Dan Langan shares recipes from new cookbook 'Short and Sweet'
Baker and blogger Dan Langan is sharing how baking can be simple, easy and doesn't need fancy ingredients.
In his new cookbook, "Short and Sweet," Langan shares 75 effortless desserts made with accessible ingredients and no stand-mixer is required.
He stopped by "Good Morning America" on Wednesday to share some recipes from cookies and cakes to sticky buns.
Try the recipes in your own kitchen!
Marshmallow-Stuffed S'Mores Cookies
Makes 8 cookies
Ingredients
5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
½ cup (110 g) lightly packed light brown sugar
¼ cup (24 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Heaping ½ teaspoon fine salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg, cold
¾ cup (100 g) all-purpose flour
⅔ cup (125 g) semisweet chocolate chunks, plus more for topping
3 full graham cracker sheets, broken into roughly ½ inch pieces
⅓ cup (33 g) marshmallow crème (such as Fluff or Jet-Puffed)
Directions
Place the butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl and heat at full power in 10-second increments, stirring after each, until about 30% melted, 25 to 35 seconds total.
Add the brown sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, baking powder and baking soda to the bowl and use a rubber spatula to press and smear the ingredients until no chunks of butter remain. Add the egg and whisk until smooth, about 20 seconds.
Add the flour, chocolate chunks and about three-quarters of the broken graham crackers and stir with a rubber spatula until combined and all the flour is absorbed.
Spread the dough up the sides of the bowl and freeze for 30 to 40 minutes, or until firm and scoopable. Toward the end of the freezing time, preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center position. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
Using a ¼-cup scoop, slightly underfilled, portion out dough, use your hands to shape into balls and place on the lined pan in 4 rows of 2. Use your finger to press a cavity into the center of each cookie while doing your best to keep its round shape. Fill the center of each cookie with about 2 teaspoons of marshmallow crème. It may spill over the top a bit and that is okay! Press a few pieces of the remaining graham cracker chunks into the sides of each cookie dough ball.
Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and set on the edges. If the cookies have overspread or are misshapen, use a spoon to push the cookie edge toward the center to finesse their shape.
Add a few additional chocolate chunks to the top of each cookie while they are hot, then allow them to cool completely on the pan, about 45 minutes. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Butter or nonstick cooking spray, for the pan
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons (150 g) all- purpose flour, plus more for the pan
¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon fine salt
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons (¾ stick/85 g)
unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened at room temperature for 20 minutes
⅓ cup (85 g) sour cream, at room temperature
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 tablespoon (13 g) neutral oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons (45 g) warm water
½ cup (90 g) mini chocolate chips
Short and Sweet Tahini Buttercream
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center position. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper and flour the pan, tapping out the excess.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda until blended. Add the cubed butter and use your hands to squish and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the butter is fully incorporated and the entire mixture resembles breadcrumbs, about 1 minute.
Add the sour cream, egg, egg yolks, oil, and vanilla and whisk gently to combine the ingredients. Whisk vigorously for 40 seconds, or until thickened and lighter in color. Pour in the warm water and whisk slowly to combine, then whisk vigorously for 30 seconds more to aerate the batter.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle ¼ cup (45 g) of the chocolate chips over the top.
Bake for 31 to 34 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a plate and reinvert onto a wire rack or platter to cool completely before frosting, about 90 minutes.
To frost the cake, dollop the buttercream onto the center of the cooled cake and use a spoon or an offset spatula to spread the buttercream across the top of the cake. Place the remaining ¼ cup (45 g) chocolate chips in a small microwave-safe bowl and heat at 50% power in 10-second increments, stirring well with a rubber spatula after each, until melted, about 30 seconds total. Use a fork to drizzle the melted chocolate over the frosting. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Absolutely Outrageous Cinnamon Sticky Buns
Makes 9 buns
Ingredients
Bun Dough
¾ cup (185 g) warm water (110° to 115°F)
1 tablespoon (13 g) lightly packed light brown sugar
4½ teaspoons (two 7 g packages) instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons fine salt
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons
(276 g) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
2 tablespoons (26 g) neutral oil
2 tablespoons water
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
8 tablespoons (1 stick/113 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup (220 g) lightly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons (11 g) ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon all- purpose flour
¼ teaspoon fine salt
Cream cheese Icing
4 ounces (113 g) full-fat cream cheese, softened to spreadable consistency
2 tablespoons (27 g) lightly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, melted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of fine salt
Directions
Lightly grease the bottom of a 9-inch square pan, then line with two sheets of parchment paper that overhang the edges on all four sides.
