most versatile breads you can make at home. Like most yeast breads, naan is made of flour, yeast, water, and salt.

These tender, rich, pillowy dinner rolls are flecked with herbs and crowned with a toasty cheddar cheese crust.

Oh, monkey bread! How we love you — little pull-apart nuggets of buttery, gooey cinnamon goodness. And I’ve been thinking about how easy monkey bread is when you’ve been making pizza! What? How are they related? Well, leftover pizza dough is a perfect base for monkey bread and other breakfast treats. And even if you haven’t been making pizza lately, store-bought, ready-made pizza dough is also a way to get these into the oven (and into your mouth!) that much quicker.

Canned crescent rolls were a special treat when I was a kid, but having eaten them again recently, I’m not nearly as impressed. They’re fun to roll and taste pretty decent straight from the oven, but if they cool off even just the slightest, they quickly become dry and pretty flavorless. No wonder we were always stuffing them with peanut butter and chocolate as kids! On the flip side, homemade crescent rolls are a commitment.

It makes two loaves, so you don't even have to share.

If you want to make fresh sourdough bread every day, consider the English muffin. I think this is the right food for the home baker to get cozy with sourdough since most of us are comfortable with rolling out dough, and stovetop cooking is simple. All you need is a sourdough starter, which you can make yourself of procure from an obliging friend. Stovetop breads like English muffins make it possible to whip up a fresh batch of bread every day or so.

The classic combination of tart lemon and crunchy poppy seeds come together in this quick bread that requires just two bowls and some elbow grease.

Like carrot cake you can eat for breakfast.

Prepare for this to be devoured immediately.

At work, my banana bread is a talking point; wrapped in twine, it makes a lovely housewarming gift; in muffin form, it's my go-to treat for new moms.

At this point in my baking career and time as a home cook, I do feel as though the world might not need another scone. There are great cream scone recipes out there, and wonderful flaky butter scones; there are scones packed with whole grain oats and berries, and others cloaked in sweet, sugary glazes. So why another scone today?

You can’t go wrong with scones for Mother’s Day. And you almost have no excuse not to make something home-baked, especially when you can consider these mixed berry scones laced with delicate jasmine come together in just twenty minutes with the help of a food processor. The recipe you see here is my base recipe for almost all my scones.

I’m going to let you in on a very real and very awkward moment in my life history. It involves standing in the middle of the bakery section at a Whole Foods in Los Angeles, picking up loaves of freshly-baked bread and sniffing them. This on its own was weird enough, but the fact that the bread-huffing was coupled with crying made it more of a spectacle. I wandered over to the pastry case and ogled the muffins, scones, and tarts, tears still gently streaming down my cheeks.

Instead of picking up pastries or a coffee cake at the grocery store or bakery, add these lemony blueberry scones to your Easter brunch menu. Loaded with plump blueberries and lemon zest, these tender, golden-brown scones use buttermilk instead of heavy cream and are drizzled with a lemony glaze at the end for an extra hit of citrus flavor. Best of all, the scone dough can be made, frozen, and baked so they can be served fresh without any fuss or stress.

A grab-and-go recipe that's perfect for chilly fall mornings.

"I like to think I’m an African Black Santa Claus so I make lots of cookies, decorate them, and give them out to neighbors and kids."

They're incredibly easy to make. And unlike some cookies which turn into rocks, these actually stay — as promised — very soft and chewy even a few days later.

They get major points for nostalgia — but how do they stack up against the internet's most popular cookie recipes? We held a bake-off to find out.

It was a close battle between Alton Brown, Joanna Gaines, Martha Stewart, and Toll House.

Well, this is unexpected.

I would have never thought to try this.

Spicy black pepper and sweet maple syrup mix together in a compound butter to flavor this easy roast turkey.

Did someone say bourbon?

A citrus and fresh herb compound butter flavors this easy roast turkey and also turns the tasty drippings into gravy.

Tender noodles, ground beef, and mushrooms all cooked together in a creamy, comforting sauce.

The best version of baked apples that we know.

A unique pumpkin dessert for pumpkin pie-lovers, pumpkin custard-lovers, and pumpkin cake-lovers alike.

There are countless apple cakes in Germany, but this one, in which a rather plain batter rises up and bakes around sliced apples, has to be one of the most popular.

Fun, delicious, and safe to eat without baking!

I had to find out if they were worth the hype.

These certainly aren't my favorite.

There's just one extra step (but an important one!) for the best potato casserole you've ever tasted.

Yes, you can (and should!) make lamb shanks at home.