Baking

Our Favorite Back-of-the-Box Baking Recipes, Ranked

Some of the best recipes aren't in cookbooks, magazines, or a chef's notebook. They're right in the aisles of the supermarket. We hit the grocery store and picked up a cart full of old-faithful products to test the famous recipes on the backs of the boxes. (Or cans. Or bags.) Then we baked (and tasted) them all. Were they all great? Nope. But these eight, presented here in ascending order, were winners.

By Rhoda Boone

December 15, 2016

Photo by JP Bevins, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
1/8
8. Karo Classic Pecan Pie
It's got a jiggly center, lots of nutty charm, and is sweet enough to give you a toothache. In other words, this is everything you'd want from pecan pie.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
2/8
7. Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Pie
With only four core ingredients, this recipe couldn't be easier to put together. And the payoff is huge: the bright filling strikes just the right balance between sweet and tart, tangy and creamy.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
3/8
6. Philadelphia Classic Cheesecake
Serve this creamy cloud of a cheesecake as it is (nobody'll call it plain), or use it as a canvas for a decadent topping. (Rum-roasted pineapple FTW.)
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
4/8
5. Swans Down 1-2-3-4 Pound Cake
This pound cake is the most requested Swans Down recipe of all time (and the company has been around since 1894, so...yeah...). Its moist crumb and springy texture makes it perfect for breakfast, teatime, or any time you want to eat your feelings.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
5/8
4. Carnation Lemon Bars
Epi's Executive Director Eric Gillin described these sweets as "like a child's lemon bar dream." And that's a good thing. These are lemon bars in their purest, most unadulterated form. And they taste like sunshine.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
6/8
3. Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Cake
This do-it-all recipe can be a tender double-layer cake, triple-layer cake, bundt cake, sheet cake—or 30 (!) decadently-frosted cupcakes. So, uh, get ready to win every birthday and bake sale for the rest of your life.
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
7/8
2. Quaker Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
These cookies are like a warm hug from grandma, if your grandma smells like cinnamon and brown sugar. (If she smells like anything else, we're sorry.)
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Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova
8/8
1. Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sure, it's the expected winner. But c'mon! With a crispy exterior and chewy inside packed full of melty chocolate and crunchy nuts, these chocolate chip cookies are a crash course in how a chocolate chip cookie should taste. Just like a first love, we will forever compare any other cookie to the radiant, edible beauty that is the Toll House cookie.
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Rhoda Boone graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a BFA in photography and worked in the photo industry for over 6 years, both at Vanity Fair and Mark Seliger's photography studio. Then, in 2009, she left the world of fashion and celebrity to pursue her true passion: food. She graduated at the ... Read More

Senior Director, Culinary Production, Emeritus

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