14 Baking Recipes to Inspire Your Next Project

The Food Lab's Chocolate Chip Cookies

These classic chocolate chip cookies are made with browned butter and chopped chocolate. The cookie dough is rested overnight so that it browns and caramelizes more deeply in the oven. If you're too impatient for all that, see Stella's recipe for quick and easy chocolate chip cookies.

Basque Cheesecake

Basque cheesecake boasts a creamy center and a deeply caramelized "burnt" top and bottom, thanks to a high-temperature bake—no crust required. For a classic New York-style affair with a graham cracker crust, look no further than Stella's superlative recipe.

Olive Oil Cake

Tender, impossibly moist, fragrant, and perfect—olive oil cakes are so ridiculously fast and foolproof that the style is favored by amateurs and pros alike. For a variation on this style, swap out the oil for a delicious pistachio cake.

Gâteau Invisible (Invisible Apple Cake)

Gâteau invisible aux pommes, or "invisible apple cake," features dozens of intersecting layers of thinly sliced apples bound in a sweet, custardy batter. Here, Tim pairs his gateâu with a white miso caramel sauce.

Glossy Fudge Brownies

Brown butter adds a nutty richness that deepens the chocolate flavor of this fudgy brownie, which is made with both Dutch cocoa powder and dark chocolate. For a spicy and smoky brownie that's perfect for serving after a cookout dinner, try Leah Colins' grill-baked smoked ancho chile skillet brownie.

Classic Blueberry Muffins

Fast, simple, and not too sweet, these are the perfect weekend muffins. Stella's recipe amps up the blueberry flavor with a complimentary addition of bright, lemony coriander.

Brown Butter Shortbread Cookies

Brown butter and toasted sugar make an extra-special batch of slice-and-bake shortbread cookies.

Devil's Food Cake

No list of baking recipes would be complete without a show-stopping layer cake. Stella's devil's food cake delivers the goods, with the help of dark chocolate as well as Dutch cocoa and coffee for an extra chocolaty result.

Savory Recipes

Sourdough Bread

Ready to tackle sourdough? Tim Chin put together a guide on making and maintaining a sourdough starter. Once your starter is ready to go, this recipe will walk you through the rest of the process.

Quick and Easy Drop Biscuits

These traditional drop biscuits require just five ingredients, but with their buttery, salty flavor, and cloud-like bite, the final result tastes anything but ordinary. Best of all, they're done in less than half an hour.

Better No-Knead Bread

Baking sourdough requires you to maintain a starter, and can quickly resemble a lifestyle rather than a discreet recipe. For those of us who can't keep houseplants alive, let alone a hungry sourdough baby, this excellent no-knead, low-commitment recipe comes together relatively quickly.

Sicilian Pizza With Pepperoni and Spicy Tomato Sauce

This Sicilian pizza is as close as you're going to get to the famous one at Prince Street Pizza in New York City.

Homemade Focaccia

A high-hydration dough made with bread flour gives this focaccia an extra-crisp crust and a crumb that's both tender and chewy. Cold-fermenting the dough overnight produces complex flavor and an even rise.

Spanakopita (Greek Savory Greens Pie)

For a twist on the classic, this version of Greek spanakopita uses an assortment of greens and tender herbs in addition to spinach.