15 Weekend Baking Projects for When You Need a Mental Escape

When I'm stressed or have had a bad day, my first instinct is to run into the kitchen and bury myself in baking projects. I start proofing sourdough loaves, make and scoop several batches of cookie dough to freeze for later, and immerse myself in the meditative act of laminating puff pastry dough. Baking up a storm certainly won't solve all of my problems, but it's the most enjoyable and rewarding (not to mention delicious!) way to take my mind off things. Below, you'll find 15 baking projects—including tender cinnamon rolls, buttery brioche, and the very best chocolate chip cookies—that will provide you with a mental escape when you need it the most.

Shokupan (Japanese Milk Bread)

Shokupan is an ultra-soft, squishy, and impossibly light loaf, with a mild sweetness and a fine, pillowy crumb the Japanese call "fuwa fuwa" or "fluffy fluffy." Here, a scalded flour mixture known as a yudane keeps the loaf soft. Unlike most wheat-based scalds that must be cooked over a stove, this yudane is made with glutinous rice flour, and comes together simply by whisking boiled milk with the flour.

Cheese Danish

These Danishes are rich with butter and packed with sweet, tangy cream cheese—and may very well convince you that the only ones worth eating are warm, freshly baked ones.

Custard Creams

These sandwich-style cookies feature a silky, pale yellow custard powder–flavored buttercream between two crumbly rectangular biscuits. Custard powder gives the biscuits their distinct golden color and custard-like flavor, and keeping the dough cold helps the biscuits retain their shape and embossed detail.

New Jersey Crumb Buns

The Garden State's spin on coffee cake goes heavy (in the best of ways) on the streusel crumb topping. For a soft, rich crumb, cream softened butter with equal parts granulated and brown sugar. Don't skip the hefty dose of cinnamon, which gives the pastry its warm spiced note.

One-Bowl Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

The best smell to wake up to is that of cinnamon rolls wafting from the oven. The magic of this recipe? All the heavy lifting is knocked out a day in advance. Plus: It's a one-bowl recipe, so you don't need to dirty every dish in the house just to make a special breakfast.

Kanafeh (Middle Eastern Cheese and Phyllo Dessert)

Filled with salty cheese and drenched in a floral syrup, kanafeh is a crispy, nutty, and syrupy dessert made for cheese lovers. Thoroughly mixing the shredded phyllo with ghee and baking it in a cast iron skillet—which promotes even browning—ensures the pastry crisps up all the way.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

Good things take time: An overnight rest allows enzymes to break down large carbohydrates, enhancing the caramelization and browning process the next day to help the cookies develop deeper flavor. These cookies get their intensely nutty, butterscotch flavor from brown butter and deep molasses notes from dark brown sugar.

Homemade Bagels

A Japanese technique called yukone—which involves cooking a mixture of flour and water on the stove into a thick paste of gelatinized starch before incorporating it into a dough—ensures these tender, chewy bagels stay fresh for days.

Leche Flan (Filipino Baked Custard)

Leche flan is a beloved dessert in the Philippines, and marries caramelized sugar with a rich, dense, and creamy custard. For the silkiest custard, pass the flan through a fine-mesh sieve, then bake it in a water bath, which surrounds the dessert with gentle, uniform heat that prevents it from becoming dry and rubbery.

New England Anadama Bread

You can thank a grumpy fisherman and his wife for this traditional New England sandwich bread. Made with cornmeal and molasses, the loaf is sweet and slightly nubby, and especially delicious when toasted and slathered with salted butter.

Chocolate Babka

Rich, tender, and filled with just the right amount of chocolate, this delicious babka will fill your home with the enticing scent of yeasted dough and cocoa. A simple cooked flour slurry called tangzhong gives the bread its moist, fluffy texture and delays staling, while a cold proof helps the dough develop more flavor and makes it easier to shape.

Millionaire's Shortbread

With layers of tender shortbread, rich caramel, and dark chocolate, millionaire’s shortbread is a luxurious confection worth making at home. Cooking the butter, sugar, and heavy cream to 235°F (113°C) results in butterscotch that's satisfyingly chewy and not too firm or runny, and a dark chocolate topping helps offset the sweetness of the bar.

Classic Yeasted Coffee Cake

With its tender crumb, sweet cinnamon filling, and toasted pecan topping, this pastry is a riff on Sara Lee's pecan coffee cake. Made in the style of Danish brunsviger—a yeasted coffee cake that's typically eaten for breakfast—it's subtly sweet, with a soft, springy crumb.

Brioche

Brioche is the gold standard of enriched bread: It is unashamedly rich with a melt-in-the-mouth quality. This classic brioche is airy and tender, with a deeply rich and buttery flavor thanks to eggs, whole milk, plenty of butter, and hands-off cold fermentation.

Gâteau Basque

Gâteau Basque, which has a filling of pastry cream or cherry jam nestled between a tender and slightly crumbly crust, combines elements of a cookie, tart, and pie. In other words: A crowd-pleasing dessert that ticks all the boxes.