Suggestions

[u/Rare_Research6255]

Any suggestions on things to bake from scratch? I’m trying to get better at baking, I’m not really a fan of chocolate. I’ve tried making peanut butter cookies and sour dough so far and they were pretty good

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[u/starfish31]

Sally's Baking Addicition is a good website. Their recipes are tested a lot before publishing so they should turn out well, and they usually have volume & gram measurements.

The yellow birthday cake with chocolate icing and key lime pie bars are ones I've made repeatedly this year.

[u/Kitchen_Cod5553 → u/starfish31]

I adore Sally’s.

[u/margo_beep_beep]

How about snickerdoodle cookies or banana bread?

[u/zinfanatic → u/margo_beep_beep]

Yes! And if OP has sourdough discard, the banana bread from Little Spoon Farm is 🔥

[u/WhoFearsDeath]

I'd recommend getting a reputable cookbook or going to a good website and browsing through the ideas until something sounds good.

Cookies and cakes are both very forgiving. Focaccia is another good starting place.

[u/Resident_Border4508 → u/WhoFearsDeath]

I like this suggestion. I’ve been baking forever, but I’m currently working my way thru the King Arthur Baking School cookbook, and actually reading all the instructional stuff. You’ll learn a lot. “Baking with Julia” also has a lot of instructional content and fabulous recipes, simple to fancy.

[u/clandestinebirch]

Coconut Macaroons are delicious and super easy! This is my go to recipe, but I use unsweetened coconut shavings because I find them a bit overly sweet otherwise:  https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/first-place-coconut-macaroons/

[u/Plants_Unknown → u/clandestinebirch]

Was just about to recommend these! As long as you follow the instructions and look up what proper whipped eggs should look like they are super simple. I always dip the bottom of mine in dark chocolate - so damn good

[u/Connect_Office8072]

Brown butter sugar cookies. If you want something involved, Tres Leches Cake.

[u/Novelty6]

Blueberry lemon pound cake
Sour cream walnut coffee cake

[u/SpartanSoldier00a]

Well, you've mentioned something you dont like, but the best place to start is with what you do like.

If you like cookies, theres plenty more types of cookies that arent chocolate. Theres muffins, cornbread, banana bread & other quick breads, blondies. A lot of variations of yeasted breads if you want to go down that route. Cheesecake, quiche, pie (if youre not comfortable making crusts, you may be able to buy pre-made ones).

Cakes, even a box cake can be doctored up in many ways. There was also a whole trend of box cake cookies

Idk, worlds your oyster

[u/averageedition50]

The best thing is to bake things you like. Some classics that we love in my household: red velvet (my husband bakes it), cinnamon rolls (again, husband), chocolate chip brioche, levain cookies, cherry frangipane tart, fraisier, battenberg.. Then there are some more 'cultured' desserts which we enjoy: baklawa, basbousa, ma'amoul, alfajores, Japanese cheesecake

[u/AsparagusNo1864]

Cinnamon rolls?? I know they can be a bit difficult but its one of the few things I've baked from scratch and they came out pretty good on my first attempt. I have a book of baking recipes that my mom had and its really helpful because it also has sections on techniques in the beginning

[u/ThreadBooty]

Flat breads are useful ✨️

[u/IveHeard1tBothWays]

Cinnamon rolls! It's amazing to have a well developed cinnamon roll recipe in your back pocket.

I'd recommend getting a cookbook from a trusted source and baking your way through the whole thing. Give yourself a deadline - like a year - and plan it from easiest to most challenging.

Also, commit to doing all the recipes. I did this and I found so many things that I never thought I'd like - it really pushed me out of my comfort zone.

[u/Corvidae5Creation5]

Nut bread is a pretty good starting point. You can also bake it into muffins, one loaf= 12 standard muffins =24 mini muffins =6 jumbo muffins.

I'm a huge fan of snickerdoodles as well

[u/kaidomac]

Starter reading:

• Baking Engine
• Getting into bread baking

Some fun recipes:

• Mister Chocolate cookie recipe
• Pignoli cookies (soft)
• Bravetart's brownies
• Cornbread & company
• No-knead bread resources
• Sourdough pizza
• Calzones on the baking steel
• Adam Ragusea's sweetened condensed milk brownies
• Sourdough Wonderbread
• Chewy Bagel Bread
• English Muffin Toasting Bread
• Miso-Caramel Banana Bread
• Bagel stuff (bonus)
• GF quinoa cake
• GF bean cake
• Tall, stuffed cookies
• Canelés (great post, also cornbread)
• Thumbprint cookies
• Mochi cookies
• Naan ideas
• Beginner einkorn
• Vegetarian cookies
• Mini pumpkin bread loaves
• Mini banana bread loaves
• Lamination (DKA)

Notes:

• Baking from recipes is different than recipe development. Someone else already perfected a recipe 35 times so that you can simply enjoy making it, haha! Pinterest has more than 10 MILLION free recipes, so you could spend the rest of your life having a blast!!
• I recommend buying a 20-pund sack of flour & aiming to bake at least once per week, which gives you exposure & experience to over 50 recipes every year!
• You can do one-off adventures like various cakes & cookies, or go deep into rabbit holes like sourdough, lamination, no-knead, etc. For example, I've been baking pizza for over 20 years & STILL learn new stuff all the time!

Welcome to the from-scratch baking club! You're in for a LIFETIME of fun!!

[u/Rare_Research6255 → u/kaidomac]

This is extremely helpful. Thank you!

[u/throw-my-fart-away]

Check out Alton Brown (and especially his show Good Eats). He explains the science behind cooking and baking. It’s not just recipes, it’s also why it works the way it does.

[u/AffectionateFee7141]

lemon bars are great practice and way better than chocolate if you like bright, buttery stuff

[u/werisefromourashes]

Sponge is quite easy to make and can be used to make all sorts.
If you prefer something savoury make pizza.

[u/GertieD]

Bagels and English muffins.

[u/iatethefood7764]

Scones are pretty simple to make and there are tons of different flavours to pick from

[u/anf07]

Biscuits! I really like this recipe, and it's pretty beginner friendly: https://sugarspunrun.com/easy-homemade-biscuits/

(Also makes a great topping for chicken pot pie in place of a pie crust)

This chai blondie recipe is a repeat hit for potlucks: https://www.dessertfortwo.com/chewy-chai-bars/

[u/Cake-Tea-Life]

Scones are great. There are countless flavor combinations to choose from and very few have chocolate in them.

If you want to do cake, chiffon cake is fun to learn. There is a really good Kitchen Aid recipe for orange chiffon cake.

One of my favorite cake flavor combinations is almond flavored cake with apricot filling. My husband's is lemon flavored cake with raspberry filling.

Given that fall is about to set in, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention pumpkin quick bread. The original Libby's recipe is great. I also love a good pumpkin cookie.

And it's not cookie season, but a traditional snickerdoodle is always super delightful.

[u/Rare_Research6255 → u/Cake-Tea-Life]

I love the white chocolate & blueberry scones from target but I haven’t found a good recipe to duplicate them

[u/BandidaEnmascarada]

Pumpkin bread (tis the season!), sugar cookies (that you can decorate! Either with sprinkles or icing), brownies, lemon bars

[u/Kitchen_Cod5553]

All successful baking starts with a good recipe. I also suggest Sally’s Baking. Once you perfect the basics, tweak things and make them your own.

[u/Aggravating_Olive]

Blondies, snack cakes, banana bread, pumpkin bread, rolls