Latest post(s) in a page

Is there a method (or plugin/widget) that I can use to include the most recent blog post(s) within the content of a page?

I don’t understand why WP allows the front page to be blog posts OR a static page, when it seems like the most desirable home page for most of us would be editable content AND recent posts.

My apologies if this has been discussed before. I’m new here and couldn’t find it.