Coping with staying home for most of the day is not easy. It’s times like these that separate the weak from the strong, the women from the girls, the men from the boys– and the people that spend $100 dollars per week on Uber Eats from those that come out of this fantastic home chefs.
For students who, just weeks ago, depended on a combination of dining hall runs and late night Postmates for sustenance, the process of making something from scratch might seem daunting. However, even if a first try ends with disastrous results (which it probably won’t with the recipes down below), baking is a great way to kill some time and learn a new life skill.
While one doesn’t simply develop Gordon Ramsay-level culinary expertise overnight, even the most amateur of bakers can throw together these easy and delicious desserts.
Seven Layer Cookies
The recipe might be called “Seven-Layer Cookies,” but you really only need the first five ingredients on this list to make these gooey dessert bars. Variations of this baked good can be found all over the internet, but the basic idea is to form a crust with butter and graham cracker, layer the remaining ingredients and tie the whole thing together with sweetened condensed milk. As far as difficulty levels go, this one stands at about 0/10.
Ingredients
- 1 stick butter (melted)
- 1 sleeve graham crackers (crushed)
- 1 (12 oz) bag chocolate chips
- 1 (12 oz) bag butterscotch chips
- 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
- *coconut shavings (as desired)
- *Walnuts (as desired)
Baking Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 if using a glass pan). Pour melted butter into an 8×11 or similar size baking pan. Crush sleeve of graham crackers until a breadcrumb-like consistency is achieved and no chunks remain. Evenly mix the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter to form a crust.
2. Spread the entire bag of chocolate chips evenly across the crust. Repeat with butterscotch chips.
3. Sprinkle walnuts and coconut shavings over the layered ingredients if desired.
4. Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over of the ingredients, making sure to cover the entire dish.
5. Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for ten ten minutes before cutting. Enjoy!
Slutty Brownies
This is another recipe you can really play with. While the classic slutty brownie consists of Oreos, cookie dough and brownie mix, you can try adding or taking away some ingredients and it will likely turn out fine. No Oreos? Just throw the brownie mix over the cookie dough and you’re all set. Wanna stir some chocolate chips or nuts in there? Go for it. This one’s all you, but here are the basics.
Ingredients
- 16 oz cookie dough (any kind)
- 16 Oreos
- 1 box brownie mix and its required ingredients
Baking Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8×8 or 9×9 baking pan for best results.
2. Spread cookie dough evenly across bottom of pan.
3. Layer Oreos on top of cookie dough– about 16 should fit perfectly in rows of four.
4. Following instructions on the package, mix brownie batter and pour evenly over Oreos and cookie dough.
5. Sprinkle in chocolate chips, caramel, sprinkles or really whatever you want if the above combination isn’t slutty enough for you (we won’t judge!).
6. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the mixture comes out clean. (Tip– it never will because the Oreos melt. But, if the toothpick inserted into the brownie portion comes out clean, you’re all set.)
7. Cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!
Healthy Blueberry Muffins
Sometimes you just really want to get your sugar fix in before noon. Don’t worry– we’ve got you covered! One of our editors tried this easy muffin recipe from “The Dish on Healthy” and confirmed that it was a tasty success! The best part is that, if you’re not a blueberry person, this ingredient can be substituted for just about any fruit in the book (or, as always, chocolate chips).
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups + 1 tbsp all purpose gluten-free flour (or regular all-purpose flour, if not gluten-free)
- 3/4 cup raw coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1/3 cup of melted coconut oil (or sunflower oil)
- 2 tsp of baking powder
- 1/2 cup of almond or any nut milk (organic or grass-fed milk also work!)
- 1 cup packed with organic blueberries (I recommend fresh, not frozen)
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 egg (slightly beaten) at room temperature
- 1 tsp of lemon zest (optional)
- 1/4 tsp of sea salt
Baking Instructions
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and line two muffin pan holders (with six muffins each) with paper liners. *Note: If you over-fill them and are running short on batter, fill remaining muffin tins halfway with water. These do not need paper liners.
2. Mix dry ingredients: Gluten-free flour, coconut sugar, baking powder and sea salt.
3. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients: Egg, coconut oil, vanilla extract, almond milk and lemon zest.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl and whisk to combine. Don’t over mix; the batter will be too thick. Feel free to pour over a splash of almond milk. It should stay thick, but you should be able to mix it.
5. Finally, fold in the blueberries! Raspberries, blackberries or strawberries will do.
6. Use a spoon or ice cream scoop to fill the muffin paper liners with batter. *Note: Do not overfill them; they will rise in the oven.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes, checking in at the 16-18 minute mark. Some ovens run hot. When the edges are golden brown, they’re ready!
8. Transfer to a cooling rack and enjoy!
Click here for the full recipe.