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Maria Yagoda is a senior editor at Food & Wine, where she has worked for five years, specializing in restaurant and travel coverage.
Updated on March 30, 2021
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So you're not an expert baker — maybe precise measurements scare you, or you prefer French fries to French pastry. But if you're looking to improve your baking skills and add some foolproof cakes, cookies, and muffins to your repertoire, try out any of these classic recipes, which we're pretty sure you'll make for the rest of your life.
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Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
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These made-from-scratch chocolate chip cookies take less than half an hour from start to finish.
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Brown Sugar Cake with Ricotta and Blueberries
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Chef Joe Flamm cinched his season 15 Top Chef win with this simple brown sugar cake, which he learned to make from the late pastry chef Todd Kunkleman at Stephanie Izard’s Girl & the Goat in Chicago. The chewy, dense confection is like a cross between a cake and a blondie.
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Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping
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These muffins are easy to make, and you can easily replace the blueberries with other kinds of fresh fruit, such as raspberries or peaches (chopped into small pieces).
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Buttery Vanilla Shortbread
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Gail Simmons' five-ingredient shortbread can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.
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German Chocolate Cake
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All cooks should have a show-stopping German chocolate cake in their repertoire, and this is one of our favorites. The indulgent dessert features layers of light chocolate cake and sweet coconut-pecan frosting.
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Golden Cupcakes
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Classic, iconic, beautiful, and delicious, these cupcakes can be frosted any way you like.
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Milk-Chocolate-Frosted Layer Cake
This cake from pastry chef Karina Gowing is perfection for anyone who loves frosting.Make extra of the milk-chocolate ganache to eat by the spoonful. Trust us.
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Carrot Coconut and Zucchini Bread
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This not-too-sweet quick bread is jam-packed with vegetables and an irresistible toasted-coconut topping.
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Coffee Cookie Crumble
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Crunchy, salty, and coffee-laced, this streusel topping is one of a kind.
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Jacques Pépin's Favorite Pound Cake
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Equal parts flour, sugar, eggs, and butter, pound cake is a classic for a reason.
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Chocolate-Pecan Shortbread Bars
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Bars are the unsung heroes of the dessert world, as the dough doesn't need to be molded into complicated shapes.
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Old-Fashioned Banana Bread
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A great way to use up bananas that are past their prime and a delicious quick bread, banana bread is an easy recipe that anyone can throw together.
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