How to Cream Butter and Sugar

Creaming butter and sugar is one of the most common steps when making baked goods like cookies and cakes, but it’s also a step that’s commonly misunderstood. Learn how to cream butter and sugar and get the answers to some frequently asked questions about this technique. When you’re a veteran baker, sometimes you take for …

The post How to Cream Butter and Sugar appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

Creaming butter and sugar is one of the most common steps when making baked goods like cookies and cakes, but it’s also a step that’s commonly misunderstood. Learn how to cream butter and sugar and get the answers to some frequently asked questions about this technique.

White bowl of sugar and two sticks of butter on a countertop in front of a sliced pound cake.

When you’re a veteran baker, sometimes you take for granted the tips and tricks you have learned over the years. 

Things like how to measure flour correctly or how to make a simple buttermilk substitute eventually become second nature, but there was a time when we all had to learn these things.

One of the most important techniques in baking is learning how to cream butter and sugar properly. But it’s also one of the things that we sometimes forget to teach new bakers!

If you’re new to baking and have been confused about why creaming butter and sugar together is important or how to know when it’s ready for the next step in the recipe, this is the post for you. We’re going to talk through the basics of this important technique and learn how it can change the outcome of your baked goods.

(more…)

The post How to Cream Butter and Sugar appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

How to Can Apple Butter

Want to store your homemade apple butter long-term but don’t have freezer space? Learn how to can apple butter and enjoy this fall favorite all year long. Without a doubt my most popular recipe this time of year is my slow cooker apple butter. And there’s really no question why! It’s incredibly easy and absolutely …

The post How to Can Apple Butter appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

Want to store your homemade apple butter long-term but don’t have freezer space? Learn how to can apple butter and enjoy this fall favorite all year long.

Close up of a jar of canned apple butter.

Without a doubt my most popular recipe this time of year is my slow cooker apple butter. And there’s really no question why! It’s incredibly easy and absolutely delicious.

One of the most common questions I get about the recipe is: Can I can this apple butter?

I didn’t grow up with a grandmother who canned food, so I never messed around much with it. It always seemed really intimidating to me. But I called up my friend Megan and asked her to teach me what I needed to know to can my apple butter.

I don’t think I’ll become a master canner, but it’s nice to know how to preserve one of my favorite fall foods without taking up a bunch of space in my freezer. 

So let’s talk through the basics on how to can apple butter!

(more…)

The post How to Can Apple Butter appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

How to Make Cinnamon Sugar

Cinnamon sugar is one of the most useful spice blends you can keep in your pantry! Learn the best ratio for making it as well as ways to use it. Sometimes I don’t know where I’d be without my baking basics. I’ve saved myself so many extra trips to the grocery store by knowing how …

The post How to Make Cinnamon Sugar appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

Cinnamon sugar is one of the most useful spice blends you can keep in your pantry! Learn the best ratio for making it as well as ways to use it.

Cinnamon sugar in a small white bowl.

Sometimes I don’t know where I’d be without my baking basics. I’ve saved myself so many extra trips to the grocery store by knowing how to whip up a buttermilk substitute, how to make pumpkin pie spice at home, and how to make powdered sugar

You’ve probably seen jars of cinnamon sugar in the spice aisle at the grocery store. Maybe you’ve even bought it before! But from now on, you won’t need to.

Once you know how to make cinnamon sugar, you’ll be able to keep a jar of it on hand at all times.

Spoon in a white bowl filled with cinnamon sugar.

HOW TO MAKE CINNAMON SUGAR

Cinnamon sugar is one of the most useful things you can keep in your pantry, especially if you have a bit of a sweet tooth. 

Like simple syrup, it’s one of those things that you CAN buy at the store. But once you realize how easy it is to make and you know the ratio to use, I bet you’ll save yourself some money and make it at home.

The most important thing you need to know when it comes to making cinnamon sugar is the ratio to use.

My preferred ratio is: 1 part cinnamon to 4 parts granulated sugar by volume.

Once you’ve got that down, you can make as much or as little as you need!

Ingredients for cinnamon sugar on beige countertop.

Ratio examples

Here are a few ratio examples for you, so you can see how you can make anywhere from a small amount to a larger volume:

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 4 teaspoons (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon + ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon + ½ cup sugar

As you can see, it’s easy to scale this up or down however you like. 

You don’t even have to use traditional measuring spoons or cups! Any scoop or spoon you have lying around your kitchen will work – just use 1 scoop of cinnamon for every 4 scoops of sugar.

