#baking-tips

#baking-tips

The chefs at America's Test Kitchen came up with these S'Mores Brownies, with a hefty graham-cracker crust at the bottom that supports the brownie layer above. And to capture that campfire component, a top layer of miniature marshmallows toast in the oven under the broiler. Two things. Be sure to use a metal baking pan and not a glass baking dish in this recipe. And two, when the marshmallow topped beauty goes under the broiler, keep a watchful eye on it.

My grandkids can't seem to get enough of s'mores-themed goodies. The chefs at America's Test Kitchen came up with these S'Mores Brownies, with a hefty graham-cracker crust at the bottom that supports the brownie layer above. And to capture that campfire component, a top layer of miniature marshmallows toast in the oven under the broiler. Two things. Be sure to use a metal baking pan and not a glass baking dish in this recipe.

Now, peanuts and almonds don't taste exactly alike, but if you are trying to mimic the same roasty decadence and want something that could work with a graham cracker or chocolate crust, you're in luck. Simply use an equal ratio of almond butter in your favorite peanut butter pie recipe. Stir it into the filling mix with cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until the almond butter is well-distributed. From there, you can add it to your pre-baked pie crust, chill, and serve.

Essentially milk that has been reduced to eliminate most of its water content, evaporated milk is a thick, creamy, slightly sweet dairy alternative that has a 2-year long shelf life. But its uses go far beyond replacing a glass of milk. The ingredient is your secret weapon to richer, fluffier pancakes. Due to its lower moisture content, evaporated milk will create an especially thick pancake batter that helps trap air bubbles, resulting in a lighter, fluffier, and taller pancake.

Sweetening your homemade desserts can often be a matter of taste, depending on whether you want a subtle sweetness, something with rich caramel notes, or add chewiness from liquid sweeteners. But there are some recipes where you can't make substitutes. A smooth frosting, shiny glaze, or some no-bake desserts rely on the fine texture of powdered sugar for the right results. If you're in a pinch, you can make your own powdered sugar with granulated sugar and a coffee grinder.

The step is coating blueberries with cornstarch before adding them to your mix. "Blueberries leak a lot as they bake, and that juice can mess with the crumb or make things a bit wet," Daud explains. "The cornstarch soaks up some of that moisture, so the berries stay more contained." Dredging in cornstarch gives you more control over the berries and resulting texture of your bake, as it keeps them intact and their moisture in check.

Don't over-process the mixture in your blender. 15-20 pulses does the job, resulting in a smooth batter. Yes, you need to use parchment paper. Spread the batter across your sheet pan gently, to a uniform thickness. Too thin, it is more likely to crack. Bake until the wrap is very golden on the bottom, this is right around 30 minutes in my oven. This is the color you're after, or even a bit darker!

I love using parchment paper for transferring any sort of raw dough onto a cooking surface,

Instead of using parchment paper (which comes with its own set of potential mistakes to make), which you can use a maximum of a few times before you have to throw it out, you can keep using the same silicone baking mat over and over again. They're also great when you want to keep a really even, consistent temperature while baking your pastries, since they're known for distributing heat well.

We first have to answer the question: What actually causes cookies to go stale? Well, it's due to a chemical process called starch retrogradation; once baked goods leave the heat of the oven, the starch molecules recrystallize - a process that's expedited by exposure to air. The most logical solution, of course, is not to leave your cookies sitting out on a plate. But to preserve their texture even more, you may want to reach for that roll of paper towels.

These are espresso cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting, and they're soft, fluffy, and ridiculously delicious. Ultra-soft, fluffy dough (even for first-time bakers) Bold espresso flavor without tasting bitter Easy to make ahead for holidays and weekends Freezer-friendly and reheats beautifully It was my first time making homemade cinnamon rolls, so they weren't the prettiest. The rolling part got messier than expected and I wish I could go back and tell myself, Don't panic they'll still turn out deliciously!

Whether you're a chronic starter-killer or the whole concept of making bread sans yeast sounds too complicated, you're in the right place. As someone who started and promptly ended her sourdough journey three times over before finally opening a microbakery, I've been in your shoes, and I know how frustrating the initial sourdough learning curve can be. Fortunately, making plentiful mistakes is the best way to learn what not to do in almost any given situation, sourdough included.

Cherry pie: It's one of the most classic desserts that you can order at a diner, and your grandmother probably had her favorite recipe recorded for posterity. With its bold, red hue, cherry pie is seductive, and it tastes best when made with in-season fruit. Nonetheless, if you're craving a cherry pie in the middle of winter, you wouldn't be wrong to seek out a high-quality store-bought pie filling to pick up the slack.

The dough for these scones is fairly sticky, so it benefits from a period of chilling in the fridge, at least two hours. If you're in a rush, it can also hang out for 30 minutes in the freezer before baking. This allows the butter to remain very cold, and as it melts while baking, small air pockets form which give the scones a light, somewhat flaky texture. The chilling also firms up the dough and prevents it from spreading.

For most bakers, it's second-nature to measure out the prescribed dose of vanilla for a cookie dough or cake batter using a measuring spoon, but it turns out that the iconic McCormick bottle can actually save you a dish. The red cap on the 4-ounce bottle of McCormick vanilla holds 3/4 of a teaspoon of liquid - perfect for recipes that call for a multiple of 3/4 (the caps on the 2-ounce bottles hold about 1/2 teaspoon).

My best baking tip is to always be picky about the type of butter you use to bake delicious shortbread cookies and go for European or European-style butter, which may be, in fact, the absolute best butter for baking. Why, you ask? Let's start by defining how European-style butter differs from American butter. To qualify as European-style, the butter must contain at least 82 percent butterfat and no more than 16 percent water content.

