In the past, I was often indifferent about a recipe calling for softened butter. I would just throw a stick of cold butter in the stand mixer bowl and hope for the best. But now that I'm a bit older ...

We’ve all experienced that moment of kitchen despair when you begin a baking project and realize you forgot to set out your butter for softening. We’ve also all been privy to the errors of stubbornly ...

Softening butter is an important step for many baked goods. Using butter while it's cold, softened, and melted all achieve drastically different results when baking. Softened, or room temperature, ...

Use a warm glass or glass bowl to gently soften butter without melting it. Cut cold butter into cubes to speed up softening at room temperature. Avoid direct heat or high microwave power to prevent ...

Smashing butter flat with a rolling pin softens it in just a few minutes. Flattened butter warms consistently, avoiding the uneven heating of microwaving. Room-temperature butter is essential for ...

Creaming butter and sugar plays a role in making baked goods light and fluffy. It's important to start with softened butter. Always scrape down the side of the mixing bowl to achieve proper texture.

1. Fill a tall glass with boiling hot water and line a small plate with a paper towel. 3. Pour out the hot water from the glass, then immediately place the empty hot glass over the stick of butter.