Cinnamon being added to granulated sugar in a white bowl.

USES

Need some usage ideas? I’ve got you covered.

The most common uses are for making cinnamon toast or using it to coat snickerdoodle cookies (or to top snickerdoodle blondies), but there are a whole bunch of options beyond those.

Cinnamon sugar being spooned over muffin batter before baking.

Sprinkle it on top of blondie bars, muffins, or quick breads before baking, such as apple bars, zucchini muffins, or banana bread.

Add it to your morning oatmeal, sprinkle it on top of bread pudding before baking, or use it to make cinnamon tortilla chips for a delicious snack.

And don’t forget donuts and pretzels! You can make cinnamon sugar soft pretzel bites or cinnamon sugar pretzels with your favorite hard pretzels. Skip the glaze on homemade doughnuts and cake donuts and go for a coating of this goodness instead. 

Muffins topped with cinnamon sugar set on a wooden board.

Feeling snacky? Try candied pecans or air fryer cinnamon sugar knots.

Even drinks are made better with it! It makes a great rim for apple cider margaritas, or sprinkle it over spiced apple cider.

Three cookie dough balls being rolled in a bowl of cinnamon sugar.

STORAGE

Once you’ve mixed up your cinnamon sugar, store it in an airtight container, such as a glass jar. Label it and store it in a cool, dry place and it’ll keep pretty much forever.

Like all ground spices, the cinnamon will start to lose some of its flavor after about 6 months, but the mix itself will still be good – it just might not pack as much punch.

See? Now that you know how to make cinnamon sugar, you can pass by it at the store and keep a jar of it in your pantry at all times!

Snickerdoodles next to a bowl of cinnamon sugar on a wire cooling rack.
Cinnamon sugar and a small whisk in a white bowl.
Print

How to Make Cinnamon Sugar

Cinnamon sugar is one of the most useful spice blends you can keep in your pantry! Learn the best ratio for how to make cinnamon sugar as well as ways to use it.
Course Baking Basics
Prep Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 part ground cinnamon
  • 4 parts granulated sugar

Instructions

  • Whisk together and store in an airtight container.

Notes

Use the above ratio to make as much or as little cinnamon sugar as you need. Common examples:
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon + 4 teaspoons (1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon) sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon + ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cinnamon + ½ cup sugar

The post How to Make Cinnamon Sugar appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

How to Make Oat Milk

Learn how to make oat milk with just four simple ingredients and enjoy the creamiest, most refreshing oat milk for pennies on the dollar.

The post How to Make Oat Milk appeared first on Budget Bytes.

This one goes out to all of my lactose-intolerant friends out there! If you’re not already making your own homemade oat milk, promise me you’ll try this recipe. Because they’re charging waaaaay too much for it at the store, considering how simple it is to make. It literally takes about five minutes and it tastes SO GOOD. Like, I usually feel kind of “meh” about oat milk, but I wanted to guzzle the entire batch because it was so cool, creamy, and refreshing. So promise me you’ll bookmark this page and give it a try this weekend, K?

A jar of oat milk with a metal straw and ingredients in the background.

What’s in Oat milk?

When I tell you how simple this oat milk is, you might have a little heart attack when you realize how much you’ve been paying for it at the store. Oat milk is literally just oats, water, salt, vanilla (optional), and a sweetener (optional). That’s it. Five simple ingredients! Here’s a little more detail about what I used to make my homemade oat milk:

  • Oats – I tested both old-fashioned rolled oats and quick oats for this recipe and old-fashioned oats were the clear winner. Old-fashioned rolled oats break down just enough when blended to yield a creamy milk that is not too thick or slimy. Quick oats are so powdery to begin with that they completely disintegrated in the water and make a thick, sludge-like oat milk. #nothanks
  • Water – Make sure to use cold water to make your homemade oat milk so the starches in the oats don’t get too hydrated. That will lead to thick and slimy oat milk.
  • Salt – Just a pinch will do! Salt helps our tongues differentiate between flavors so you can taste the full dimensions of vanilla, sweet, and creamy.
  • Vanilla – I think adding a little vanilla really rounds out the flavor of the oat milk so it’s more interesting and enjoyable. You can skip it, but I really feel like the vanilla takes the oat milk from good to GREAT.
  • Sweetener – A little bit of sweetness goes a long way with oat milk. I used brown sugar because it offered a good balance between being budget-friendly and adding a slight caramel flavor from the molasses, but maple syrup is even more delicious (just more expensive). Other options are white sugar, honey, agave, stevia, monk fruit, or any other sweetener that dissolves easily in water.
Oat milk being poured into an iced coffee from a glass carafe.

