Baking doesn’t have to be complicated — in fact, some of the most delicious treats come from simple, accessible recipes that require minimal steps and everyday ingredients.
Whether you’re craving a quick dessert, an afternoon snack, or an easy treat to share with family, these 18 simple baking recipes bring maximum flavor with minimal effort.
Let’s dive in!
1. Chocolate Chip Cookies
These soft and chewy cookies are the ultimate beginner-friendly bake.
Using pantry staples like butter, sugar, and chocolate chips, this recipe delivers comforting, warm cookies within minutes.
Perfect for after-school snacks, weekend cravings, or sharing with guests.
Ingredients:
Butter, sugar, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips.
Instructions:
Cream butter and sugars → mix in eggs and vanilla → fold in dry ingredients → add chocolate chips → scoop, bake at 350°F (175°C) for 10–12 minutes.
2. Easy Banana Bread
If you have ripe bananas sitting on your counter, this banana bread is the perfect solution.
Moist, soft, and deeply flavorful, it requires no mixer and comes together in one bowl.
Ingredients:
Ripe bananas, sugar, melted butter, eggs, flour, baking soda, salt, vanilla.
Instructions:
Mash bananas → mix with wet ingredients → fold in dry ingredients → pour into loaf pan → bake at 350°F (175°C) for 55–60 minutes.
3. Simple Vanilla Cupcakes
These light, fluffy cupcakes are perfect for beginners.
They hold their shape beautifully and pair well with any frosting—from buttercream to whipped cream.
Ingredients:
Butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, milk, vanilla extract.
Instructions:
Cream butter and sugar → add eggs → alternate adding dry ingredients and milk → pour into liners → bake at 350°F (175°C) for 18–20 minutes.
4. No-Knead Artisan Bread
This rustic, crusty bread requires no kneading at all. Just mix, rest, and bake.
The long fermentation creates a bakery-style texture that tastes gourmet.
Ingredients:
Flour, yeast, salt, water.
Instructions:
Mix ingredients into a sticky dough → cover and rest overnight → shape into a ball → bake in a covered Dutch oven at 450°F (232°C) for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 15 minutes.
5. Quick Blueberry Muffins
Soft, fluffy, and burst with berries, these muffins come together in less than 30 minutes. Perfect for breakfast or snacks.
Ingredients:
Flour, sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla, oil, baking powder, blueberries.
Instructions:
Whisk wet and dry ingredients separately → combine gently → fold in blueberries → bake at 400°F (204°C) for 18 minutes.
6. One-Bowl Brownies
Fudgy, rich, and chocolaty — these brownies need only one bowl and minimal cleanup. Great for last-minute dessert emergencies.
Ingredients:
Butter, sugar, cocoa powder, flour, eggs, salt, vanilla.
Instructions:
Melt butter → mix with sugar and cocoa → add eggs → fold in flour → bake at 350°F (175°C) for 22–25 minutes.
7. Simple Pancake Muffins
A fun twist on pancakes! These muffin-pan pancakes are grab-and-go, customizable, and kid-friendly.
Ingredients:
Flour, sugar, milk, eggs, baking powder, vanilla, mix-ins (chocolate chips, berries).
Instructions:
Mix batter → pour into muffin tin → add toppings → bake at 350°F (175°C) for 15 minutes.
8. Classic Sugar Cookies
Soft, buttery, and perfect for decorating, these sugar cookies require only a few ingredients and come out delicious every time.
Ingredients:
Butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, flour, baking powder, salt.
Instructions:
Cream butter and sugar → add egg and vanilla → mix in dry ingredients → roll and cut shapes → bake at 350°F (175°C) for 8–10 minutes.
9. Simple Apple Crisp
A warm, cozy dessert with tender apples topped with a crunchy oat mixture. It’s a low-effort recipe that tastes like homemade comfort.
Ingredients:
Apples, sugar, cinnamon, oats, flour, brown sugar, butter.
Instructions:
Slice apples and season → mix topping → sprinkle over apples → bake at 350°F (175°C) for 35–40 minutes.
10. Easy Lemon Bars
Bright, tangy lemon bars with a soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture. They’re surprisingly easy but taste bakery-quality.
Ingredients:
Butter, flour, sugar, eggs, lemon juice, powdered sugar.
Instructions:
Bake crust → whisk lemon filling → pour over crust → bake again → dust with sugar after cooling.
11. 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
Just peanut butter, sugar, and an egg — that’s it! These cookies are soft, chewy, and naturally gluten-free.
Ingredients:
Peanut butter, sugar, egg.
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients → scoop and flatten → bake at 350°F (175°C) for 8–10 minutes.
12. Simple Scones
Tender, buttery scones that work for breakfast or tea time. You can add berries, chocolate, or leave them plain.
Ingredients:
Flour, sugar, butter, cream, egg, baking powder, salt.
Instructions:
Cut butter into dry ingredients → add wet ingredients → shape and cut → bake at 400°F (204°C) for 15 minutes.
13. Quick Cinnamon Rolls (No Yeast)
These rolls use baking powder instead of yeast, so they’re ready in under an hour while still delivering warm, cinnamon sweetness.
Ingredients:
Flour, baking powder, milk, butter, sugar, cinnamon.
Instructions:
Make dough → roll out → spread cinnamon sugar → roll and slice → bake at 375°F (190°C) for 20–22 minutes.
14. Easy Baked Donuts
Soft and cake-like donuts made in a donut pan—no frying needed.
Ingredients:
Flour, sugar, butter, milk, eggs, baking powder, vanilla.
Instructions:
Mix ingredients → fill donut pan → bake at 350°F (175°C) for 12–14 minutes → glaze when cool.
15. Basic Shortbread Cookies
These buttery cookies require only three ingredients and come out crumbly and rich.
Ingredients:
Butter, flour, sugar.
Instructions:
Cream butter and sugar → add flour → press into a pan or shape → bake at 325°F (163°C) for 25–30 minutes.
16. Simple Cornbread
Moist, slightly sweet cornbread that pairs perfectly with chili, stews, or BBQ.
Ingredients:
Cornmeal, flour, sugar, eggs, milk, oil, baking powder, salt.
Instructions:
Mix dry and wet separately → combine → bake at 400°F (204°C) for 20 minutes.
17. Basic Vanilla Sheet Cake
This foolproof cake delivers fluffy, moist texture with easy mixing — great for parties or last-minute celebrations.
Ingredients:
Flour, sugar, eggs, oil, milk, baking powder, vanilla.
Instructions:
Whisk all ingredients → pour into a pan → bake at 350°F (175°C) for 25–30 minutes.
18. Simple Oatmeal Cookies
Chewy, hearty cookies with wholesome oats. Add raisins, chocolate chips, or nuts to personalize them.
Ingredients:
Oats, flour, butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg, baking soda, cinnamon.
Instructions:
Cream butter and sugars → add egg → mix in dry ingredients → fold oats → bake at 350°F (175°C) for 10–12 minutes.
