Quarantine Baking: 10 Recipes to Try
Anyone else been cooking and baking a little more than usual while we’re all stuck at home?
When you can’t leave the house, you might as well fire up the oven or the stove.
Here are some things I’ve been baking in the past few weeks:
Quarantine Baking: 10 Recipes to Try
Chocolate Chip Cookies
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: these are my all-time favorite chocolate chip cookies. We live in the land of cookie shops and Bart won’t even eat any of them because he thinks this recipe is so much better. I won’t lie – I agree with him. I know a lot of you are making them too – I’m getting tagged on Instagram almost daily by people who are making them and agree that . . . they are sublime.
Cookies are my all-time favorite treat anyway, and I’m always on the lookout for new tips so I signed up for this cookie course (it’s free!) with all sorts of tricks about how to make better cookies. I just LOVE this kind of thing. If your cookies are turning out too puffy and too flat, too dry or too gooey, this is for you.
Banana Bread
I ALWAYS have a ton of bananas sitting around that need to be used up and although I normally use them for these insanely good banana muffins, I decided to switch things up a bit with this banana bread recipe Smitten Kitchen just posted and truly, it was AMAZING. I halved the recipe and did two mini loaves instead and they were both gone in less than 15 minutes after they came out of the oven.
Lemon Poppyseed Cake
I had some lemons that were juuuuust about to die, so I found this recipe. I halved it too (I don’t have a bundt pan) and skipped the glaze. Delish!
New York Cheesecake
I haven’t actually made this one yet, but it’s our Easter dessert on Sunday and I’m really excited to try it. I even bought my first springform pan (I just added it to my grocery delivery, so it couldn’t have been easier).
Jam Filled Muffins
These are so simple and EXTRA delicious, thanks to the almond extract. These are the perfect breakfast on slower mornings or a good afternoon snack.
German Puff Pancake
This is our #1 favorite family breakfast and I usually make 2 or 3 of them on Sunday mornings. Sometimes I make a syrup and sometimes we just have them with jam. Frankly, they’re amazing plain too.
Peanut Butter Carmelitas
I made these for Sunday dessert a few weeks ago from the Two Peas and Their Pod cookbook (which I’m basically cooking my way through at present) and whoa. . . they were incredible. I even made the salted caramel sauce myself successfully and the whole dessert just blew me away. Make these immediately. (I halved the recipe).
Homemade granola
This granola has ruined me for all store-bought granola. Every single person in our family loves it and we’ve been going through tons of it with yogurt and mini chocolate chips and cashews and fresh strawberries. It’s definitely in my top 10 foods.
Buttermilk Cake with Praline Topping
This is a super simple cake but SO good. Also, you already know I’m obsessed with all things buttermilk related. So this is no surprise.
Double Chocolate M&M cookies
After chocolate chip cookies, these are the most frequently made cookies in our house and they’re just SO darn good. I love an M&M cookie and the chocolate base on these just make them extra amazing.
Real meals? Less thrilling. . .
To be honest, making real dinner is way less exciting than cooking up a treat storm and I’ve been keeping things pretty simple.
We’ve eaten a lot of sandwiches and quick soups, plus our weekly Friday pizza and as many crockpot meals as I can manage.
I’ve been considering getting an Instant Pot since my sisters keep raving about theirs. I’m a crockpot lover through and through and the idea of the ease of that, minus the planning ahead half a day? Definitely appeals to me. And this list of beginner Instant Pot recipes is tempting me even more.
This guide from Culinary Hill with culinary school secrets has a bunch of easy tips for getting a healthy, quick dinner on the table, and I’m just really glad that while we’re all stuck at home, people are using their skills to help the rest of us.
I’d love to hear what you’ve been cooking and baking over the past few weeks!
My crockpot doesn’t leave the cabinet much since my husband and I bought an Instant Pot. You can do so many things so well! In fact, tonight it cooked our one-pot spaghetti dinner again. Ribs are awesome – good and tender. The list goes on and on…
My crockpot doesn’t leave the cabinet much since my husband and I bought an Instant Pot. You can do so many things so well with it! In fact, tonight it cooked our one-pot spaghetti dinner again. Ribs are awesome – good and tender. The list goes on and on…
I haven’t made the Instant Pot plunge yet, but I’ve considered it. I actually like that I can start my Crockpot in the morning (when I’m less busy) than doing something right before dinnertime. Anyway, thanks for the recipes!
This is my new favorite banana bread recipe. I whipped it up yesterday quickly — one bowl! no mixer! I buy sour cream now so I’m ready to go when my bananas go brown. I’ve made it 3 or 4 times in the last few months. https://www.melskitchencafe.com/sour-cream-banana-bread/
Also, I signed my kids up for the Tastebuds Kitchen cooking class (free!) it has been a good activity for them. https://tastebudskitchen.com/cooking-club-members/?utm_source=constantcontact.com&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=hq+cooking+club
GET THE INSTANT POT!!! It is my new all-time favorite kitchen gadget since I got it for Christmas, and it speeds up dinner prep sooooo much.
I wish I was baking more right now—I was, at the beginning of the quarantine, but then we got the results back from my husband’s endoscopy and he has celiac, so that has shot all of my baking motivation pretty much. Womp womp…
I’ve never attempted a cheesecake. How did it turn out??
PERFECTLY! So simple and super delicious. I ended up using this recipe: https://www.melskitchencafe.com/my-favorite-cheesecake-ever/ and then the cherry sauce from Smitten Kitchen.