You're home on a Friday night and the craving for something sweet hits, but you don't want to make a trip to the store. What do you do? 

Maybe you're a star baker who has a pantry full of fancy flours and spices at your disposal. If you're like the rest of us, you probably like to bake when you have the time and inclination, but usually it just feels like a lot of work. 

Whipping up a batch of cookies or a quick bread doesn't have to take much time, though. Here are four easy recipes that will satisfy your sweet tooth without making a mess of your Parkside Redmond Apartment.  

Impossible Peanut Butter Cookies

As the name suggests, these cookies shouldn't exist. But they do. Impossible peanut butter cookies use just three ingredients (you read that right) that you probably have in your pantry right now. They're so easy to remember that you really don't need a recipe, but here it is: 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of granulated sugar, 1 large egg. That's it! Mix all ingredients together, roll into balls, press with a fork, and bake at 350-degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. How can these work without flour? We don't know. But we do know that these cookies are all about the texture. They come out of the oven perfectly soft and chewy every time. 

Two No-Bake Options: Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat Cookies and Rice Krispies Treats

Both of these recipes are childhood favorites because they're simple, they're quick, and they feed a crowd. For the chocolate peanut butter oat cookies, also sometimes referred to as "cow plop" cookies, you simply bring the first four ingredients to a boil, melt in the peanut butter, stir in the vanilla and oats, and then drop by the teaspoonful onto wax paper. Four easy steps! 

The Rice Krispies Treats are even faster.  Stir the butter and marshmallows together over low heat until completely melted, mix in the rice cereal, and press into a 9 x 13" pan. These treats are versatile, too. Add in peanut butter, chocolate candies, nuts, or some fruity pebbles to completely change the flavor. Our favorite variation? Stir half a teaspoon of vanilla extract into the melted butter to subtly enhance and refine the flavor of this childhood classic. 

Quick Breads: Variations on a Theme

If you're craving some no-fuss baking, quick breads are your answer. Quick breads are called "quick" because they generally involve dumping ingredients together, whisking by hand, and pouring everything into a bread pan. There's no complicated sourdough starter to mess with, no yeast, and no waiting hours for anything to rise. These breads are easy, they use what you have on hand, and they can range from super sweet and decadent, like a sticky gingerbread, to savory, like a jalapeno cheese bread. Here are 27 quick bread recipes to get you started. We love a simple zucchini nut bread toasted with cream cheese for breakfast. Pro Tip: Most quick breads can also be made as muffins to reduce baking time. 

Crumbles and Dump Cakes

Like quick breads, crumbles and dump cakes are forgiving recipes that can use up the ingredients you already have on hand. Take this two-person raspberry crumble recipe, for example. If you didn't have raspberries in your fridge, you could use blueberries. Or strawberries. Or peaches. You could use frozen berries if fresh weren't available. You could add a pinch of cinnamon to the crumble, use apples for the filling, and turn a summer dessert into a fall dessert. Easy. 

Same with dump cakes. Cherry dump cake is a classic favorite, but all dump cakes are essentially the same recipe. A can of fruit, a box of cake mix, and butter. Layer the ingredients, in that order, into a 9 x 13" pan and bake at 350-degrees until everything is brown and bubbly. Mix it up and try peaches with vanilla cake, blueberries with butter cake, or cherries with devil's food cake.

Baking doesn't have to involve hours in the kitchen. When you're looking for a quick, homemade treat, turn to these easy no-mess recipes. If you're looking for a great place to call home, contact us for more information. We're always happy to help new residents make our community their own.