Baking - quick and easy recipes - page 120

We love the sweet, pull-apart breakfast treat known as Monkey Bread, so—inspired by a suggestion from our Home Cooking community board—we devised this savory version with mozzarella and a hint of fresh chiles. The recipe calls for store-bought pizza dough, so apart from letting the dough rise for an hour and assembling everything, it comes together pretty quickly. Serve the monkey bread warm, with marinara sauce for dipping.

The calzone—pizza dough lavished with a handful of cheese and other toppings, folded over, sealed, and baked—is the perfect self-contained meal. Here we fill ours with cheese, ham, and sliced jalapeños, and because we start with store-bought pizza dough, it all comes together in a flash. What to buy: Premade pizza dough is available bagged in 14- or 16-ounce portions at well-stocked groceries. If you’d like to make your own, you’ll need two-thirds of our Basic Pizza Dough recipe.

Skip the bun and wrap it up pigs-in-the-blanket style with this ridiculously easy yet whimsical jumbo-sized rendition. Just roll out store-bought pizza dough and cut it into strips that you use to spiral-wrap the hot dogs. Bake and serve with beer and caraway seed mustard, spicy yellow mustard, or whole grain dijon mustard. If you’d like to make your own pizza dough, you’ll need two-thirds of our recipe for Basic Pizza Dough.

Rolls hot from the oven can take a dinner party from nice to amazing, but with all the other things clamoring for a cook’s attention, home-baked bread tends to fall through the cracks. These knot-shaped, garlic- and parsley-flavored rolls are different: You start with store-bought pizza dough, which slashes prep time; then just roll, brush with butter and flavorings, and bake. The dough knots also work as a stand-alone nibble, served with marinara sauce for dipping.

We love the Stromboli, the Italian-American pizza roll. We simplified things a bit here, with store-bought pizza dough and a once-over rolling technique. Our filling calls for marinara, shredded mozzarella, ham, and fresh chiles, but don’t be shy about freestyling with other cured meats and cheeses, herbs, veggies—the beauty of a Stromboli (er, Strom-Dough-Li) is its versatility. What to buy: Bags of premade pizza dough are available in 14- or 16-ounce portions at well-stocked groceries.

Homemade cinnamon rolls hot from the oven are a rare treat. But it takes time and organization to mix the dough, knead it, and let it rise, even before you have to shape the rolls and let them rise again. You can speed up the process by starting with store-bought pizza dough. Just roll out the dough, lavish it with butter and sugar, sprinkle with cinnamon, cut and shape, and let rise while you heat up the oven. You can go from bed to the best breakfast ever in about 2 hours.

The Spanish brought ensaïmadas—rich, tender rolls originally from Mallorca—to the Philippines. The spelling morphed into ensaymada, and what had been bread dough heavily enriched with pork lard became buttery rolls crowned with grated cheese and sprinkled with sugar. We slashed the prep time by starting with store-bought pizza dough. They end up chewier and a bit more rugged than classic brioche-based ensaymadas, but what you lose in tenderness you make up for in prep time.

We couldn’t resist trying this simple yet sophisticated baked asparagus “fries” recipe developed by one of our community members, AngelaID. This supereasy, and healthy, take on deep-fried potatoes is a great side or appetizer at any meal. If you can’t find fresh asparagus because it’s not in season, most stores sell frozen asparagus that’s often cut in stems and pieces, which could be good for bite-sized “fries.”

Pizzas topped with bacon, eggs, and goat cheese—perfect for brunch, lunch, or dinner. Next time you cook bacon for breakfast, set aside a few pieces.

Four hours in the slow cooker makes these hot wings beautifully tender; a further 30 minutes in a hot oven gets them crisp and brown. Serve these wings before the main event as a substantial game-day snack, or as the centerpiece of a meal, alongside a big crunchy salad to keep things cool.

Who doesn’t love a hefty slice of dark chocolate cake? This one has an appropriately diabolical twist: a hint of ancho chile powder for warmth and complexity, but that won’t light anyone’s tongue on fire (chileheads can add a teaspoon of cayenne). Spread the layers with sweetened whipped cream or buttercream and sliced strawberries; top with toasted almonds.

Drop biscuits are the fastest and easiest biscuits you can make—all you do is whisk together the dry ingredients, stir in the liquids, and drop lumps of dough onto a baking sheet. The secret to getting these drop biscuits light and tender: beer. If beer isn’t your thing, substitute the same volume of buttermilk. We recommend serving with a hearty dish, like the best chili recipe ever.

A simple, fast, and healthy treatment for sweet potatoes, adapted from a recipe on the website Health. Experiment with different sweet potato varieties—just make sure to choose small, evenly sized ones so you end up with manageable wedges.

Frozen puff pastry reduces the fuss factor in this recipe. Diced pears meet up with cinnamon, dried ginger, nutmeg, and light brown sugar, and bake in light, flaky pastry envelopes topped with crunchy sliced almonds.

Tender on the inside and craggy with baked cheese on top, these ham and cheese scones are rich and savory, ideal for brunch or to serve alongside bowls of Basic Vegetable Soup for lunch or supper. What to buy: Black Forest ham is dry-cured and smoked—you can substitute another kind of smoked ham.

Gluten-free muffins made with a mix of almond flour, rice flour, and tapioca starch, plus butter, dark brown sugar, and yogurt. Dried cranberries and toasted pecans add a seasonal touch that makes these perfect for holiday brunches. What to buy: Almond flour (also known as almond meal) is available at well-stocked markets.