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Buy this book or a food science book similar to it and seriously read it. I attempted baking with just recipes and then someone gave me this book. Now I know what I can or can't do or why something didn't work. The book will also suggest what materials to use etc.
Once you figure out what the sugar does (it isn't just for sweetening) or why it's important to choose the right flour etc, it really becomes easier to bake. The lady that wrote the above book has another one called Cookwise. She is/was a chemist and guested frequently on Good Eats with Alton Brown. Love her!
Don't use my electric stand mixer that often, but it comes out just about every time I bake. It makes cookie dough a breeze.
If it says soften the butter, do it. Bring your eggs to room temperature at the same time.
Some people say to only use unsalted butter, but I use salted, no problems.
Another tip: baked cookies freeze really well. Always let them cool completely on wire racks before removing for storage in cookie cans or freezer bags.
I started baking at 11 w/ my Easy Bake Oven. I made homemade apple pies, not the mix ones they supplied you with. And, they tasted good. I had a recipe book for non-cooked desserts, too. I just loved baking from early on. It's in your blood or not. I don't follow lots of rules. Just follow the recipe, keep at it and have fun. You learn from your mistakes like w/ anything else.
I do a lot of cooking in my outdoor kitchen out on the deck, which I love. I also have a wood-fired oven out there, which I use for pizzas and turkey roasts (Thanksgiving, anybody?). Another fellow I know suggested something maybe not mentioned here: a pizza stone. It's not just for pizza! If you find that you get burnt areas along with barely-cooked spots, the pizza stone will help, by absorbing the oven heat evenly and releasing it evenly to your pan(s). It really works well!
I've been baking as long as I can remember...used to stand on a chair so I could reach the counter to make oatmeal cookies when I was about 3. I moved on to more complicated things after that
My baking tools are: insulated cookie sheets, parchment paper, good measuring cups/spoons, pastry blender, thin flexible mat, rolling pin, pizza cutter, dough scoops, and a mixer.
You can start out without a stand mixer, but when you're looking for recipes online and they're mixing with a stand mixer, understand that you can't really duplicate their results without a stand mixer.
Always use butter, not margarine. Most margarine now has too much water to be suitable for baking, and you won't get the results you want.
The parchment paper is to line your cookie sheets. It makes cleanup easier but also gives a nicer finish to the underside of cookies. I use it when I make rolls too, but not biscuits (biscuits bake too hot, the parchment could catch fire).
Pick a couple of recipes and make them a few times, until your results are consistent. Then you can try other recipes.
The Toll House chocolate chip cookie recipe is a good one to start with. Follow the recipe exactly, use real butter and real vanilla in it. I always portion the dough into individual cookies and let them chill uncovered overnight...the recipe never says to do that, but that's my secret cookie recipe which people beg for...just the toll house recipe, but with the dough chilled overnight before baking.
You can also practice baking with mixes...I started teaching my kids by having them cook with mixes, usually brownies or muffins or cake mixes.
OP, I've been baking for about 65 years and aside from all the other good suggestions you have here, I suggest you get a couple more cookie sheets - one will have you baking one batch of cookies for most of the afternoon.
After you mix up your dough and have pre-heated your oven you will drop your spoonful of cookie dough onto the cookie sheet (greased or not, as the recipe says) You'll need to give a wide margin around each glob of dough (yes, that's a technical term). That one cookie sheet will give you enough room for about 12 cookies. BUT, the recipe said it's going to make "about 36 cookies" so you put the first batch in the oven, wait 12 minutes, more or less, take it out of the oven, wait while they cool a bit, transfer to cooling racks, cool down the cookie sheet, re-grease (or not) drop a dozen more globs and repeat. For each dozen cookies, you're looking about 20 minutes or so. Probably more since you're new at this. And this doesn't count the assembling, mixing, pre-heating part.
With a couple more sheets, you can do all the dropping at once and utilize two racks of the oven. You may have to re-position the sheets once during the baking but you'll catch onto that as you progress. And you will progress. Don't fear. The good part is, if the first batches don't look so hot, you get to eat them and no one will ever know! Good luck.
Baking isn't that difficult but some things are easier than others. If it were me, I'd start with things like brownies, bar cookies and such since those are poured into a pan and baked instead of individually placed on a cookie sheet. But cookies are fun, too.
If you've not ever baked anything before, a boxed cake mix might be a good starting point. Those are basically bomb proof, although I generally like to add additional spices to them to help them along a bit. A dash or two of cinnamon in the chocolate cake mixes and a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg to the spice cakes improves them, I think. But just out of the box, following the directions and you get a reasonable result.
You also don't need specific bake ware if you don't happen to have it. A lot of things get baked in cast iron frying pans around here, although that's mostly since I'm too lazy to go get the actual bake ware. Any pan that can be put in the oven (i.e. no plastic or wooden handles) can be used as a cake pan or loaf pan.
Hmm, thinking of baking, that's not a bad idea. We're out of bread at the moment. For the baking around here, we use a stand mixer and that's just the best thing for mixing bread dough. However, before getting involved in baking things with yeast, you may want to try baking things using baking powder or baking soda instead of yeast for a bit. Those are not as fussy. Baking soda/powder breads are things such as banana bread or corn bread.
You can also bake things like potatoes, chickens and meat loaf. Once you get proficient with baking, you can try crazy stuff like beef Wellington.
Some stellar advice here; most I could have used thirty years ago.
I heard the reason for bringing the eggs to room temperature is that they will mix better into the recipe as opposed to cold eggs..
I've learned to not only read the entire recipe before starting, but also make sure you have all the ingredients and tools necessary. I also mark very clearly on the recipe if it is to be followed to the letter; some you can tweak, others not. So many free recipes are available online now days. You'll have fun.
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