Baking Basics

Cooking sugar and water until it thickens is the way to make simple syrup and is the first step in preparing a variety of candies. Although the process is relatively simple, you need to pay...

Cake yeast, also known as compressed fresh yeast, isn't commonly seen in stores today. Most of what's sold in yeast packages is dry yeast, because it has a longer shelf life than fresh yeast....

Often when baking bread using yeast from our pantries we find that our bread will not rise. This costs money and frustrates even the seasoned of bakers. There's an easy way to prevent this...

You may need to add half of 3/4 cup sugar to a recipe because you're cutting the recipe in half, or because you know a recipe calls for much more sugar than you prefer. Plastic and metal cups for...

You can flavor pumpkin seeds in many ways, but first you have to get them out of the pumpkin. There's no short-cut for this--just scoop them out and remove as much of the pulp as you can. Rinse...

It happens to every cook once in a while---you run out of a basic cooking ingredient, but you still want to cook the planned recipe without having to take the time to run to the store to purchase...

Tired of the same old Halloween Treats, I'll show you how to wow them all, and not know if they are receiving a trick or a treat, Creepy Halloween Cemetery Plot Cupcakes says it all!

Oatmeal cookies can sometimes seem like a bland excuse for a cookie. This is not the case. I love oatmeal cookies and this recipe won't dissapoint if you do too.

These cookies will have your friends asking for the recipe and every bake sale YOUR cookies will be the first ones gone!

Sanding sugar is a type of confectionery ingredient used in baking. It is sweet like other types of sugar, but coarser.

This sweet potato casserole is both simple to make and delicious to eat. I hope everyone who makes it agrees.

Being able to show off an absolutely beautiful cake that looks as good as it tastes is an easier feat then you may think. Using fondant takes a lot of hands-on work that proves to be worth the...

Edible glitter adds color and sparkle to cakes, cookies and pastries. It is not a sugar, and therefore can be used on sugar-free products. Edible glitter is custom manufactured to meet specific...

When you talk cinnamon rolls, there are different presentations of them. Our family has always had a special way to make them. It's our own family dough and way we put them together. And they...

Expert chefs know the importance of using caster sugar in certain recipes. Substituting regular granulated sugar in place of caster sugar, which has much finer grains, can prove disastrous.

Brown sugar doesn't come directly from a plant. Molasses is added to white sugar to make brown sugar. The white sugar can be either sugar beet or sugarcane sugar. Brown sugar possesses a molasses...

Let me share with you my passion for cookie baking and decorating. I provide a very easy and delicious cookie recipe along with a great icing recipe. You can make these holiday cookies with your...

New bakers often find the variety of products available on the shelves of the supermarket or a specialty baking shop quite overwhelming. Even something as simple as sugar comes in granulated,...

Without sugar, our food would be very different. In addition to making food taste sweet, sugar is a tenderizing and leavening agent, can be used to preserve food, helps to brown it and even...

Sugar cookies make a great snack anytime. This recipe is easy to make. You can even freeze these cookies for later use.

Sugar cookies are classic. They are an easy recipe and you can do so many different things with them. Whether you decorate them, or leave them plain everyone enjoys these cookies. This healthy...

Enjoy one of my family’s favorite recipes! This recipe along with many others located under my avatar were first produced and used frequently by my grandparents and their parents. I wanted to pass...

Last year these were a hit during the holidays. When the budgets low, these cookies go a long way. 19 dozen!!Excellent for office, church or large familly gift giving.

Fast, Fast, Fast. And great with coffee in the morning. This is an old recipe from my mother-in law in Chicago. She reluctantly gave it up. Hope you enjoy these family favorite Italian X-mas...

Cookies, cakes, breads and muffins are very popular foods. But they are often expensive to buy at a bakery. Cake, cookie and bread mixes at the grocery store can also be pricey and provide few...

