The 75 Essential Recipes in This Book

Think of these as the baking canon, rites of passage for any home baker. If you’ve got to bake something but don’t know where to start, you can’t go wrong here.

Banana Bread 62

Coffee Cake 70

Southern Corn Bread 71

Rich, Sweet Corn Bread 72

Blueberry Muffins 75

Bran Muffins 78

Buttermilk Biscuits 82

Strawberry Shortcakes 85

English-Style Scones 87

Simplest Pancakes 98

Dutch Baby 110

Overnight Waffles 113

French Toast 117

Glazed Doughnuts 126

Granola 138

Chocolate Chunk Cookies 144

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies 146

Peanut Butter Cookies 148

Sugar Cookies 157

Classic Shortbread 164

Vanilla Meringues 174

Brownies 180

Lemon Squares 186

Chocolate Cake 196

Red Velvet Cake 199

Yellow Cake 211

Classic Pound Cake 214

Cheesecake 221

Carrot Cake 230

Flaky Piecrust 259

Apple Pie 266

Pear Galette 268

Vanilla Cream Pie 276

Lemon Meringue Pie 278

Pumpkin Pie 280

Blueberry Cobbler 298

Simplest Vanilla Ice Cream 309

Chocolate Mousse 330

Baked Custard (Pots de Crème) 337

Bread Pudding, Many Ways 340

Chocolate Soufflé 344

Chocolate-Dipped Anything 353

Simplest Crackers 364

Cheese Crackers 366

No-Knead Bread 404

White Sandwich Bread 412

100-Percent Whole Wheat Bread 413

Parker House Rolls 422

Cinnamon Rolls 429

Cream Puffs 451

Gougères 453

Real Puff Pastry 465

Apple Turnovers 468

Shortcut Apple Strudel 494

Rugelach 499

Baked Eggs 510

Cheese Soufflé 513

Cheese Quiche 518

Chicken Pot Pie 523

Savory Bread Pudding (Strata) 535

Pizza Dough 546

Focaccia 548

Cheese Pizza 551

Whipped Cream 556

Chocolate Ganache 557

Chocolate Buttercream 560

Seven-Minute Frosting 565

Simple Syrup 570

Fruit Sauce, Two Ways 573

Fruit Jam 575

Vanilla Pastry Cream 578

Crème Anglaise (Custard Sauce) 579

Lemon Curd 579

Caramel Sauce 581

Chocolate-Hazelnut Spread 586