Thoughts about homebaked goodies usually brings on thoughts about hours laboring in the kitchen: measuring, sifting, mixing, pouring. Honestly, it’s so much easier to just pick up something from the local bakery. Or is it? Baking can be as easy as 1 - 2 - 3, when you use recipes with only 3 ingredients. How about some melt-in-your-mouth peanut butter cookies? Fresh-from-the-oven sticky buns? Hot rolls to accompany your dinner entree? In the time it takes to heat up the oven, these items can be prepared and ready for baking.
Peanut Butter Cookies
When I first found this recipe, I thought, No way! Where’s the flour? No baking soda? This can’t work- but it does! Great peanutty flavor.
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
First, combine the egg and sugar. Then add the peanut butter and mix well. The dough will be real sticky at first, so let it sit about 5 minutes.
The dough will firm up, but still be slighty sticky. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, 12 to each baking sheet. Make a criss-cross design on each with the tines of a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes; edges should be slightly brown and tops set ( not soft or glossy). Makes about 3 dozen.
Sour Cream Rolls
These rolls have a rich taste, even without butter. They look more like drop biscuits, but one taste will tell you otherwise. Bread lovers (like my 4 year-old son) will eat until they’re all gone!
1 cup (8 oz. carton) sour cream
1 stick butter
1 cup self-rising flour (NOT all-purpose)
Butter should be room-temperature; mix well with sour cream. Add flour and mix well. Drop dough by tablespoons into lightly greased 12-cup muffin
pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Makes 12 rolls.
Sticky Buns
A super economical recipe. A pan of these sweet buns doesn’t last 24 hours at my house. Great for breakfast, or as a late night snack with a big glass of cold milk. A family favorite that I make all the time.
2 pkgs 10 count refrigerated biscuits- original or buttermilk
1/2 stick butter or margarine (I use margarine)
1/2 cup brown sugar
Butter the sides and bottom of a cake-sized baking pan. Separate the biscuits and place them side by side in the pan- it’s okay to crowd them a bit to fit in the pan. In a small saucepan, melt the butter/margarine, then add the brown sugar. Stir until sugar melts and you have a thick syrup. Quickly spoon the syrup across the tops of the biscuits until all are covered, it’s okay if the syrup drips down between the biscuits. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Syrup will be bubbly, and top of buns will be crusty. Let cool for a few minutes, then remove all the buns from the pan onto a plate- if you don’t, they will stick to the pan. (if you neglect to do this, simply return the pan to the oven for a few mintues to reheat the syrup.) Makes 20 buns.
I also like to add a dash of cinnmon or allspice to the brown sugar syrup. You could also top with chopped nuts before baking, if you’re not a stickler for the 3 ingredients!
Now that you’ve got these super-simple recipes for yummy homebaked goodies, why aren’t you headed for the kitchen?