What kind of Strainer to Use

Straining is one of the most important steps in the oat milk-making process because it can change the texture of the oat milk quite a bit. I tested a few different methods for straining so I could give you some options. Here’s what I found:

  • Nut Bags or Cheesecloth: These are great options if you plan to make a lot of oat milk because they’re inexpensive and most can be laundered and re-used (check the package for the cheesecloth because depending on the quality, some are not reusable). The key to using nut bags and cheesecloth is to NOT squeeze the liquid through the cloth. Squeezing allows too many starches through, making the oat milk thick and slimy.
  • Metal Strainers or Sieves: Metal strainers have quite a large weave and they allow a lot of the oat particulate through, which can result in a thick and powdery-flavored milk. Stacking two strainers on top of each other does help a lot, if this is your only option.
  • Lint-Free Dishcloth: The weave on a dishcloth is pretty tight, which makes it hard for the oat milk to flow through. I found this method to be pretty messy and I had to squeeze the oats to get the milk to pass through, which can lead to a slimy oat milk.
  • Metal Coffee Filter: Metal coffee filters were my favorite strainer for oat milk! It created just the right texture for the milk and was easy to clean and reuse. So if you happen to have one of these on hand, or want to make an investment for oat milk-making, this is the best option!

Can you Froth Homemade Oat milk?

I tried frothing this homemade oat milk with a handheld frother, and, unfortunately, it does not create a nice foam. Oats do not contain a lot of fat or protein, which is needed to create a stable foam, so store-bought oat milk usually has to have thickeners or stabilizers added to help it foam.

How to Enjoy Oat Milk

I’m not kidding when I say this oat milk was so good that I wanted to chug it straight from the jar. But keep in mind that homemade oat milk does not contain emulsifiers or stabilizers like store-bought oat milk, so you will need to shake it very well before you pour, every time.

Oat milk is great added to coffee or poured over a bowl of cereal (or maybe even oatmeal – how meta). I haven’t tested baking with this oat milk or using it as a substitute for dairy milk in recipes, so proceed with caution. Remember that oat milk does not contain as much fat or protein as dairy milk, which may cause it to react differently in recipes.

Tips for Making Homemade Oat Milk

  • Use rolled oats, not quick oats, for a creamy yet light and refreshing oat milk
  • Use cold water to prevent a slimy texture
  • Strain the oat milk well to keep the texture light, but DO NOT squeeze it through your strainer
  • For maximum deliciousness, let the oat milk chill completely in the refrigerator before serving
  • Shake the oat milk very well each time before enjoying
A jar of oat milk being stirred with a metal straw, as seen from above.
A jar of homemade oat milk with a metal straw and ingredients on the sides.
Print

Homemade Oat Milk

Learn how to make oat milk with just four simple ingredients and enjoy the creamiest, most refreshing oat milk for pennies on the dollar.
Course Beverage
Cuisine American
Total Cost $0.75 recipe / $0.19 serving
Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes
Servings 4 (1 cup each)
Calories

Ingredients

  • 4 cups cold water $0.00
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract $0.36
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar $0.08
  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (NOT quick oats) $0.29
  • 1/4 tsp salt $0.02

Instructions

  • Stir the vanilla and brown sugar into the cold water until dissolved.
  • Add the oats, salt, and water mixture to a blender. Blend on high for 30 seconds.
  • Pour the blended oat mixture through a strainer like a nut bag, cheese cloth, metal coffee filter, or a double layer of metal sieves to filter out the oat pieces.
  • Chill the oat milk completely (preferably overnight), then shake very well before serving. Keep the oat milk refrigerated for up to four days.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*You can use any type of sweetener that dissolves easily in cold water.
**There is no nutritional information for this recipe because nutritional calculators can not account for the oats that are discarded in the straining process.

How to Make Oat Milk – Step by Step Photos

Oat milk ingredients laid out on a surface.

All you need to make your own oat milk is 4 cups cold water, 1 cup rolled oats (NOT quick oats), 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and sweetener (I used 2 Tbsp brown sugar).

Maple water being poured into a blender with oats and salt.

Add 2 Tbsp brown sugar and ½ tsp vanilla to 4 cups cold water and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add the rolled oats, salt, and water mixture to a blender. I used our big blender for a four-cup batch, but I also tested a half-cup batch in our mini blender and it worked fine.

