I’ve recently gotten back into the hobby of baking. I used to bake a ton when I was younger and have accumulated so many delicious recipes over the years. Here are four of my absolute favorites along with tips and how I’d recommend making them!
Bria Lemirande’s Cookie Skillet
This recipe is simple, fairly healthy, and SO so delicious. Bria Lemirande is a recipe designer and TikTok creator who focuses mainly on cooking and baking. The joy that Leminande gets from food is so infectious to me and has really helped me in healing my own relationship with food. This recipe can be tweaked however you like it. If you prefer a less gooey skillet, you can cook it longer, or if you want to replace the oat flour with whatever you prefer, you definitely can. It’s such a simple recipe that could stand up to a lot of changes. I highly recommend this one!
Two-Day Chocolate Chip Cookies
These “two-day” chocolate chip cookies take some extra time and commitment, but if you have the time to spare, they are absolutely worth it. Don’t be fooled by the name! The two days are just referring to the time it takes for them to sit in the fridge so the flavors can meld together. I love baking with my friends, and I think this would be the perfect recipe to try out with one or two friends while catching up and talking. The most difficult part of this recipe for me is making the brown butter, which is melted butter that is intentionally burnt a little to add a subtle nuttiness and more flavor. I had never browned butter before making this recipe, but the video for these cookies provides a lot of different tips and pieces of advice. I was able to make these successfully even as a beginner.
Pumpkin Banana Chocolate Muffins
This recipe is intended for a pumpkin banana bread, but I like to make the same recipe by pouring the batter into a muffin tin and cooking them for a little bit shorter of a time. This recipe is gluten free and vegan if either of those are a concern to you – even if you’re neither of those things, this might be the perfect recipe in my eyes. I am really forgetful and will let bananas go brown without noticing, but this recipe is intended for overripe ones. The bananas and the pumpkin makes these muffins so moist, and the spices give it a cozy fall feel that can’t be replicated with anything but a homemade recipe. I also love to eat these with yogurt. They are the perfect addition to a busy morning breakfast.
“Boneless” Chocolate Chip Cookies
This sounds weird, but sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookie recipes are often designed differently. Chocolate chip cookies have less flour and more of the other ingredients. Chocolate chip cookie recipes also generally call for brown sugar, while sugar cookies call for 100% white sugar. Whenever we don’t have chocolate chips, I like to use a traditional chocolate chip cookie recipe without the chocolate and frost them like sugar cookies. The result to me is more full in flavor, and I think these “boneless” cookies stand up to a more flavorful frosting as well like a chocolate or raspberry buttercream. I get really lazy about measurements, so your results might turn out slightly different than mine if you try this recipe. With the delicious ingredients of any chocolate chip cookie recipe, though, it’s really difficult to go wrong!
Please let me know if you try any of these and how it went for you. Bring them to your next gathering, drive them over to your friends, share whatever you have left over, or just eat them all!