If, like me, you’ve ever forgotten to take out the eggs before hand, ran out of brown sugar or forgot to pick up gluten free flour, then these hacks are for you.
#1 Make your own buttermilk
There are some days I find that I just ran out of an ingredient. One such ingredient is buttermilk. It’s such a pain in the butt when that happens. So here’s a trick you can use to make your own (Some people like it a little stronger and I have that tip just below). Start with a cup of regular milk (full or low fat). Add 1 tbsp of lemon juice or white vinegar and stir to combine. Let it sit for five minutes – Voila! DIY buttermilk that will always get the job done!
For stronger buttermilk – Use 2 tbsp of lemon or vinegar and have the mixture sit for 30 minutes at room temperature until the milk begins to curdle and become acidic.
#2 Room temperature Eggs – Quick!
Picture this, you’re halfway through a recipe and realize your refrigerated eggs are supposed to be room temperature. What do you do? Just put the eggs you need in a bowl of hot water for 5 to 10 minutes and you’ll be ready to go.
Note: The key word here is hot water – Not boiling!
#3 Make your own flour (Gluten Free)
Need a gluten free flour alternative or just really good tasting flour? Look no further than oat flour. The recipe is so easy it’s not even a recipe – It’s a step.
Blend up some gluten free oats until they’re powdered. Done!
#4 Need a rolling pin?
If your baking rarely requires a rolling pin or you just flat out lost yours, save on cupboard space and just use a wine bottle instead. Regardless whether empty or full (or start off full and finish off with an empty one – kidding), remove the label and any adhesive residue, then wash the outside of the bottle thoroughly – this is super important. You can also place some parchment paper or cellophane wrap on top of the dough. That way you can with the label still on the bottle.
#5 Power ripen your bananas
Are your bananas perfect for eating but not so much for baking? Not ripe enough? Don’t fret! All you need to do is cook the bananas in a 300ºF oven for 30 to 40 minutes. Because the process of cooking the bananas may cause some of them to leak, be sure to line your pan with parchment paper or foil. Once the bananas become soft and turn black, take them out of the oven and let them cool for up to 30 minutes. Finally, you can peel, or as I like to do, cut the bottom off with a pair of scissors and squeeze the banana out. Congratulations, you can get back to baking now!
#6 Perfect your cookie texture
If you want a cookie with a crunchy outside and a soft and chewy inside, follow these 2 simple tips. #1 Prior to baking, ALWAYS chill your cookie dough (1 hour works; overnight is works much better). #2 When you remove the cookies from the oven, it’s important for the cookies to settle. Simply bang the pan straight down on the counter.
#7 No more hardened brown sugar
Have you ever wondered how you can keep your brown sugar soft as the day you first purchased it? It’s so simple it’s almost too good to be true – But it is true. Use a piece of bread. Yes, a piece of bread. The bread magically keeps the sugar soft and never gets moldy or gross (I still change the piece of bread every couple of weeks, because I’m just a weirdo).
#8 Need softened butter
The majority of recipes I’ve dealt with call for softened butter or room temperature. What do you do if you forget to take the butter out of the fridge? Don’t fret! There’s an appliance in every kitchen that will help you. Enter the microwave. Professional bakers may tell you to avoid the microwave, but when in a bind, it can be used successfully to soften your butter. It’s important to not over do it. So, always use POWER LEVEL 2 and start with 8 seconds. Flip the butter then, do another five to 8 seconds. Remember – Power Level 2
#9 Never run out of brown sugar again
Murphy’s Law Of Baking states: When you need brown sugar, you will most likely always be out. But don’t fear, just make it yourself. By simply combining granulated white sugar with molasses, you will have created your very own homemade brown sugar!
Recipe: For every cup of sugar, add 2 tablespoons of molasses.
#10 Don’t get sticky
If you decide on tackling a sticky recipe that needs to be formed by hand with precision (like granola bars or even fudge) the key here is to wet your hands. When your hands are wet, the water forms a barrier between your hands and the food, which allows the food to not stick to your fingers. This will make baking those sticky treats so much easier to shape and mold as needed.
#11 Easy sprinkles
Yes it’s going to be easier to just buy the sprinkles, but this hack is just fun. All you need is confectioners’ sugar, egg whites, food coloring and flavoring (extracts). Once you have mixed the ingredients to a somewhat thick and smooth consistency, place in a disposable piping bag and snip the tip slightly. You want to make sure that the hole is not too big – unless you want bloated sprinkles.