11 Comments

I have a recipe for Snickerdoodles which I LOVE, but many times my cookies turn out sort of crumbly. Any suggestions on de-crumbling my cookies?

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I am a newbie here and likely have missed the answer to this question. When you call for butter, do you mean salted or unsalted?

Thank you and Happy New Year!

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This was great!!! Thanks for the teaching session!

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A friend is gifting me top quality Madagascar vanilla beans after a recent trip there. What would you do with such a magnificent bounty?

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Hi Marissa, I have been baking with olive oil instead of butter since the pandemic. Is it accurate that I can substitute olive oil for melted butter any time a recipe calls for it, or are there some recipes where that won't work. I'd love some recipes for olive oil baking. I've got a great brownie recipe from Melissa Clark that we think are the best we've had, and I'm always looking for cookies or cakes. I know this isn't related to the flour questions but being new to the format I wasn't sure where else to ask : ) .

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I'm in the habit of measuring most of the dry ingredients and sifting them together. It helps to better distribute small amounts and to catch the inevitable clumps of baking powder/soda. Also, since all of my baking is converted to gluten free flours, the order of mixing things and how much you can mix is significantly different. By the way- thank you for the excellent break down of how to measure oat flour as compared to wheat. Very helpful!

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I enjoyed this! I did find a sifter in an antique shop that was in great conditions, but it was one of the things I had to give up with I drastically downsized. The tip about the parchment paper is a help because I have a tremor now. It would help me guide a good many things, from flour to fine chopped veges, spices and toppings, without missing extra doo-gadgets in non-existent drawers!

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I sift. I live in a hot humid climate, and cannot keep flour refrigerated. There are always little lumps at end of sifting.

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I always try to substitute smashed up Snickers for anything, as you know, Marissa. But your formula works good too.

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Thanks for the explanation; very helpful. I live alone, small 2-bedroom apartment, small kitchen (not much counter space). I don't use the oven but instead use a counter top convection oven. This doesn't heat the whole place up and cooks a bit faster. It's great for cooking and baking cookies, muffins, and scones. However, I'm having trouble getting things baked in a loaf pan, a cake pan or a pie pan cooked all the way through. I bought a couple of small loaf pans which I'll be using soon for pumpkin bread. I've read that when using a convection over to reduce the temperature and/or time by 25% but this doesn't always work. I also frequently make 1/2 of any recipe you provide since I don't want to eat "the whole thing". Any suggestions for the convection oven and cutting recipes in half?

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I can't remember when I started using a food scale, but it's SO much better than volume measurements—not only is it more accurate, but there are far fewer things to clean when you're done. I love putting my mixing bowl on the scale and tossing things in. (maybe I need to get a life, but whatever).

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