I love peanut butter, and I love peanut butter cookies even better. They are my favorite above all and I have tried all kinds from so called gourmet to the basic. I think you will like these as...

Fondant is the professional cake decorator's secret. It is used instead of frosting or icing to get the flawlessly perfect appearance of custom wedding cakes and other professional cakes. You...

Brown sugar is a kind of sugar that is only partially refined or not refined at all, so it has a residual amount of molasses in it. Light brown sugar is 3.5 percent molasses and dark brown sugar...

One of the first things I learned to cook as a child Was Chocolate Cream of Wheat. You can make a very satisfying breakfast or treat with a little bit of creativity! Of course my favorite...

Brown sugar is a common ingredient in baking. It generally consists of sugar crystals that have only been partially refined, or are completely unrefined. Consequently, brown sugar contains some...

Since we are all more cost conscious and more careful of wasting food, here is a quick and easy way to preserve brown sugar.

Decorating sugar cookies with a toddler is a real challenge. But with some patients and a few easy steps you and your toddler will have a blast.

Have you ever got into the middle of a recipe and realized that you didn't have one of the ingredients? That has happened to me more than I care to admit. It usually happens after the grocery...

If you're in the middle of making up a batch of cookies or a cake, adding the ingredients as you work from a recipe in your cookbook, you may find that you are lacking something and need to make a...

Creaming butter, one of the first steps in many dessert recipes, refers to when butter is whipped and then sugar is added. The mixture is beaten until it is pale and light. Because the air...

Cinnamon rolls are sticky, sweet, doughy and delicious. The rolled pastry, filled with cinnamon and sugar and topped with a white sugar glaze, is a satisfying solution for a sweet craving, but it...

Many times the home baker will need brown sugar for a recipe only to find that it is rock hard. Seemingly nothing will soften it. If there is time, the brown sugar can be softened with gentle...

Baked goods made with brown sugar are rich and delicious. Unfortunately, brown sugar tends to harden and become difficult to work with when it is stored over an extended period of time. It is...

Brown sugar can be a challenge to keep fresh, especially if it is not used often. The secret to fresh brown sugar is proper moisture levels within the container and a tightly sealed storage...

Buttercream is a very popular cake frosting option that can be made in no time and stored in the freezer for months. The simple variation shown below can be changed to have any flavor and color...

Sometimes, what you have in your pantry is not what is called for in a recipe. If you do not have the time or inclination to run to the store, substitutions can be made. If the recipe calls for...

The snickerdoodle cookie is a perennial favorite. Consisting of a sugar cookie base that is coated with a mixture of white sugar and cinnamon, this relatively basic cookie is very popular during...

How much money do you spend on quality bakery items? Do you want to be able to wow your family with gourmet muffins for breakfast without the gourmet price sticker? Here is how to take a basic...

Sucanat is a registered trademark sweetening product that can be used in both cooking and baking. Sucanat is a form of regular cane sugar but is less processed and refined. Because Sucanat is less...

Have you ever been in the middle of baking something, only to reach for the brown sugar and discover that it is one rock hard solid clump? Don't worry. There is a very simple solution to soften...

A brown sugar substitute is a mixture that's utilized when actual brown sugar isn't available for use in a recipe that calls for the sweetener. An ideal substitute utilizes ingredients that easily...

Guar gum (guaran) is made from ground guar beans. The processing of the beans produces a pale, off-white powder that's ground from coarse to fine. Guar gum is used in the preparation of multiple...

Whether your making cookies, brownies, cakes or any other goodies, chances are somewhere in the recipe they want you to "cream the butter and sugar" together. When baking, correctly...

Brown sugar adds a rich sweetness and a chewy texture to baked goods, but you can achieve this end even without brown sugar. Brown sugar in the past was sugar that had yet to have its molasses...

Whipping cream is a delicious way to top off desserts and hot drinks. Flavoring the whipping cream to complement the essence of what you are topping can make your desserts or drink extra special....