Food & Cooking Baking 24 Fun Things to Bake—Including Cake, Cookies, Pretzels, and More When sweet—or savory—cravings strike, reach for one of these recipes and make a deliciously fun treat. By Riley Wofford Riley Wofford Riley is an associate food editor for Martha Stewart Living. Editorial Guidelines Updated on May 16, 2024 Close Photo: The Ingalls If you ask us, baking is fun from start to finish—all the way from selecting the recipe to devouring the final product. It's an enjoyable hobby, whether you learned the ins and outs of pastry as a kid with your grandmother or first made banana bread as an adult. So whether you're bored and need a baking project to occupy your time or you wake up with a specific craving, we have you covered. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned pro with a healthy sourdough starter or a beginner who tends to store their baking pans out of reach—you'll find a fun recipe here to suit your needs. Our Favorite One-Bowl Baking Recipes That Make Cleanup a Breeze 01 of 24 Black and White Cookies Yossy Arefi We don't know what's more fun about these cookies—eating them or creating the iconic black and white icing half-moons. The cookies themselves have a cakey texture and are delicately flavored with vanilla and lemon extracts. You can certainly eat one side at a time, but we tend to be equal-opportunity snackers. View Recipe 02 of 24 Soft Pretzels Pretzel dough is very forgiving and only needs to rest for about 30 minutes before it's ready to roll. Shaping the logs of dough into those unique twists is fun to do. This first one might not turn out perfect (much like the proverbial first pancake) but you'll get the hang of it in no time. View Recipe 03 of 24 One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes Chocolate lovers will go crazy for these decadent cupcakes. The real fun lies in the decoration. These cupcakes are inspired by the chocolate Hostess cakes with the infamous buttercream squiggle on top. Fill a piping bag with the buttercream frosting and pipe swirls or cute notes for loved ones. View Recipe 04 of 24 Baked Cake Donuts Bryan Gardner If you’re craving donuts, you don’t have to break out the deep-fryer to get your sweet fix. This simple batter is piped into donut pans and baked (you can use muffin tins in a pinch). They turn out light, fluffy, and perfectly sweet. Roll them in cinnamon sugar, dip them into a smooth glaze, and add fun toppings like sprinkles and toasted coconut. View Recipe 05 of 24 Breakfast-Sausage-and-Gruyère Drop Biscuits Johnny Miller A fun baking project isn't necessarily sweet. These savory drop scones come together in under an hour. They’re filled with bite-sized pieces of breakfast sausage, fresh thyme, and melted Gruyere cheese. Play around with other fillings like ham and cheddar or feta and dill. View Recipe 06 of 24 Sweetheart Thumbprint Cookies Johnny Miller Soft and buttery cookie dough is baked with a thumbprint heart in the center, which is filled with sticky fruit jam. Use a variety of jam flavors, such as strawberry, peach, and pineapple for these hard-to-resist treats. View Recipe 07 of 24 Coffee-Caramel Swiss Roll Ryan Liebe This showstopping dessert takes a bit of time and patience, but it’s quite simple all things considered. Here, silky whipped cream and caramel are rolled up in a layer of delicate cake brushed with espresso syrup for the ultimate holiday or special occasion treat. The trick to a genoise cake that won’t crack is to roll the cake into a log around a clean kitchen towel while it's still warm—that way it will naturally keep its shape when it’s rolled with the filling. View Recipe 08 of 24 No-Knead Tomato Focaccia Marcus Nilsson If making bread seems a bit daunting, try this no-knead focaccia. Once the dough is mixed, all it needs to do is rise, then you can top it with garlicky cherry tomatoes or keep it simple with some fresh rosemary and thyme or a simple sprinkle of sesame seeds. If you don't eat it all immediately, enjoy it for sandwiches the next day. View Recipe 09 of 24 Chocolate Chip Oat Skillet Cookie The Ingalls A skillet cookie is so much fun. The batter is similar to an ordinary chocolate chip cookie but with rolled oats and coconut oil. And this giant cookie is much easier to make—it bakes in one layer in the oven, so it's quicker to form. Place the skillet in the center of the table and let everyone dig in—the edges are crisp, and the center is warm and gooey. A scoop or two of vanilla ice cream takes it over the top. View Recipe 10 of 24 Mix-and-Match French Macarons Make one batch of light and airy French macarons, and you'll have all the time in the world to play around with the fillings. No matter how you’re feeling, there's a