The Kitchn Archive: Dec 2010

Q: I started baking a lot in the last few years, almost always sweet recipes. But I prefer my baked goods subtle, not headache-inducing, and I always measure sugar scantly or outright reduce by a quarter-cup or so. But I know that sugar does more than sweeten – it adds moisture and improves texture, and who doesn’t want a good moist breakfast cake?Is there a good way to offset the negative effects reducing sugar has on the texture of a baked good (quick breads and cakes, mostly)?

1. Dried Fruits: Dried fruits are easy to add, but there is one trick that’s extra important. Make sure to soak them in hot water for 30 minutes before adding. That way they don’t wick moisture from your existing recipe and will help punctuate the dough with their sweetness instead. 2. Chocolate: There really isn’t many a cookie that can’t take a handful of chocolate being added to it.

Sanding sugar is one of those specialty baking products you find yourself buying once and then forgetting about in the back of your pantry, until after you’ve bought the exact same color again, of course! Ever wondered if you could just color your own, as you need it? Here’s how!Sanding sugar, that sparkly, crunchy topping to sugar cookies and fancy baked goods is nothing but coarsely ground sugar.

For the last several weeks we’ve been putting a new idea to the test when it comes to the cleaning of zesters. We’ve been zesting every chance we get (really it’s a rough job, but someone had to do it) and have come to the official conclusion — we don’t need water to clean our zesters or microplaners.What? No water!? That’s ridiculous — which is what I thought too until I gave it a try.

Do you know this tip? To stop stinging eyes and tears when cutting onions, put a piece of bread in your mouth and let it hang out while chopping. Have you tried this, and does it work for you?I had never heard this tip until I took that cooking class in Paris in the fall. One of the participants mentioned it, and so of course I had to try it as soon as I was in my kitchen at home.Now, usually I wear contact lenses and have no trouble with crying or stinging while cutting onions.

all the herbsoff the stemsThe leaves gradually loosen during cooking and come off on their own, he explained. The leaves are generally so small that it doesn’t matter that you didn’t mince them beforehand. When cooking is done, just pull out the now-stripped stems of thyme along with the bay leaf and anything else you’re not actually serving.We gave this a try in our last batch of Beef and Barley Stew and it worked like a charm.