Do you love to bake? We always enjoy making sweet treats for our friends. However, we have found five tips to help bring your baking skills to the next level! The Kitchn has gathered some easy ingredients to use to make your next baked good the best it can be.
1. Espresso Powder
Instant espresso powder is the unsung hero of deep, dark chocolate cakes. A little of the intense coffee powder brings depth to chocolate recipes without being overwhelming, but you can also up the amount if you're inspired to take a mocha route instead. It's also great to keep on hand for recipes calling for brewed coffee, especially if you're not the type that typically drinks a lot of it at home.
More about espresso powder
Espresso Powder in the Kitchen: What's it Good For?
Recipe: Dark Molasses Gingerbread Cake
Recipe: Peanut Butter & Espresso Truffle Blossoms
2. Chocolate Baking Bars
While chocolate chips are a handy pantry staple to have around, nothing beats a real chocolate bar. Unlike chocolate chips which have additives and stabilizers to help them keep their shape, pure chocolate bars have unrivaled flavor and versatility.
You can shave a bar for decorations or cut them into irregular pieces to stir into chocolate chip cookie dough — odd-shaped pieces create random small and large pockets of chocolate and distribute widely and melt beautifully here.
More about chocolate bars
Five Reasons to Keep a Chocolate Bar on Hand
Recipe: How To Make Chocolate Ganache for Any Dessert
Recipe: Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch Bars
3. Real Extracts
You can't replicate the flavor of real vanilla extract. Period. It may seem like a costly purchase, but you can easily make a big bottle at home with some cheap liquor and a few vanilla beans instead.
Fake extracts contain chemicals that almost but don't quite replicate the flavor of the real stuff, and the gap there will really throw off the taste of what you're making. The real stuff will infuse it with natural flavor. So ditch the imitation and invest in real vanilla, almond, or even coconut extract to really enhance your next batch of sweets.
→ Learn how to make your own: How to Make Homemade Vanilla Extract
4. Turbinado Sugar
Coarse, natural cane sugar is baking's secret weapon. It's less refined than white or regular brown sugars, so it has a more robust flavor, and it's beautiful and sparkly to boot. Sprinkle some on your next batch of muffins for added crunch, or roll a log of sugar cookie dough in it before slicing and baking to add elegance without much extra work.
More about turbinado sugar
Turbinado Sugar
Recipe: Molasses Spice Cookies with Orange Sugar
Recipe: Toffee-Chocolate Chip Shortbread
5. Flavored Baking Chips
Last, but not least, keep some flavored baking chips other than chocolate on hand. Swapping out or replacing some of the chocolate chips in a recipe with cinnamon, toffee, or caramel chips is a fun way to turn a trusted recipe into something new and fun. Plus, they'll even appease those few people in the world who don't like chocolate!
Get a recipe
Chocolate Chip and Toffee Shortbread Cookies
Giant Gooey Cinnamon Biscuits
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