Bakeshops with cinnamon rolls are all over the country, offering a long list of unconventional and whimsical fillings. But you don't have to go to a bakeshop for novel cinnamon rolls when you can make them yourself. Many unexpected fillings for cinnamon rolls are available on grocery store shelves or already in your pantry. If you want to put a fruity twist on cinnamon rolls, cherry pie filling is an iconic ingredient you need to try.

Cake mix has many creative uses besides its intended dessert, from pie crusts to waffles. If you can't decide between cake or cookies, why not have a bit of both by transforming your cake mix into cookies with the help of cream cheese. Cake mix provides the dry ingredients and a base of sugar and flavors that takes the work out of making cookies from scratch.

In a world where hundreds of candies can be bought for cheap at any supermarket, making sweets from scratch can be a hard sell. While some treats like caramels are indeed fussy, you can recreate one beloved candy using only chocolate and a jar of peanut butter. Easy two-ingredient peanut butter cups turn out so tasty that you may never buy them at the store again.

"To fix a baked pie, cornstarch works best as a slurry," Cianfanelli explains. "First, stir equal parts of cornstarch and cold water until smooth..." You don't want lumps in the slurry ( here's what water temperature you should use), so it's important to mix well in a saucepan or in a mixing bowl. Then, this mixture, once heated, will become a thickener that can fix watery pies or runny syrups. For the same reason, we mix cornstarch slurry into the soups, gravies, and sauces.

Without proper attention, a pecan pie recipe can run cloyingly sweet. Thanks to Martha Stewart, however, these offensive slices of pie don't need to be served to any dinner party guest. As she shares on TikTok, Stewart adds the zest of one lemon to each of her pies. "Adding a little grated lemon zest to the filling nicely balances out the flavor of the sweet pecans," she explains.

Dining out at restaurants, it's usually dinner rolls that arrive at your table first. Golden, tender, and glossy, it's almost too easy to forget they're only meant to be companions for the main courses to come. The secret to this magic is surprisingly simple, and you can recreate it at home with a little help from bacon. Whether you just spent a whole afternoon baking up dinner rolls or got them straight from the supermarket,

Like a float in a Thanksgiving parade, this giant cinnamon roll impresses through sheer size alone. The overflowing bun feels like a never ending spiral of sticky, gooey filling and fluffy bread. The dough is milk-bread-adjacent and comes together easily in a stand mixer. Milk powder and tangzhong make it cottony and tender, but sturdy enough to hold in all of the rich, sweet filling.

Mastering chocolate cake is a great first step for those learning how to craft desserts, and Stewart's website features an easy chocolate cake recipe that makes quick work of the confection. The secret to her perfectly moist cake? Sour cream. Though "sour" seems counterintuitive to a sweet treat, this ingredient provides the right moisture and acidity for a fudgey chocolate cake with a spectacularly soft crumb.

To start, a warning. This method is a last-ditch effort and best employed if you are already fairly confident in your piping skills. It's not the easiest solution to this problem, but it can work in a pinch. We tried it ourselves after doubting it, and it proved itself to be another reliable foil hack around the kitchen. You'll need to layer your foil, especially if you have a very thin brand.

We're not talking about those fancy, sugar-loaded protein shakes you might see at the gym, but ultrafiltered milk, a type of fortified cow's milk with a higher level of protein. It's usually found right next to the regular milk you might be used to, most commonly under the Fairlife and Lactaid brands, but instead of having 8 grams of protein per cup, it packs a whopping 13 grams per cup.

Among a plethora of different types of apples, using the right varieties is crucial for the very best flavor and texture. Tasting Table chatted with cookbook author Mark Filippelli to get his must-know tips for the tastiest apple fritters and he strongly recommended avoiding overly ripe apples as well as varieties such as Red Delicious or Fuji as their tender texture will not stand up to the cooking process.

Trader Joe's chocolate croissants might just be good enough to rival fresh ones from the bakery. Chocolatey, buttery, flaky on the outside, and utterly tender within, they check all the right boxes. And the best part? Turning the croissants into sweet rolls is a breeze. You just need to thaw them, cut them into bite-sized pieces, and let them proof.

What do birthdays, anniversaries, surprise parties, and afternoon tea all have in common? They're all a whole lot better when there's a cake involved. While you could certainly whip up a pound cake or a bundt cake and do a simple icing drizzle or glaze - some cakes deserve something creamy and luscious, like Jaime Bachtell-Shelbert's classic vanilla buttercream frosting.

sweet-toothed foodies: This one's for you. Few things are more disheartening than meticulously, laboriously crafting a visually stunning layer cake, only to have those clean layers mangled by a slicing hack job. Under the unforgiving blade, once-clearly-defined layers can crumble and meld into a mess (so much for all your attention to detail). Or, worse, in the excitement and distraction of a gathering, that cake can get miscalculatedly sliced into totally misshapen, different-sized pieces. Luckily, those days are over thanks to one non-traditional slicing technique.

Getting out your best china is a good start, but a photo-worthy dessert relies on getting a clean slice. If you neglect to clean the crumbs and filling off the knife between each cut, these clumps can end up transferring to the next piece. Not only is this visually messy, but the extra bulk on the sides of the knife will prevent it from gliding smoothly through that classic banana cream pie.

There's a lot to be said for a good old Hawaiian sweet roll. They can be used to make delicious French toast, they taste amazing when served alongside any type of barbecue, and they're a downright necessity when it comes to many slider and sandwich recipes. But they can also be used to make delicious no-fuss desserts, and all you have to do is grab a little pie filling and get inventive.