Browse links
US residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data.
We hope you love our recommendations! Some may have been sent as samples, but all were independently selected by our editors. Just FYI, BuzzFeed and its publishing partners may collect a share of sales and/or other compensation from the links on this page.
Baking isn't only a makeup technique, it's also a way to make delicious treats.
"I pretty much always keep my mixer on low unless I need to cream or whip something, and even then I keep a super close eye on it. I like to stop mixing when there’s just a little bit of flour still visible — if you’re adding things like candy or chocolate chips it will mix in when you stir in the final ingredients, and if not, it will mix in as you scoop out the dough. Over mixing your dough makes the difference between blah and BAM!" —Sugarpony89
"You’ll find out that measuring cups are a waste of time because even though you measure one cup of flour 50 times, it’ll never be the same weight, but 250 grams will always be 250 grams." —Bobthelamb
Get it on Amazon starting at $12. / Available in red, green, black, silver, white, and blue.
"Pastry chef here. Room temperature matters! You want room-temp ingredients for consistency in your recipes. Most call for beating butter and sugar together. This is easiest and creates nice fluffy baked goods when butter is room temp. Adding cold eggs to your butter-sugar mixture means all your hard work down the drain. It will make ingredients 'seize' into chunks which never fully mix with your dry ingredients. The result is sugary butter blowouts as I like to call them instead of light, even crumbed baked goods." —leannao
—Katie Darden, Facebook
Get it on Amazon for $15. / Available in 8", 9", and 10".
"When recipes call for the eggs and sugar to be beaten until pale and thick, SERIOUSLY FOLLOW THIS. I literally had this revelation yesterday while baking brownies. I used to just combine the sugar and eggs, but if you whisk the two until pale and thick, it makes a world of difference! Your brownies will be fluffy yet fudgy at the same time!" —Abbey M
Hard butter is far too difficult to mix with your ingredients, which is why many recipes ask for softened butter. Meaning, it's still a solid but its soft enough to break apart and mix in. If you need to soften your butter, you can throw it in the microwave on defrost for about 15 seconds and you should be good to go! —Bella R
"The sugar melts into the dough while baking and doesn't leave a white dusting on your treats!" —Melissa Tholen, Facebook
Get it on Amazon for $14.
"Follow the directions! If it calls for a cup of flour, measure out a cup of flour. If it says you need baking soda, don't substitute baking powder and call it close enough. Cooking may be an art, but baking is a science. If you don't follow the directions you won't get good results." —Maria Elizabeth, Facebook
Get the full recipe for this delicious Lighter Raspberry Cheesecake from Tasty.
"MISE EN PLACE!!! I did culinary for three years in high school and I live by this. You get everything you need for what you are making out. It helps you in the end, trust me." —lkjones654
"I got one of the most helpful tips from Nigella: Separate eggs by pouring them onto your palm and letting the egg white run through your fingers. It’s fool-proof, easy, and there’s no chance of breaking the yolk with sharp egg-shell edges!" —liinal2
"The ones without a groove (not the two piece ones). They are so much easier to clean and use!" —Emilytapio
Get this one on Amazon for $7.
"Baking simply CANNOT be rushed. Many recipes can require multiple days to complete, with doughs and batters and fillings requiring chilling, resting, rising, fermenting, staling, etc." —promisew
"Always buy at least decent quality bakeware, (non-stick and silicone are amazing). They're so much easier to clean and everything bakes more evenly." —katherinedenney324
Get this set of six on Amazon for $19.
When a recipe calls for a pinch — normally of dry ingredients like salt, spices, or sugar — what it's really telling you is that it needs about 1/8 teaspoon. To get this, take your thumb, index finger, and (depending on the size of your hand) your middle finger to get just about that much. —TriaJace
"You don’t have to go all out and get a fancy KitchenAid. But seriously, mixing by hand or with a hand-held electric beater? You won't get it as even, you won't mix long enough (because your arm will get tired), and this way, you're free to start on something else while your goodies are mixing." —Karin P
Get this one on Amazon for $40.
"Good vanilla is one of those things you should ALWAYS splurge on." —lizzieann88
"If the ingredients list says X cups flour, sifted, measure the flour first then sift the total measured amount. If ingredients list says X cups sifted flour, sift flour into a vessel then measure out of this sifted flour. The unused sifted flour can be returned to the canister." —promisew
Get it on Amazon for $7.
"When making a cake that requires you to grease and flour the pan, don’t use plain flour. If you’re making it from scratch, mix up all your dry ingredients first and 'flour' the pan with that mix. Dump any excess back in your bowl and continue as normal. When it’s done, the outside looks better because it is the same color and you never end up with that bite that tastes like plain flour." —lostUNIcorn
"Baker's Joy no-stick cooking spray is fucking magic! I don't even use paper for cupcakes and muffins anymore." —Christopher Cano, Facebook
Get it at Walmart for $3.
"For those that don’t know what a crumb layer, (or crumb coat), is, it’s a thin layer of frosting you put on a cake and let 'dry' before you frost the cake properly. It looks terrible when you’re done, but that’s not the final layer of frosting you’ll be doing." —RCIAG
Get a full tutorial on how to crumb coat a cake here.
"A microplane zester is great for any zesting. They do tend to be harder to clean. I found that a toothbrush is the easiest way to clean one." —Katie Darden, Facebook
Get it on Amazon for $15. / Available in yellow, pink, green, blue, orange, black, red, and purple.
"Read a new recipe to completion before starting. It has made all the difference! When I first started baking I fudged up so many times because I didn’t read the whole recipe first." —hayls424
"Use actual chocolate bars like Cadbury or Hershey's (cut into small chunks) instead of chocolate chips in cookies for a cheaper and tastier result!" —s404bd8472
Get 24 full size bars on Amazon for $24.
"Be patient and learn from your mistakes. Baking is a skill. It takes time and many, many bakes to gain it. Don’t start out trying to make a wedding cake or anything complicated if you’ve never baked before. A good place to start, IMHO, for the absolute beginner is chocolate chip cookies. My go-to recipe is the Betty Crocker Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe." —promisew