Oats and water being blended in a blender.

Blend the oats and water for 30 seconds, no more! It’s a good idea to time this on your watch or phone so you don’t accidentally count too fast or too slow. Over-blending the mixture can make the oat milk too thick or slimy.

Oat milk poured into a nut bag over a strainer and bowl.

Immediately pour the mixture through a strainer into a bowl. I’m showing the oat milk poured into a nut bag supported by a metal strainer over the bowl, but you can also use cheesecloth or metal coffee filters (see blog text above the recipe for details on each method).

Chilled oat milk in a plastic quart container.

Make sure to chill the oat milk completely (like, overnight) for the best flavor. Because this is homemade and doesn’t have added emulsifiers or stabilizers, it will separate like in the photo above. Just give it a good shake shake shake before enjoying it each time and it will be as right as rain!

Overhead view of a jar of oat milk being stirred.

The oat milk will keep in the refrigerator for about four days, so make a half batch if needed to make sure none goes to waste!

The post How to Make Oat Milk appeared first on Budget Bytes.

How to Freeze Cake

Curious about whether or not you can freeze the cake you just made? Use this guide to learn how to freeze cake, whether whole or sliced, frosted or unfrosted. Today I’m bringing you another kitchen how-to.  If you’ve been around here for a while, you know how much I love sharing these posts with you. …

The post How to Freeze Cake appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

Curious about whether or not you can freeze the cake you just made? Use this guide to learn how to freeze cake, whether whole or sliced, frosted or unfrosted.

Assortment of wrapped cakes and cupcakes ready to go in the freezer.

Today I’m bringing you another kitchen how-to. 

If you’ve been around here for a while, you know how much I love sharing these posts with you. Whether it’s knowing how to throw together a quick buttermilk substitute, how to measure flour correctly for better baking results, or how to make perfectly round cookies, these are some of my favorite tips and tricks.

One of the most frequent questions I get asked about nearly all of my recipes is, “Can this recipe be frozen?”

And when it comes to cake and cupcakes, I am happy to say YES! 

But there are some differences in how to freeze cake depending on if it’s frosted or not, whole or sliced. So let’s dive into how to tackle each of these.

(more…)

The post How to Freeze Cake appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

How to Make Perfectly Round Cookies

If you’ve ever had cookies come out of the oven looking a little less than perfect, give this trick a try. Grab a drinking glass or a coffee mug and learn how to make perfectly round cookies. I’ve told you guys before how TikTok is my new favorite social media platform. I get so many …

The post How to Make Perfectly Round Cookies appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

If you’ve ever had cookies come out of the oven looking a little less than perfect, give this trick a try. Grab a drinking glass or a coffee mug and learn how to make perfectly round cookies.

Perfectly round sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies on a wire cooling rack.

I’ve told you guys before how TikTok is my new favorite social media platform. I get so many great tips and tricks there, whether it’s a recipe for cinnamon rolls with heavy cream or how to make your cookies perfectly round.

Yes, you read that right. Perfectly round cookies!

I saw this trick several months ago. I can’t find the original video, but it showed the creator using a cup to reshape her freshly baked cookies into perfect circles.

I am happy to eat cookies in any shape or size, but sometimes I do want mine to look really nice, so I gave this trick a try and it worked great!

(more…)

The post How to Make Perfectly Round Cookies appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

How to Caramelize Onions

Curious about caramelized onions? Learn everything from what they are, how to use them, and – most importantly – how to caramelize onions easily at home. There are a handful of cooking and baking basics that I think every home cook should know. These are things like how to make a buttermilk substitute, how to brown …

The post How to Caramelize Onions appeared first on My Baking Addiction.

Curious about caramelized onions? Learn everything from what they are, how to use them, and – most importantly – how to caramelize onions easily at home.

Gray bowl filled with caramelized onions, set on a marble countertop.

There are a handful of cooking and baking basics that I think every home cook should know.

These are things like how to make a buttermilk substitute, how to brown butter, how to roast garlic, and how to caramelize onions.   

Sure, you could probably go your whole life without needing to do these things, but they’re super easy tricks that can not only make your life easier, they make your life more delicious.

I can promise that once you know how to caramelize onions, you’ll be looking for all sorts of ways to use them from breakfast to lunch to dinner. 

(more…)

The post How to Caramelize Onions appeared first on My Baking Addiction.