My big jar of organic, unsweetened applesauce always seems to have a bit of mold by the next time I go to use it. The solution—individually packed applesauce. Just enough for a recipe. Especially Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal.
Roasted pumpkin purée makes all the difference. Preheat oven to 325°. Wash sugar pumpkin clean. Cut three 1-inch slits in the pumpkin to allow it to breath. Add pumpkin and an inch of water to a shallow pan. Bake for about an hour or until pumpkin is soft. Cool completely. Peel and discard seeds. Mash pumpkin meat and store covered in the refrigerator, or measure out 1-cup bags and store in freezer.
If you’ve over-whipped your whipped cream like I do nearly every time, don’t fear. Add about 1 teaspoon more of heavy cream at a time and carefully whip or fold into your over-whipped cream until it’s back to a normal consistency
Need ripe bananas in a pinch? Roast them. Preheat oven to 325°. Place unpeeled, bright yellow bananas on a lined baking sheet (bananas may ooze). Bake until skins are completely black, about 20 minutes. Flip bananas halfway through. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before handling.
Did you know—baking with dark colored pans will brown your baked goods faster than baking with light colored pans? It’s true. I learned this the hard way on multiple occasions. Drop your oven temperature slightly or decrease the baking time to compensate.
If you ever want to substitute eggs in a baking recipe, use 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons warm water, per egg. Whip using in a blender, immersion blender or food processor until it reaches a creamy, egg yolk consistency. Great when baking for vegan friends or if you find yourself out of eggs.
If a recipe calls for cake flour, don’t run to the store just yet. You can make your own by combining 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour with 2 tablespoons corn, tapioca, or potato starch. Recipe yields one cup.
While using Laura’s citrus cutting tip from last week and hurriedly throwing together a dinner, I fell onto this. Instead of using a clunky citrus juicer, cut your citrus Laura’s way, and squeeze over a slotted spoon to catch any seeds. Hands work too but mine seem to absorb half the juice.
