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For a low-cleanup bake, start with cocoa brownies: the core ingredients are flour, cocoa, sugar, eggs and fat, and King Arthur Baking’s recipe mixes them together in one bowl without melting chocolate or separating wet and dry ingredients. If you have a different pantry mix—or want cake, cookies or bars—there are other one-bowl formats to consider, with a few important equipment and ingredient caveats.
Choose a dessert based on what you have
| What’s in your pantry | Good format to consider | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Flour, cocoa, sugar, eggs and butter or oil | Brownies; cocoa cake is another option | Brownie recipes may include optional chocolate chips or espresso powder. The cake recipe also calls for milk and leavening. |
| Peanut butter | Flourless peanut-chocolate cookies | Check the linked recipe’s full ingredient list before assuming it uses only pantry staples. |
| Oats and raisins | Oatmeal-raisin bars | Confirm the recipe’s remaining ingredients and equipment. |
| A baking skillet or pan you can mix in | Skillet cookie or dump cake | The skillet cookie bakes in its skillet; the dump cake is mixed in its baking pan. Their ingredient lists still determine whether they fit your pantry. |
Martha Stewart’s roundup also includes blondies, one-bowl chocolate cake, coconut macaroons, cupcakes and fruit-based bakes. Those formats broaden the choices, but a one-bowl label alone does not establish that a recipe uses ingredients you already have.
Start with cocoa brownies for a straightforward one-bowl bake
King Arthur Baking’s cocoa brownie recipe is a particularly direct match for a pantry-focused, minimal-cleanup dessert. Its ingredients are flour, unsweetened cocoa, sugar, salt, baking powder, eggs, melted butter and oil; chocolate chips and espresso powder are optional. The method combines the ingredients in a large bowl, then spreads the batter in a greased 9-by-13-inch pan and bakes it at 375°F.
King Arthur lists 7 minutes of prep and 25–30 minutes of baking, yielding about two dozen 2-inch brownies. The recipe describes the result as moist and slightly risen rather than cakey. These are the publisher’s recipe figures, not results from a comparative test. See King Arthur Baking’s one-bowl cocoa brownie recipe.
#1 Best Overall
Consider cocoa cake when you want slices instead of bars
Hersheyland’s one-bowl cocoa cake uses flour, sugar, milk, butter or margarine, cocoa, eggs, baking soda, vanilla and salt. The directions mix the ingredients in one large bowl and divide the batter between two greased and floured 9-inch round pans. It bakes at 350°F; the page lists 20 minutes of prep and 35 minutes of baking.
The recipe’s peanut-butter frosting is optional, but making it adds ingredients and a separate component to the job. Choose the plain cake if keeping the ingredient list and cleanup simpler matters more than dressing it up. See Hersheyland’s one-bowl cocoa cake recipe.
Rank #2
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Compare two published brownie options by yield and equipment
Hersheyland also publishes a one-bowl brownie recipe with chocolate chips. It calls for sugar, eggs, melted butter, vanilla, flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and chocolate chips, and yields 16 brownies. The method uses a stand mixer, an 8-inch square pan and a 350°F oven; the listed baking time is 25–30 minutes. That mixer makes it less equipment-minimal than a hand-mixed option.
| Recipe | Publisher-listed yield | Prep and bake information | Pan and mixing details |
|---|---|---|---|
| King Arthur Baking cocoa brownies | About 24 brownies, 2 inches each | 7 minutes prep; 25–30 minutes bake at 375°F | Greased 9-by-13-inch pan; combine ingredients in a large bowl. |
| Hersheyland one-bowl brownies with chocolate chips | 16 brownies | 25–30 minutes bake at 350°F; prep time not stated on the cited recipe page. | 8-inch square pan; stand mixer. |
These figures come from each publisher’s own recipe page and are not a head-to-head comparison. For a cakier result, Hersheyland says to bake its brownies an additional 5–7 minutes. See Hersheyland’s one-bowl brownie recipe.
Rank #3
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Keep “one bowl” claims realistic
One bowl describes a mixing method, not necessarily the total number of dishes or tools. You may still need measuring tools, a baking pan, a mixer, or another bowl for frosting. A skillet cookie or a dump cake can reduce transfers because the food is mixed or baked in its cooking vessel, but neither should be called pantry-friendly until you have checked its actual ingredients.
For more format ideas, Martha Stewart’s roundup includes blondies, skillet cookies, dump cake, flourless peanut-chocolate cookies, macaroons, oatmeal-raisin bars, cupcakes and fruit-based bakes. It was updated September 6, 2024; follow through to a specific recipe to verify its ingredients and method. Browse Martha Stewart’s one-bowl dessert ideas.
Rank #4
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Optional ingredient: unsweetened cocoa powder
If you have flour, sugar, eggs and fat but no cocoa, unsweetened cocoa powder is the one optional pantry addition that opens up the brownie and cake recipes above. It is a core ingredient in the cited King Arthur brownie and Hersheyland cake recipes. You do not need to buy special equipment to try a one-bowl bake; use the bowl and pan you already have if the recipe’s instructions allow it.
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