flavor for you. Keep it classic with vanilla bean buttercream and chocolate ganache, or incorporate fun flavors like peanut butter and lemon curd. View Recipe 11 of 24 Martha's Sugar Buns When regular biscuits just won’t do, bring out Martha's favorites! Made with a yeasted dough enriched with sour cream and egg yolk, these "buns" are sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, and then cut into portions before being placed in a muffin tin to show its signature spiral shape. Perfect for a sweet breakfast treat or on its own, alongside a cup of coffee. View Recipe 12 of 24 Cathead Biscuits Angie Mosier Biscuits as big as a cat’s head, you heard that right! These extra-large biscuits are rolled, cut out, and baked apart from each other, giving them a crispy, golden texture on the outside and a light, airy texture on the inside. View Recipe 13 of 24 Iced Oatmeal-Applesauce Cookies If you grew up eating those crisp iced oatmeal discs, you might feel a pang of nostalgia when you bite into one of these cookies. The simple cookies are sweetened with brown sugar and applesauce and require nothing more than a quick drizzle of maple icing. View Recipe 14 of 24 Swiss Meringue Buttercream Rachel Marek Alright, this is not exactly a baking project, but every home baker—amateur or pro—needs to master a versatile meringue recipe to incorporate in a galore of sweet treats. This all-purpose buttercream, for example, is perfect for piping onto cakes and cupcakes. View Recipe 15 of 24 Homemade Dog Biscuits Stephen Lewis Don’t forget the four-legged family members! Your pets will definitely appreciate some homemade biscuits to snack on. These irresistible yet healthy treats are rolled out and shaped just like cut-out cookies. Use fun cookie-cutter shapes like bones and fire hydrants. View Recipe 16 of 24 Giant Cheese Popovers Nothing says fun with baking more than large-format versions of your favorite treats. Popovers are always delicious, but they’re even better when baked in jumbo tins with lots of sharp, nutty Gruyère cheese. View Recipe 17 of 24 Bacon, Egg, and Toast Cups Who says you can't have fun at breakfast? Start your day with this cute take on the hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast. Press slices of sandwich bread into muffin cups, then layer in crispy slices of bacon and whole eggs. As they bake, the toast gets crunchy around the edges, and the egg whites set around still-runny yolks. View Recipe 18 of 24 Cinnamon Rolls Lennart Weibull This recipe is more of a weekend project than our others, but so worth it. The soft, enriched dough is rolled around a swirl of buttery cinnamon brown sugar and served with a generous swoop of cream cheese glaze. If you’d rather, give their cousin the sticky bun a try. View Recipe 19 of 24 Pull-Apart Garlic Bread Linda Pugliese We highly recommend making this buttery garlic bread—and eating it warm from the oven. The soft, pillowy, yeasted dough is folded and layered into a loaf pan with herby garlic butter for plenty of pull-apart fun. View Recipe 20 of 24 Angel Food Cake You'll never taste anything as light and fluffy as angel food cake—it's like biting into a cloud. Pair this lofty cake with berries and cream, lemon curd, or a scoop of your favorite flavor of ice cream. There's a gluten-free version, too. View Recipe 21 of 24 Cookie Press Cookies Bryan Gardner You probably only break out the spritz cookie press at the holidays, but really, you should use it more. If you have little helpers, kids will love using the cookie press to create intricate designs, and everyone will love enjoying the fruits of their labor. View Recipe 22 of 24 Classic Dutch Baby Lennart Weibull There are few things more impressive and delicious than the lofty heights reached by a Dutch baby. Much like a soufflé, the pancake gets its lift from beaten eggs. They can be sweet or lean savory with toppings like ham and cheese or smoked salmon and capers. View Recipe 23 of 24 Walnut-and-Honey Baklava Mike Krautter This popular Greek pastry is made by layering generously buttered layers of paper-thin phyllo dough with a lightly spiced nut mixture. The layering process takes some time, but it’s well worth the effort. Once baked, drizzle a thick honey syrup on top and watch it absorb into each layer. View Recipe 24 of 24 Chocolate-Chip Streusel Brownies Linda Pugliese Also known as "brookies," this dessert mashup gives you the best of both worlds. Buttery chocolate chip cookie dough is simultaneously baked over a layer of fudgy chocolate brownies. You won't have to choose between brownies and cookies ever again! View Recipe 24 Fun Things to Cook When You're Bored in the Kitchen Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit