From Scratch

The convenience of no-bake fruit pies can’t be denied, but neither can their frequent shortcomings. Often they’re little more than a baked pie shell with fruit in a runny pool of syrup or they’re strawberries coated with a neon-red, artificial-tasting, cloyingly-sweet commercial glaze.
My mother used to make a no-bake strawberry pie that didn’t pool, but […]

Snickerdoodles are a beloved American cookie. Unless, of course, they’re really English or German or Dutch in origin. Are they from New England or Pennsylvania Dutch country? The answers depend upon which source you consult.
What’s not in dispute is how delicious they are or how easy to make. They are, at heart, a buttery sugar […]

If cake batters and cookie doughs could talk they might say, “I’m not bad. I’m just mixed that way.”
The purpose of creaming is to create air bubbles…
Creaming is a basic, essential technique that countless people get wrong. Many cakes and cookies, especially cutout cookies, begin with this step. It’s no time for shortcuts or impatience. […]

I can’t think of many common ingredients that confuse people as this one does. Is it only for bread machines? Is it only for super-fast breads? Does it produce inferior loaves?
The answer to all three questions is no.
The yeast industry can blame itself for some of the confusion, having sold it under names such as Rapid […]

Of four classic pastry doughs — pate brisee, pate sucree, pate sablee (”sandy” — it’s like a cookie dough) and pate a choux – this is one of the two most often made by American home bakers, the other being brisee for a flaky crust.
“Sucre” means sugar and its presence produces a sturdier crust, making this […]

I still remember reading something in an old cookbook when I got serious about pie crusts. It advised people making pie crust by hand to work quickly. Good advice, since overworking the dough’s not wise. Then I was startled by the explanation that if you’re nervous and your palms are warm, the dough will get too […]

One day out of the blue, I began having trouble with pie crusts, even when made in the processor, despite having made them without problems for years. All of a sudden they were dry, hard to roll and were neither flaky nor tender. It was so frustrating. I wasn’t doing anything differently. Then it dawned […]

Perhaps the weekend will bring a stop at a farm stand or farmers market and you’ll come home with an armload of produce. Where to put it to keep it fresh longest?
Fruits and vegetables do breathe — anyone who’s ever put peaches in a paper bag to ripen them has seen the effect — and some […]

The first cookbook I ever bought — that’s it on the left – was chosen for one simple reason: it explained how to boil an egg.
I was a sophomore in college, hooked on chef’s salads, and decided to try making them myself. The catch was that I did not know how to make a hard boiled egg. […]