25+ Things to Make When You Feel Like Procrastibaking

What's procrastibaking? It's when you really should be working, but choose to bake instead. These recipes, from classic cookies to intricate breads, will help you avoid work in the best way possible — and you don't need any special ingredients to do it!

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Photo By: Renee Comet

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Homemade Croissants

Rich, buttery and utterly delicious, these flaky croissants will undoubtedly impress anyone who's lucky enough to snag one. They do require a time commitment, but once you smell them freshly baked from the oven, you'll know it was worth every minute.

Get the Recipe: Homemade Croissants

Salted Butter Chocolate Chunk Shortbread

Trust us — this is the cookie recipe to make when you need a break from your busy day. The shortbread requires more attention than the average chocolate chip cookie, but that’s exactly why it’s great for stress relief. Plus, a salty chocolate treat is really never a bad idea.

Get the Recipe: Salted Butter Chocolate Chunk Shortbread

Browned Butter Pound Cake

Consider this pound cake the underdog of the dessert world. It appears to be a simple treat, but aromatic browned butter contributes a golden-brown color and rich, nutty flavor.

Get the Recipe: Browned Butter Pound Cake

Lemon Bars

Ina's tangy dessert bars have a shortbread dough that makes for a lot less fuss.

Get the Recipe: Lemon Bars

Garlic and Onion Challah Bread

Challah, a traditional Jewish egg bread, is a great dough for customizing to suit your needs. Molly incorporates garlic and onion into her challah, but she also prefers the bread plain or with chocolate chips for a sweet spin on the classic.

Get the Recipe: Garlic and Onion Challah Bread

Apple Crostata

Procrasti-bake like a pro with Ina’s rustic apple tart. Use a food processor to make a quick and easy crust, then get back to work while the dough is chilling. By the time you’re ready for another break, it’ll be just the right moment to prepare the apple filling and assemble the crostata.

Get the Recipe: Apple Crostata

Millionaire Shortbread Cookies

Marc takes shortbread cookies to a whole new level by layering the traditional recipe with dark chocolate and homemade cookie butter. Garnish the glistening squares with flaky salt before serving.

Get the Recipe: Millionaire Shortbread Cookies

Gooey Cinnamon Buns with Thick Cream Cheese Icing

Who doesn’t love an ooey-gooey cinnamon roll? Nancy makes a filling of brown sugar and pecans for rich molasses flavor and a little bit of crunch.

Get the Recipe: Gooey Cinnamon Buns with Thick Cream Cheese Icing

Grandma's Red Velvet Cake

In Sunny’s family, cocoa powder is the key ingredient for making a classic red velvet cake.

Get the Recipe: Grandma's Red Velvet Cake

Cinnamon Baked Doughnuts

Warm and crisp but never greasy, Ina's easy baked doughnuts have the same comforting flavor as a slice of cinnamon toast.

Get the Recipe: Cinnamon Baked Doughnuts

Chocolate Sea Salt Rugelach

Molly’s sweet rugelach does require patience, but the end result is so worth it. She spreads melted chocolate over a sweet cream cheese dough, then rolls it up and tops the dough with plenty of sprinkles and a touch of sea salt.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate Sea Salt Rugelach

Strawberry Cheesecake Galette

This light and springy dessert satisfies the cheesecake lover, but is a bit easier to make. It's a great way to use the first strawberries of the season.

Get the Recipe: Strawberry Cheesecake Galette

The Best Focaccia

It's easy to make classic focaccia at home. Our version is airy and slightly chewy, with a delicate golden crust. A drizzle of salt water over the dough during the final rise gives the bread a deeper flavor.

Get the Recipe: The Best Focaccia

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a tall, moist carrot cake, light in texture and lightly spiced with cinnamon and touch of nutmeg. Heavy cream whipped into the cream cheese frosting makes it extra fluffy.

Get the Recipe: Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Monster Cookies

Ree’s recipe is simple, but sometimes simple recipes are the most relaxing. She whips up a classic cookie dough, then tosses in everything from oats to candy. The best part? You can use whatever you have in the pantry — no need to go to the store first!

Get the Recipe: Monster Cookies

Coconut Cupcakes

Ina Garten uses a standard ice cream scoop to fill her cupcake tins to ensure the exact same size of cake every time. Use almond extract and vanilla extract in the frosting to mirror the flavors in the cake batter.

Get the Recipe: Coconut Cupcakes

Fudgy Marbled Cheesecake Brownies

Combine two favorite desserts in these super fudgy hybrid bars. A wooden skewer makes the marbled effect easy, but you could also use a toothpick or the probe-end of a digital thermometer instead.

Get the Recipe: Fudgy Marbled Cheesecake Brownies

Copycat Lofthouse Cookies

These sweet, frosted, cake-like cookies taste just like the ones you find in your supermarket bakery, only better.

Get the Recipe: Copycat Lofthouse Cookies

White Sandwich Bread

Bread can be difficult to master, but Ree’s family recipe never fails. It calls for just five basic ingredients, but requires quite a bit of kneading before the dough is ready to be baked.

Get the Recipe: White Sandwich Bread

Cherry Pie

What’s more comforting than a classic cherry pie? Don’t forget the ice cream for serving!

Get the Recipe: Cherry Pie

Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Bundt Cake

No master decorating skills needed for this stunning cake. Pipe chocolate and vanilla cake batter into the swirls of a bundt pan, and it does the job for you.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Bundt Cake

Brown-Butter Banana Bread

Forget relaxing with essential oils – the aroma of butter as it browns is just as therapeutic! Besides, a brown-butter glaze is the best way to take this satisfying quick bread over the top.

Get the Recipe: Brown-Butter Banana Bread

Vanilla and Coffee Cream Puffs

Looking for a dessert to impress? Valerie’s delicate puffs, which are filled with both coffee and vanilla-flavored creams, are sure to do the trick.

Get the Recipe: Vanilla and Coffee Cream Puffs

Chocolate-Hazelnut Macarons

Impress everyone by sandwiching a quick chocolate ganache between cookies made with hazelnuts and cocoa powder.

Get the Recipe: Chocolate-Hazelnut Macarons

Cheesy Garlic Babka Muffins

A twisted design turns Molly’s cheesy muffins into a next-level treat.

Get the Recipe: Cheesy Garlic Babka Muffins

Pastry Cream

Classic pastry cream, or creme patissiere, is a vanilla custard thickened with egg yolks and cornstarch. You can fill fluffy doughnuts, eclairs or other baked goods with this sweet cream or simply enjoy it on its own. This recipe does take some finesse, but the final product is completely worth the effort.

Get the Recipe: Pastry Cream

Neapolitan Swirl Bread

Indulgent buttery brioche gets a Neapolitan treatment. We divided the dough into three portions and kneaded in the flavors of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate, then stacked and rolled the portions to create a mesmerizing swirl with a trio of flavors in every bite. Enjoy it as is or with a slather of strawberry jam, or use it to make a delightfully different bread pudding.

Get the Recipe: Neapolitan Swirl Bread

Benne Wafers

These simple and delightful cookies are native to the South Carolina Lowcountry and the Gullah islands off the coast. They are so easy to make, and after just one bite of the salty, sweet, and crispy wafers, you’ll question where they’ve been all your life!

Get the Recipe: Benne Wafers

Leche Flan

This indulgent Filipino caramel and custard dessert—a staple for holidays, family gatherings and parties—has a luscious, creamy texture. The lemon zest adds a nice bright note, but feel free to leave it out.

Get the Recipe: Leche Flan

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