Baking Tips

Just call this "Stream of Consciousness Baking Tips".

I'll be adding to this whenever a brilliant new idea comes to me:

I'm going to start with the basics. If you want to do any sort of baking, (from scratch, that is. No cheating with those boxed mixes) you're going to need to start with the basic ingredients for quick and easy baking. You should keep some staples in the pantry, so you'll be prepared for any contingency. Most of these staples will keep on the shelf for a long time. The following is a list of ingredients you need to keep in the house at all times, if you want to be able to bake up something quick and easy anytime.

The baking ingredients you should keep on hand are:

Flour (for bread baking, keep white and wheat flour for variety.)

Yeast (store it in the refrigerator)

White Sugar

Butter (this can also be frozen)

Vanilla extract (I try to stick with Pure Vanilla Extract.)

Eggs or Egg Beaters (You can freeze egg beaters and they'll keep longer than fresh eggs.)

Confectioners' Sugar

Brown Sugar (Light or dark)

Molasses (I like Grandma's brand of molasses, but find a brand that you like.)

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Hershey's Cocoa

Cream of Tartar

Nestle's Chocolate Chips (I stick with Nestle's Morsels, but you can decide what you prefer.)

Coconut

Carnation Evaporated Milk (This is a great substitute for fresh milk and it will keep on the shelf.)

Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk

Parchment Paper

I know it looks like a lot of ingredients to have to keep on hand. But, it will be worth it when you're in a rush and need to bake up something quickly. You'll know that you have exactly what you need to make a delicious dessert.