No oven, no problem

Like a lot of people, I embarked on a stress-baking bonanza these past few weeks. Now as the flour supply starts to look less robust and as the stronger southern sun streaming into my kitchen makes it too hot to turn on the oven, my baking frenzy has slowed dramatically. I still want to have sweet treats, however, which poses the dilemma of what to make that doesn’t involve the oven. The Huffington Post comes to my rescue with more than a dozen no-bake desserts.

Many of these desserts are easily made with pantry ingredients, like bars and drop cookies that feature breakfast cereals, and icebox cakes that use graham crackers. Even venerated chef Jacques Pépin recently got in on the act, posting a Facebook videos of how to make chocolate and corn flake no-bake cookies, plus how to candy citrus peels. If it’s good enough for Jacques, it’s good enough for me. As an added bonus, many of these recipes are gluten-free. They are perfect for getting kids involved as the reward vs. effort ratio is high, and they are also excellent for people who don’t like baking but do like dessert.

The EYB Library contains over 400 no-bake recipes ranging from pies to cookies to tiramisu. You can also browse 400 cereal bar recipes, most of which require no baking. Plus you will find over 100 icebox cake recipes in the Library as well. Here are a few Member favorites to whet your appetite:

• Mocha chocolate icebox cake from No-Bake Desserts by Addie Gundry
• No-bake Key lime cheesecake bars from Food Network Magazine
• No-bake chocolate orange fudge slice from Alice in Bakingland
• No-bake cheesecake with passionfruit topping by Roberta Muir
• Our best no-bake cookies from Food52
• Salted brown butter crispy treats from Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman (pictured)