Make the dough: In a large bowl, combine the warm water, brown sugar and yeast and stir with a spoon until the yeast is completely dissolved.
Stir in the salt and then the flour and continue mixing until all the dry ingredients are hydrated and a rough dough forms. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise until puffy but not quite doubled in size, 25 to 30 minutes.
Pour the oil over the top of the dough, then use your hand to knead the dough in the bowl for a minute or so, until it is smooth and the oil is mostly absorbed. If the dough won’t pull away from the bowl, knead in an additional teaspoon of flour.
Lightly flour your work surface, turn the dough out onto the flour and press into a square. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
While the dough rests, make the filling: In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, flour and salt and stir and smear with a rubber spatula until smooth. Spoon a third of the filling into the bottom of the prepared pan and spread into an even layer.
Dust the top of the dough with flour and use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 12-inch square. Lift and turn the dough after every few rolls to ensure that it isn’t sticking and add a bit more flour if needed.
Spoon the remaining filling over the dough and use a spoon to spread to the edges, leaving a 1-inch border on the edge farthest from you. Use a knife or pizza cutter to cut the square into 9 vertical strips, so that each strip has a portion of the bare border. Starting at the edge closest to you, roll up each strip and pinch the seam where the dough is bare to form a roll. Don’t stress if they look wonky -- the dough will be soft as you work and that is okay.
Place the rolls in the prepared pan in 3 rows of 3 and press down so they just start to touch. Pour 2 tablespoons of water over the top of the rolls. Cover with a sheet pan and let rise until doubled in size, 15 to 25 minutes more. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center position.
Bake the rolls for 28 to 32 minutes, or until lightly golden and springy when pressed in the center. Allow to cool in the pan until warm, about 30 minutes, before icing the buns.
Make the icing: Place the cream cheese in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla and salt and whisk until creamy and the sugar is dissolved. Dollop the icing over the buns and spread to coat. Store leftovers covered on the counter overnight and reheat (see page 24) before serving.
Mocha Marble Cake
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients
Butter or nonstick cooking spray, for the pan
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (145 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon (165 g) granulated sugar\
1¼ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon fine salt
⅛ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup (120 g) heavy cream, at room temperature
⅓ cup (75 g) neutral oil
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
2 tablespoons steaming-hot water2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white or cider vinegar
1 tablespoon (7 g) Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted if lumpy
Short and Sweet Mocha Buttercream
Sprinkles, for decorating (optional)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center position. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper and flour the pan, tapping out the excess.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda until evenly combined. Add the heavy cream, oil, egg, egg yolk, hot water, vanilla and vinegar and whisk for 1 minute until evenly combined and smooth.
Pour about three-quarters of the batter into the prepared pan. Add the cocoa powder to the remaining batter in the bowl and whisk slowly until smooth and evenly combined.
Dollop the chocolate batter over the vanilla batter and swirl lightly with a skewer or a butter knife.
Bake for 34 to 37 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Allow to cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a plate or a wire rack and reinvert onto the wire rack to cool completely before frosting, about 90 minutes.
To frost the cake, dollop the buttercream onto the center of the cake and use a spoon or an offset spatula to spread the buttercream across the top of the cake. Decorate with sprinkles, if desired. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Recipes reprinted with permission from Short and Sweet by Dan Langan © 2026. Published by Union Square & Co., an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group. Photography by Rikki Snyder.
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