Kitchen Serf

  • Recipes and Dessert Ideas
    • Welcome to Kitchen Serf!
      • Contact
      • Blogging Resources
    • Disclosure
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • Disclosure
    • Privacy Policy
  • Welcome to Kitchen Serf!
  • Shop My Kitchen
  • Stay in Touch

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipe Index
    • Disclosure
      • Privacy Policy
    • Welcome to Kitchen Serf!
    • Shop My Kitchen
  • Stay in Touch

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Baking Basics

    What Should a Beginner Bake?

    Published: Sep 6, 2021 · Updated: Dec 18, 2024 by Jennifer Osborn · This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Save for Later!

    • Share
    • Tweet
    • Flipboard

    Last Updated on December 18, 2024 by Jennifer Osborn

    “I’ve been wanting to get into baking for a while now and I’m just not sure where to start.”

    That was a question in one of the baking groups I'm in. If this is you, I have lots of ideas, including one that may surprise you. We're going to start in the baking aisle of your grocery store.

    Before we go, be sure to check out a list of Baking Books for Beginners I drafted for you.

    baking mixes on grocery store shelf
    If you're a brand new baker, I suggest starting your baking journey with a box mix.
    Read more: What Should a Beginner Bake?
    Jump to:
    • Beginning Baker Recommendations
    • Start baking cookies using a drop cookie dough. 
    • How to Start Baking Tips
    • Comments

    Beginning Baker Recommendations

    If you’re brand, brand new, never baked anything, never watched anyone bake anything, start with a mix like a box of brownie mix or a box of cake mix. 

    Go to the baking aisle of your favorite supermarket and look for a box of something that looks appealing to you.

    Or start with one of these easy cake mix cookie recipes like Snickerdoodles made with cake mix, Kentucky Butter Cookies and Orange Cookies.

    Or my all time favorites, make cookies with a brownie mix! You can also make brownie cookies with M&M's or Peppermint Brownie Mix Cookies for the Christmas or Valentine's Day.

    This may sound like an odd suggestion from a food blogger who believes there should always be a batch of homemade cookie dough in your freezer, but if you’re really new, baking a brownie or cake from a box mix will help you get familiar with the motions of baking.

    A box mix or a tube of slice and bake cookies from your grocer’s refrigerated section will help you learn how your oven acts. It might run hot or cool. Or certain areas of your oven may have hot spots. 

    back of a box of brownie mix showing instructions
    Baking times are an estimate and can vary depending on your pan size and the accuracy of your oven among other factors.

    You’ll need, depending on what the back of the box says, an egg or two and some canola or vegetable oil. 

    A bowl, a spoon, a measuring cup or measuring spoons and a baking pan will be all you need for equipment. 

    You can mix up all of these baking mixes in one bowl with a spoon and bake them in pretty much any size baking pan you have--8x8, 9x9 or 9x13. 

    Depending on pan size, your baking time will vary.

    Be sure to set a timer on your phone or oven so you know when to pull out your baked goods.

    An oven thermometer is a tool that can make a big difference in how your baked goods turn out.

    You can usually find an oven thermometer for under $10.

    If you have problematic eyesight, this oven thermometer is touted as being easy to read.

    back of a brownie mix box

    Starting your baking journey with box mixes should give you easy wins, which will give you confidence to try other recipes such as basic pie recipes. 

    Don’t freak out, I wouldn’t suggest learning how to make pie crust from scratch just yet, unless you’re feeling really confident. 

    Two really simple pie recipes, for newbies in the kitchen are Key Lime Pie and Easy White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Pie. Both use graham cracker crusts that you can find in the baking aisle at the grocery store.

    Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key Lime Pie Recipe (Just 3 Ingredients)

    Easy White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

    Pecan Pie and Pumpkin pie are simple too.

    Lemon Blackberry Cake has a few steps but is a simple yet impressive dessert for a new baker.

    Now that you’ve got a few boxed brownies and basic pies under your apron, try baking cookies from scratch. 

    Start baking cookies using a drop cookie dough. 

    Be sure to read the recipe at least twice before getting started and pull out your ingredients so you know you have everything you need on hand.

    Three drop cookie recipes good for new bakers include:

    Nestle Chocolate Chip Cookies 

    Vintage Sugar Cookies

    Gingersnaps

    Cookie Scoop Sizes Explained

    Bar cookies are another option for new bakers. 

