23 Baking Projects To Chase Away the Winter Blues

Dreary weather got you down?

Any one of these recipes will help you bake away those winter blues.

I actually look forward to a bad-weather day to bake something I dont always give myself the time for.

Chocolate Tres Leches Cake in a Cake Pan

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Its an excuse to stay inside by the warm oven.

Plus, I just love the cozy smell ofcinnamonorbread bakingon a cold day.

Its a lamination project thats easy enough for a first try and worth every ounce of effort.

7UP bundt cake on a plate at a table setting with a glass of soda and a plate with a serving

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Christina Daley

Chocolate Babka

This chocolate babka is made with a rich brioche filled with swirls of decadent chocolate.

Rosemary Focaccia

We cant leave out savory bakes.

This rosemary-scented focaccia makes an excellent side for hearty soups and stews.

Homemade Crescent Rolls in a Bread Bowl

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Oh, and the hands-off rising time happens to be just long enough for your favorite movie.

Povitica

Povitica is a beautiful bread swirled with a walnut and cinnamon filling.

The classic poppy seed filling is fruity and nutty and absolutely irresistible.

Brushing syrup on chocolate babka.

Cambrea Gordon

Chocolate Bundt Cake

This chocolate cake is complex in flavor, but not complex to make.

Smoky bourbon and strong coffee complement the dark chocolate.

Baking the cake low and slow creates a fine texture, and keeps the kitchen warm too.

Closeup view of a stack of Millionaire Shortbread bars on parchment paper with several bars visible in the background

Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

Perfect Cheesecake

Speaking of cheesecake, no winter baking list would be complete without the classic.

If you try this once, I guarantee youll find yourself practicing this recipe over and over again.

Banoffee pie is a popular British dessert named for the combination of banana and toffee.

A loaf of rosemary focaccia cooling on a rack

Elise Bauer

Oreo Cheesecake

Cambrea Gordon / Simply Recipes

This Oreo cheesecake is incredibly indulgent.

Got too excited and made too much cheesecake?

This bread is soft, lightly sweet, and has a beautiful, glistening crust.

Bee Sting Cake on a Circular Wooden Board

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Be sure to save a few slices for French toast the next day.

It has an earthy flavor that pairs magnificently with the heavier foods we crave in winter.

Use it for homemade reubens or liverwurst sandwiches, or a side for thick stews like goulash.

Homemade oatmeal bread slices on a plate.

Simply Recipes / Cambrea Gordon

The result is a nutty, dense yet well-risen loaf with a thick crust.

Its perfect with a slathering of Irish butter, a slice of cheddar cheese, or some homemade jam.

Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake

Contributor Marta Rivera says, “Dont grease the sides of the pan.

Sock It to Me Cake with a slice cut out of it to where it shows the marbling inside

Simply Recipes / Photo by Jen Causey / Food Styling by Jennifer Wendorf / Prop Styling by Phoebe Hauser

Ungreased sides allow the cake to cling to pan and facilitate its rising during baking.

Plates with Slices of Povitica Surrounded by a Cutting Board with More Slices, Small Bowls of Ingredients (Pecans, Cinnamon, etc), and a Cup of Coffee

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

Poppy Seed Kolache

Elise Bauer

Slice of Baklava Raised from Casserole Dish (with More Baklava) Using a Spoon

Simply Recipes / Michelle Becker

Chocolate Bundt cake on a cake stand

Elise Bauer

Slice of Chocolate Tres Leches Cake on a Small Plate with More in the Cake Pan Next to It

Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm

A slice of New York cheesecake on a plate topped with raspberry sauce.

Ciara Kehoe

Easy Banoffee Cheesecake - pie with whipped cream and toffee sauce

If you’ve mastered making New York Cheesecake, now it’s time to try new flavors. Banoffee pie is a popular British dessert named for the combination of banana and toffee. If banoffee can comfort Brits in their notoriously gray and rainy weather, it can only do good for our winter blues, especially as a cheesecake.

Oreo cheesecake