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, ...

Winter makes butter hard and difficult to spread. With a few easy tricks and smart storage, you can keep butter soft, creamy, ...

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 ...

One of the fastest methods is also the most foolproof. Charlotte Rutledge is the former recipe testing and development manager for King Arthur Baking Company. She has worked in professional kitchens ...