I’m no Betty Crocker but I like to bake. I’ve experimented lots over the years and have hads lots of hits and lots of misses. One thing I do try my best to realize is that baking isn’t the same as cooking. I can’t deviate from baked goods recipes or I risk a disaster. Here are some of the “rules” I’ve learned to make sure I get the best possible outcome when it’s time to get some sweets on the table.
use for liquid measuring
- use butter when a recipe calls for butter, margarine can cause cookies to spread too thin.
- reading a recipe that calls for grams and ounces means ingredients should be weighed not measured in cups or spoons.
- unless a recipe specifically calls for sifted flour don’t bother, spoon flour into your measuring cup and then level off with the straight side of a knife, easy peasy!
- always prep ahead. Measure out ingredients before you start mixing, this allows for smooth and swift additions. Doing this also helps make ensure you have enough of all the ingredients to correctly make your recipe.
- measure measure measure, baking is a science where as cooking is not. what looks like a teaspoon in the palm of your hand might not be. Not enough baking powder will prevent getting the proper rise from your sweets.
- preheat your oven-not much more to say about that
- cooking spray can be your friend; a quick spray in your measuring cup will lessen the amount of scraping you need to do when measuring out peanut butter, shortening or honey.
- invest in rubber spatulas, they make for less clean up when you can get every morsel of batter or dough out of the bowl.
- parchment paper is awesome!You’ll be amazed how easy it is to get a whole pan of brownies out of a pan without losing a single crumb.
dry ingredient measurement
What are your fool proof tips or secrets to successful baked goods and desserts?
