Baking guide - ingredient guide, baking tips, food care, and more
Baking—even stress-baking—is a whole lot easier with our guide to baking ingredients, techniques, baked goods storage, and more. Find substitutes for ingredients you don't have on hand, learn the difference between common ingredients such as baking soda and baking powder, and learn how to store the sweet finished product so it lasts as long as possible.
a coconut cut in half and filled with raw panela sugar, on the right side a bowl and a spoon both filled with coconut butter
Coconut Sugar vs. Cane Sugar: What’s the Difference?
Birthday cake with layers and turquoise frosting, slice removed and one pink birthday candle
How to Make Store-Bought Frosting Better With 1 Quick Hack
two sticks of butter
Salted vs. Unsalted Butter: What to Use When
caster sugar
What Is Caster Sugar? Here’s What You Need to Know
Top view of wooden spoon full of brown sugar
How to Store Brown Sugar So It’s Not Full of Clumps
sea salt vs table salt
Sea Salt vs. Table Salt: What’s the Difference?
red-velvet-cake-GettyImages-1439782980
What Is Red Velvet Cake? All About This Southern Treat
tapioca in pearl and root form
What Is Tapioca? It's the Versatile Ingredient You’re Probably Not Cooking With
Traditional Indian food butter ghee in a glass jar closeup
What Is Ghee—and How Do You Cook With It?
baking-powder-expire-GettyImages-1257973499
Does Baking Powder Go Bad?
sea-salt-vs-kosher-salt-GettyImages-1501215886
Kosher Salt vs. Sea Salt: What’s the Difference?
1123lov-pie-crusts
These Are the Best Store-Bought Pie Crusts, According to Our Food Director
cupcake-recipes-GettyImages-1433126667
22 Easy Cupcake Recipes to Make For the Next Special Occasion
pumpkin-pie-hacks-GettyImages-1347462395
7 Pumpkin Pie Hacks That Will Definitely Make the Dessert Better
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9 Ways to Upgrade Apple Pie, According to Professional Chefs
pumpkin-puree-GettyImages-1186975005
What Is Pumpkin Puree—and How Do You Cook With It?
how-to-pit-cherries-GettyImages-1446881384
How to Pit Cherries in 4 Easy Steps
freeze-butter-GettyImages-466938239
Can You Freeze Butter? Yes, But Here’s the Best Way to Preserve It
tik-tok-tart-GettyImages-1126135721
TikTok's Upside-Down Puff Pastry Hack Is the Easiest Way to Make Dessert
cookie on a map of the US: Most popular Christmas cookies, favorite cookies in America
These Are the Most Popular Christmas Cookies in Every State
sugar cookies and an icing bag on a green background
The Best Royal Icing Recipe
5 mins
Close-Up Of Two Flour Jars
How to Store Flour and Avoid Flour Bugs
king-arthur-recipe-of-the-year
King Arthur Just Released Its Recipe of the Year. Our Food Director Tried It.
freeze-pecan-pie-GettyImages-1315317840
Can You Freeze a Pecan Pie?
flat-cookies-GettyImages-174676251
Why Are My Cookies Flat? Here’s How to Fix Them
overhead view of an apple pie next to fresh apples
The Best Baking Apples to Use in Your Fall Dessert Recipes
tiktok-mixer-hack-GettyImages-1160212108
This Unexpected TikTok Hack Turns Your Handheld Mixer Into a Stand Mixer
Ina Garten and Beatty's Chocolate Cake
Never Get Crumbs in Your Frosting Again With Ina Garten's Genius Tip for Icing a Cake
baking-oil-substitutes-GettyImages-1067510512
8 Oil Substitutes to Use When Baking
Baking powder in a jar
11 Substitutes for Baking Powder to Use When You Run Out
TikTok cake decorating trend, stenciled cake with white and yellow frosting
5 Must-Try Cake Decorating Trends on TikTok
square piece of cake on a plate with a pink background
3-Layer Magic Cake Is Surprisingly Simple to Make
Ingredients for baking on concrete background
How to Make Buttermilk at Home—Plus, Easy Buttermilk Substitutions
bread-maker-mistakes-01-realsimple
5 Mistakes You're Making With Your Bread Maker
pecan pie
How to Tell if a Pecan Pie Is Done—Plus How to Bake It Like a Pro
two croissants are being brushed with egg wash, an orange bowl with four brown eggs sits in the background
How to Make an Egg Wash and Use It for Golden Baked Goods
three pitchers filled with heavy cream
Heavy Cream, Whipping Cream, or Half-and-Half: Which to Use When
The Rifle Paper Co. Recipe Tin against a yellow background
The 39 Best Baking Gifts of 2024
baking-substitution-chart-GettyImages-1296502189
The Ultimate Guide to Baking Substitutions
no-bake-cookies
15 No-Bake Cookie Recipes That Don't Require Eggs or Flour
food-recipes-cooking-tips-techniques-baking-difference-between-flours-078-realsimple
Bread Flour vs All-Purpose, Pastry Flour vs Cake Flour: Explained
homemade bread
8 Essential Tips for Making Homemade Bread, According to an Expert Baker
cake-serving-realsimple
How to Get a Stuck Cake Out of its Pan in One Piece
Overhead view of TikTok Baked Oats with Blueberries
How to Make Viral Baked Oats, the Healthy TikTok Breakfast Trend
Cinnamon Spiced Pumpkin Muffins
Cinnamon Spiced Pumpkin Muffins
35 mins
Types of butter guide - different kinds of butter (cut butter)
The 9 Most Common Types of Butter—Plus the Best Ways to Use Them
homemade sour cream
How to Make a Sour Cream Substitute
1 day 10 mins
sourdough bread made with two-ingredient sourdough starter
How to Make Sourdough Starter From Scratch
Frosting, Icing, and Glaze
The Difference Between Frosting, Icing, and Glaze
egg-size-differences
Not Getting the Right Results When Baking? Your Eggs May Be the Wrong Size
Gingerbread house decorating tips
9 Genius Tips From a Professional Baker to Build the Perfect Gingerbread House
better-sourdough-bread
10 Genius Ways to Bake Better Sourdough Bread
Types of yeast
What's the Difference Between Active Dry, Instant, and Fresh Yeast?
Betty Gold shows off her no-knead homemade bread recipe
No Need to Knead: How to Leaven Bread With Yeast
irish-soda-bread
Follow These Tips for Making (and Enjoying) Irish Soda Bread
sliced No-Yeast bread and oil
Here Are 3 Types Of Bread You Can Bake Without Yeast
homemade apple pie
Here Are Secrets to Making the Best Apple Pie
Peppermint Checkerboard Cookies
9 Clever Ways to Use Sugar Cookie Dough
Oven Rack Positions: Cook taking ready chicken from the oven
How You Arrange Your Oven Racks Can Make You a Better Cook
food-recipes-cooking-tips-techniques-substitute-for-evaporated-milk-146-realsimple
6 Evaporated Milk Substitutes That Will Save You a Trip to the Store
roasted chicken cooked in a convection oven
What Is Convection Cooking, and When Should You Use It Over Regular Roasting or Baking?
Pumpkin Pie With a Serving Knife in an Open Box Next to a Stack of Colorful Plates and a Fruit Basket
How to Store Pumpkin Pie to Last Longer
Pumpkin Pie in a White Pie Pan Sitting on a Square Placemat on a Yellow Background
Can You Freeze Pumpkin Pie for an Easier Thanksgiving?