If you ever don’t know what to do with your friends on a rainy and somber day, making desserts can help brighten the mood! Here are five easy desserts that you can make with your friends! All of these recipes are from BuzzFeed and can be modified to fit most dietary restrictions. Enjoy!

• The Best Fudgy Brownies

Ingredients:

8 ounces good-quality chocolate

¾ cup butter (melted)

1¼ cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

¾ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Chop the chocolate into chunks. Melt half, then save the other half for later.
3. In a bowl, add the butter and sugar and mix to combine.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat for 1-2 minutes until the mixture becomes fluffy and light in color.
5. Whisk in the reserved melted chocolate (make sure the chocolate is not too hot or else the eggs will cook), then sift in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt.
6. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, being careful not to overmix as this will cause the brownies to be more cake-like in texture.
7. Fold in the chocolate chunks, then transfer the batter into a parchment paper-lined square baking dish.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, then cool completely.
9. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

• The Best Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

½ cup sugar

¾ cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup butter, melted

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1¼ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

4 ounces milk or semi-sweet chocolate chunks

4 ounces dark chocolate chunks (or your preference)

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, salt, and butter until a paste has formed with no lumps.
3. Whisk in the egg and vanilla, beating until light ribbons fall off the whisk.
4. Sift in the flour and baking soda, then fold the mixture with a spatula, being careful not to overmix too much. This will cause the gluten in the flour to toughen which will result in cakier cookies.
5. Fold in the chocolate chunks evenly, then chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. For a more intense toffee-like flavor and deeper color, chill the dough overnight. The longer the dough rests, the more complex its flavor will be.
6. Scoop the dough with an ice-cream scoop onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving at least 4 inches of space between cookies and 2 inches of space from the edges of the pan so that the cookies can spread evenly.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the edges have started to barely brown.
8. Cool completely, and enjoy!

• Strawberry Cheesecake Macarons

Ingredients:

3 eggs whites, room temperature

¼ cup sugar

1¾ cups powdered sugar

1 cup superfine almond flour

3 drops red food coloring

Filling

1 8-ounce package cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

Strawberry jam

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 275ºF (140ºC).
2. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until frothy.
3. Keep beating and slowly add sugar until stiff peaks form.
4. Sift powdered sugar and almond flour over the egg whites.
5. Fold the dry mixture into the egg whites, giving the bowl a quarter turn every third fold. Make sure to not overmix or the macarons will not rise.
6. Once the batter reaches a lava-like consistency, transfer half the batter to another bowl and add the food coloring. Mix until just combined, making sure not to overmix.
7. Working quickly, put the white and pink batters into separate sandwich bags.
8. Cut the corner off of each bag and squeeze the two batters evenly into a larger gallon-size bag or piping bag to create the multicolor effect.
9. Pipe 1 ½-inch dollops onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Take a little batter to “glue” down the edges of the parchment paper so it stays put.
10. Let the macarons rest for 30 minutes to an hour, until they are no longer wet to the touch and a skin forms on top.
11. While resting, make the filling by mixing the cream cheese, powdered sugar and milk in a bowl until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and set aside until ready to fill.
12. When the cookies are dry to the touch, bake for 13 to 15 minutes until they have risen to form a “foot.”
13. Let rest for 10 minutes before filling. To fill, pipe a circle of the cream cheese mixture around the edge of one cookie and place a small dollop of jam in the center. Sandwich with another macaron.
14. Enjoy! (Macarons are best kept refrigerated until ready to serve.)

• Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

Dough

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

2 cups whole milk, warm to the touch (110–115˚F)

½ cup granulated sugar

1 pack active dry yeast

5 cups flour, divided

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

Filling

¾ cup butter, softened

¾ cup light brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

Preparation:

1. Generously butter two disposable foil pie or cake pans.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together warm milk, melted butter, and granulated sugar. The mixture should be just warm, registering between 100–110˚F. If it is hotter, allow to cool slightly.
3. Sprinkle the yeast evenly over the warm mixture and let set for 1 minute.
4. Add 4 cups of all-purpose flour to the milk mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined.
5. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
6. Preheat the oven to 350˚F (180˚C).
7. After 1 hour, the dough should have nearly doubled in size. Remove the towel and add an additional ¾ cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt.

8.Stir well, then turn out onto a well-floured surface.

9. Knead the dough lightly, adding additional flour as necessary, until the dough just loses its stickiness and does not stick to the surface.
10. Roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about ½-inch thick. Fix corners to make sure they are sharp and even.
11. Spread the softened butter evenly over the dough.
12. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. Press the mixture into the butter.
13. Roll up the dough, forming a log, and pinch the seam closed. Place seam-side down. Trim off any unevenness on either end.
14. Cut the log in half, then divide each half into 7 evenly-sized pieces (about 1½ inches thick each).
15. Place 7 cinnamon rolls in each cake pan, one in the center, six around the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes.
16. Remove plastic wrap. Bake the cinnamon rolls in a preheated oven for 25–30 minutes, until golden brown.
17. While the cinnamon rolls are baking, prepare the frosting. In a medium-size mixing bowl, whisk together cream cheese, butter, vanilla, whole milk, and powdered sugar, until smooth.
18. Remove the cinnamon buns from the oven. While still warm, drizzle evenly with frosting.
19. Enjoy!

• Four-Ingredient Ice Cream

Ingredients:

Wide-mouthed 16 oz mason jar

1 cup cream

1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Salt

Recipe:

1. Combine all the cream, sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt into the mason jar. You can also add any extra toppings such as cut-up strawberries, cookie dough, crushed graham crackers, chocolate sauce, crumbled Oreos, or chocolate chips.
2. Shake the jar vigorously for a minute or two.
3. Put the mason jar into the freezer. It should take about three hours to become the consistency of ice cream, but you can let it sit for longer.
4. After three hours, remove the mason jar from the freezer and transfer it to a bowl to eat.
5. Add any toppings you’d like, and enjoy!

By Sarah Tea ‘30, Middle School Editor

30stea@montroseschool.org