Baking Basics

posted by  Staff Writer

These recipes are the building blocks for every other recipe on Something Swanky. I make these Baking Basics on a regular basis for my own family and consider them foundational and essential recipes for day-to-day baking.

baking basics start with dough

We are sharing some of our simplest recipes to help you go from novice to household superstar in no time.

Start with a super-quick and easy bread dough. Don’t be afraid — it takes less than 30 minutes! Really. We’re also on a mission to take the fear out of some other fancy-sounding desserts like ganache and truffles. Not to worry. We’ll walk you through.

We’ll take the mystery out of picture-perfect and yummy waffles. You know your family will love you for this one! Just pull an assistant from your crowd to gather some fruit, pull out the maple syrup, and it’s game on.

And you can’t  call yourself an American baker until you’ve made the perfect chocolate chip cookies. We’ve included the classic Hershey’s Chocolate Chip cookies recipe, but once you’ve mastered those, we’ve got almost FIFTY chocolate chip cookie recipes to expand your horizon.

You can also dive into brownies. We included a classic Fudgy Chocolate Chunk Brownie recipe, but as with the cookies, we have dozens of variations of brownie recipes to explore.

And to round things out for you on the first round, there’s a vanilla cupcakes recipe to introduce you to the spectacular universe of cupcakes. And we don’t say ‘universe’ lightly. Once you know the basics, the options are almost endless. With so many options for the cupcakes itself and then a mind-boggling array of frostings, the combinations are also mind-boggling. And we haven’t even talked about decorating them!

Welcome to the delicious world of baking from scratch. It’s a rewarding and sumptuous pursuit that you and your circle of family and friends will L O V E. You are now one of us! 🥰

Quick Bread Dough

Fudgy Chocolate Chunk Brownies

Easy and Fluffy Belgian Waffles

Hershey's Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Ganache - 4 Ways

Oreo Truffles {plus a Truffle Dipping Tutorial}

Easiest All Butter Pie Crust

Cake Mix Cookies

My favorite recipe for cake mix cookies. You can make so many different kinds of cookies with just one recipe!

Classic Vanilla Cupcakes from Scratch

Perfect Rice Krispie Treats