Baked Good Recipes

Basic Italian focaccia from scratch: a slow-risen yeast dough dimpled and drizzled with olive oil, then topped with tomato, basil, and parmesan. Crisp outside, airy and chewy inside. The foundation every focaccia lover should know.

San Francisco-style crustless honey and spice cheesecake with dark honey, ground cloves, allspice, and a shot of espresso. A dense, creamy dessert for dinner-party finales.

Three-layer chocolate almond cake with cocoa buttermilk layers, almond cream filling, and rich chocolate frosting. A showstopper from-scratch layer cake.

Wartime impossible pie from South London with one batter that splits into crust, custard, and filling as it bakes. Use it sweet with coconut and vanilla, or savoury with canned tuna or salmon and frozen vegetables. Pantry magic.

Fruitcake drop cookies with brandy, candied cherries, dates, candied pineapple, and nuts. All the holiday fruitcake flavor in a bite-sized cookie that bakes in 12 minutes.

Chewy oatmeal cookies loaded with chopped dates, coconut, and walnuts or pecans. Brown sugar and orange juice add a caramel sweetness with bright citrus notes.

Hot fudge pudding cake that bakes into chocolate cake on top with a gooey fudge sauce on the bottom. Pour hot water over the batter before baking and the oven does the magic of separating cake from sauce.

Dark chocolate buttermilk cupcakes filled with whipped white chocolate ganache. These cream-filled chocolate cupcakes are tender, moist, and hideously good, with a surprise center in every bite.

Halva gateau is a Middle Eastern layer cake with semolina-almond sponge, coffee syrup soak, and halva buttercream. Pistachio-topped elegance perfumed with cinnamon.

Pumpkin Poundcake with Brown-Sugar-Walnut Glaze recipe

Lemon pound cake with a fine, buttery crumb and bright citrus zest, baked in a bundt or mini loaves. Old-fashioned five-egg richness with no leavening except properly creamed butter.

Sesame orange scones with nutty toasted sesame seeds, bright orange zest, and a glossy hot-orange-syrup glaze. Naturally dairy-free with a sticky-sweet citrus finish.

Sourdough biscuits from starter: old-fashioned fermented biscuits with a tangy, tender crumb, naturally leavened from a flour-and-water sponge and lifted with a touch of baking soda. Pioneer-style comfort.

Buttery, chocolaty and rich oatmeal bars, and everyone wants a second one.

Pistachio and white chocolate cookies with brown sugar, butter-flavored shortening, and toasted pistachios. Chewy or crisp by choice, the classic holiday cookie tin upgrade.

Herbed focaccia, a crisp Italian flatbread with a touch of cornmeal, brushed with warm garlic-herb olive oil and showered with kosher salt. Thin and crackly, it's made for open sandwiches and freezes well.