    M&M Bar Cookies are one of our favorites. 

    M&M bar cookies sliced into long pieces and triangles on a white background
    M&M Cookie Bars are irrestible and easy to make. I'd forgotten how much easier bars are over cookies. These bars are chewy and chock full of M&M's candies plus a bit of chopped white chocolate add a touch more oomph. #easy #barcookies #M&Mbars #whatcanImakewithM&Ms

    After you make a few batches of drop cookies or bars, try your hand at making shortbread cookies. 

    Shortbread cookies are nice because there are minimal ingredients involved and most are slice and bake. That means you’ll form the dough into a log, which you’ll slice into cookies after the dough has chilled.  

    Try Double Chocolate Chunk Espresso Shortbread 

    Sometimes, shortbread cookie dough can be frustrating to work with, which is why I left it for my last suggestion for you. 

    Shortbread can be dry and crumbly and sometimes will just refuse to be formed into any sort of cookie that doesn’t shatter into a million bits.

    But don’t throw those bits away. In fact, never throw away cookies that don’t turn out. Unless, that is, you've burnt them to a crisp.

    Give those problem cookies a chance at a new life!

    Grind them up into crumbs in a food processor and store them in your freezer for later. Those crumbs could become a cookie crust for a pie or for bars, like S’mores Bars. (add crushed grahams if you don’t quite have enough crumbs). 

    Are you stuck somewhere without a measuring cup? You need a conversion calculator for tablespoons to cups.

    Can you use salted butter for your chocolate chip cookies?

    How to Start Baking Tips

    • read baking cookbooks and magazines
    • watch tutorials on Youtube
    • make a list of your favorite flavors/baked goods that you want to replicate
    • create a baking pantry so you’re ready when the inspiration strikes
    • get an oven thermometer so you know if your oven runs hot or cold

    If this post was helpful to you, would you please share it with a friend? You can do this by scrolling to the top of the page and clicking one of the share buttons. Thanks.

    More Baking Basics

    • Thin, crispy chocolate chip cookies overlapping on parchment paper, with a lightly browned, uneven texture.
      Flat Cookies? Avoid These 7 Mistakes
    • A square baking pan lined with parchment paper holds a crumbly graham cracker crust mixture.
      Graham Cracker Crust 8x8
    • A hand holds a clear plastic container filled with golden, crispy cornflake cookies.
      Cornflake Crunch Recipe
    • A microplane zester with lime zest and a partially zested lime on a marble surface.
      How to Zest a Lime the Right Way

    About Jennifer Osborn

    Hi, I help new home bakers spread joy in their families and communities with easy dessert recipes and ideas and baking tips.
    My name is Jennifer Osborn. I'm a newspaper writer by trade.
    Cookie, espresso and vodka are my love language. 😂
    I'm also a young man mom, a yogi, gardener and reader. Currently reading a biography of Emily Dickinson. Email me your questions and comments: jennifer@kitchenserf.com

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. MD says

      September 25, 2021 at 12:28 pm

      Great article and is so helpful for new bakers. What you describe is exactly how I started baking. I went from very simple, ie. box mixes to the complex, ie. pie dough. For a learner, although a bit time consuming, keeping a notebook of experience, comments on failures and successes is helpful too. I now make comments on my written recipes that I want to repeat in the future.

      Thanks for this insightful work on baking.

      Reply
    2. Ned says

      March 14, 2025 at 10:44 am

      What great tips! I can't wait to use them to up my baking game! Thank you!

      Reply
    Woman with long brown hair and blue glasses smiles at the camera, with sunlight in the background.

    Welcome!

    Hi, my name is Jennifer Osborn. I created Kitchen Serf as a source of dessert ideas for you.

    More about me

    Seasonal

    • glass of lemonade next to a lemon and ice cubes.
      Single Serving Lemonade Recipe
    • red, white and blue flag designed pie with a pie server holding a slice of it.
      Quick and Easy 4th of July Desserts
    • key lime pie with slice taken out next to a white bowl of limes
      Nellie & Joe's Famous Key Lime Pie Recipe (Just 3 Ingredients)
    • Fruit skewers with strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, blueberries, and grapes on a white background with a striped cloth.
      Fruit Skewers (with Dip Ideas)

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer
    • Accessibility Policy

    Shop!

    • Shop My Kitchen

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Services
    • Media Kit
    • About Jennifer Osborn

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2025 Foodie Pro on the Feast Plugin