Baking Tips

Baking Soda and Powder 

Measure baking soda carefully.  Baking soda increases browning significantly, and if used at too high a level leaves a salty flavor.  When storing baking soda and powder, place in a cool dry place and always check expiration date.

Butter

Make sure your butter is at room temperature, otherwise it won't cream properly with the sugar.  Set it out at least one hour in advance.  It should be pliable enough that your finger can leave a mark in it without being soft and greasy

Nuts

Smell and taste before using.  Oils in nuts can turn rancid quickly.  Store any leftover nuts in the refrigerator

A dash of Ginger added to chocolate icing gives a delicious flavor.

Pastry will be flakier if you add 1 tbs. of orange or lemon juice as part of your liquid.

When boiling milk, stir in a pinch of baking soda, this will help keep milk from curdling.

Tasty flavored whipped cream:  First whip cream then add two tbs. of flavored jello and continue beating on slow until the whipped cream is right consistency.

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 Melting Chocolate

To quickly melt chocolate, place chocolate chips into a mircrowave-proof bowl. Set power at 40% and microwave for 30 seconds at a time.  Each time 30 seconds elapses, stir the chocolate, continure until all pieces of chocolate have melted.

Chocolate Curls

Ue a vegetable peeler with a long narrow blade on a chunk or a bar of chocolate.  Be sure your peeler is absolutely dry.

Grate Chocolate

Besure that the block of chocolate is cool and firm.  Grate on hand grater , cleaning the grater often so that the chocolate doesn't clog the surface of the blade.  You can use a blender or a food processer, be sure to cut the chocolate into small pieces first.

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Keep cookie dough refrigerated until ready to use, warm dough is sticky and hard to handle.

Freeze unbaked cookie dough up to 2 months. To thaw, place cookie dough overnight in the refrigerator.

When rolling cookie dough, I place the dough between two sheets of waxed paper that have been sprinkled with flour. The rolling pin does not stick to the dough...

Do not drop cookie dough onto hot cookie sheets, this caused cookies to spread out. 

Shiny, heavy-gauge aluminum cookie sheets bake most evenly.

Dark cookie sheets can cause over-browning of cookie bottoms, so it may be necessary to reduce the oven temperature by 25 degrees.

Insulated cookie sheets prevent cookies from becoming too dark on the bottom, but may require a longer baking time.

Have you ever heard that the shiny side of aluminum foil is better for heating? It is a myth; both sides are the same when it comes to heating in the oven.