6 Easy Recipes To Bake While Quarantined

Who ISN’T looking for something to bake while quarantined? At a certain point, the store shelves had been cleared of flour and yeast.

Baking has been a great activity to share with our kids and kills two birds with one stone boredom and snack hunger. At this point, I have designated a section of our freezer to all the snacks we’ve been baking.

Today, I’m sharing 5 easy recipes to try if you:

• Have a sweet tooth
• Are bored with basic banana recipes
• Want family-friendly snacks
• Like to bake and freeze for later

I’ve made some of these recipes multiple times because my family loves them that much. I’ll be giving a breakdown of what we loved about these recipes and things to watch out for as an amateur baker.

Pear and banana cake

Recipe by: Sophia Ernst

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I was about to bake yet another basic banana bread when I came across this really beautiful way to level up the recipe. The original recipe did not call for blueberries but I decided to add some anyway and it paid off.

Why we love it:

• It looks so beautiful!
• The juice from the fruit adds another layer of flavor and moisture to the care.
• It will super easy to bake and can be made dairy-free.

What to watch out for:

• I still don’t understand the need for oatmeal in this recipe. I wonder if something was lost in translation given the original recipe wasn’t in English. Next time around I’ll probably blend the oatmeal before using it.

Chocolate Banana Bread

Recipe by: Two Peas & Their Pod

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Why we love it:
Banana bread seems to be the go-to recipe to bake while quarantined because it’s so easy. I’m over the classic version so I went looking for ways to supercharge it and I hit the jackpot!

• It helped us use up overripe bananas
• Super moist
• Chocolate overload with both cacao powder and chocolate chips
• Freezes well
• The end pieces are like brownie corner pieces

What to watch out for:

• It’s very RICH! Even my 4-year-old who looooves chocolate said she this cake was too much for her. I had only given her half a slice.
• Be sure to use a timer. Because of the melted chocolate, you can’t easily tell when it’s ready by inserting a toothpick.

Challah Bread

Recipe by: Immaculate bites 

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While I thought it was a bit odd that an African baking site had the top Pinterest post for challah bread, her images had me hooked. This was definitely an ambitious recipe that turned out to be the perfect ‘stretch recipe’ to bake while quarantined. My bread not only tasted great but also looked amazing.

Why we love it:

• Looks amazing
• Our girls loved dipping it in butternut squash soup at dinner
• I had fun braiding the bread

What to watch out for:

• The amount of flour stated in the recipe wasn’t precise so I had to add more until the dough wasn’t as sticky. Could have been user error. Let me know if you come across the same issue.
• Good luck saving some for later!

The Best Sugar Cookies

Recipe by: Sally’s Baking Addiction

I’ve found myself craving basic cookies that I could make in a large batch. So many sites promise their sugar cookies are the best but this recipe delivered! If you need a simple recipe to bake while quarantined, this would be it!

Why we love it:

• I added lemon rind to the recipe (as she suggested) and it kicked it up a notch
• They froze well
• Baked fast and were just solid

What to watch out for:

• Rolling out the dough before chilling was new to me
• Don’t roll the dough too thin

Brown Sugar Shortbread Cookies

Recipe by: Sally’s Baking Addiction

So clearly I’ve been on Sally’s blog A LOT. But there’s clearly a reason for that. Can we have a moment of silence for these cookies?! They tasted soooo good. The brown sugar settles to the bottom of the cookie and gives it a chewy, caramel-like consistency.

Why we love it:

• No rolling and cookie cutters required.
• Baked fast and were just solid

What to watch out for:

• You’ll need to chill the logs for at least 4 hour
• Let the dough thaw before slicing the cookies. Ours crumbled a bit while I was slicing.

Magnolia Table Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe by: Joanna Gaines reprinted by The Kitchn

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You can’t beat a solid chocolate chip cookie. I’ve tried a few recipes that were either chewy, crunchy or a mix of both. Of all the ones I’ve tried, this one is my favorite.

Why we love it:

• The cookies turn out crunchy on the very outer rim, chewy, then soft at the center. So perfectly balanced.
• The recipe doesn’t call for nuts. This is important because one of the girls is allergic to nuts.

What to watch out for:

• No hidden landmines here. Just straight-up chocolate chip cookies!

So that’s what we’ve been snacking on the past couple months. I would love to hear what you have been baking.

If nothing else comes out of this time at home, I will have added some amazing new recipes to my arsenal.

So that’s what we’ve been snacking on the past few months. I would love to hear what you have been baking.

If nothing else comes out of this time at home, I will have added some amazing new recipes to my arsenal.