Baking skills

Learn about the best baking tools, ingredient substitutions, and tips for baking perfect cakes, cookies, bread, and more!
holiday sugar cookie varieties
How to Decorate 6 of Martha’s Prettiest Holiday Sugar Cookies
A person placing a tray of shaped cookies into an oven
Do You Really Need to Preheat the Oven? Here’s What Experts Recommend
A olive-oil bundt cake on a white plate with a slice removed revealing a textured moist interior on a dark surface
Baking With Olive Oil Is the Secret to Tastier, Healthier Desserts—Here’s How to Do It Right
Tray of snowflakeshaped cookies with various patterns of decoration
11 Pro Tips for Perfect Sugar Cookies, From Martha’s Favorite Bakers
close up of loaves of sourdough bread in a bakery
Is Your Bread Actually Sourdough? Here’s How to Buy the Real Thing
decorvow in a kitchen alongside a loaf of sliced banana bread on a marble board
Martha’s One-Ingredient Upgrade for Banana Bread Makes Hers the Best
arnheim dutch cookies
Why Your Cookies Are Flat and How to Fix Them, According to a Pastry Chef
chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting on cooling rack
How to Scale Up a Recipe So You Can Feed a Crowd
peanut butter oat drop cookies
The 10 Most Common Cookie-Baking Mistakes—and How to Avoid Them
measuring cups on a baking counter
The Right Way to Use Your Measuring Cups, According to Pastry Chefs
Bread being rolled with rolling pin
What's the Best Type of Rolling Pin? The Answer Will Surprise You
Cookies on baking sheet
Here's Why Your Cookies Spread When They're Baked—and How to Prevent It
A measuring cup filled with packed brown sugar
How Brown Sugar and White Sugar Differ—and Why It Matters
Decorative Christmasthemed sugar cookies shaped as a Santa Claus a tree a snowman and a reindeer
Create These 4 Charming Christmas Cookies With Our Step-by-Step Photos and Templates
Orange silicone pan
Why Pastry Pros Love Baking With Silicone Bakeware—Plus Expert Tips on How to Use It
Chunks of broken chocolate on a marble surface
A Chocolatier Explains Why Chocolate Turns White—and How to Fix It
Full loaf of bread on cutting board with butter
The Crucial Difference Between Bread Flour and All-Purpose Flour—and How It Impacts Your Baked Goods
A teaspoon of vanilla bean paste being poured into a small glass bowl
Is Vanilla Bean Paste Better Than Vanilla Extract? Here’s What the Experts Say
five-ingredient-cookies-369-d111686_horiz-0922
Bake It, Don't Buy It: 6 Treats That Are Better Homemade
Chocolate chunk cookies cooling on a wire rack
11 Foods You Didn't Know You Could Cook in an Air Fryer
Flour in glass bowl with whisk
Cake Flour and All-Purpose Flour Aren't the Same—Here's When to Use Each
A bowl filled with cubes of butter on a wooden surface with a butter knife nearby
How to Quickly and Safely Bring Butter to Room Temperature, According to Land O'Lakes
Sugar in glass bowl with wooden spoon
The Difference Between Cane Sugar and Granulated Sugar, According to Bakers
gluten free oatmeal on cooling rack
How to Keep Cookies Fresh for Longer, According to a Baking Expert
Roll of wax paper on countertop
Can Wax Paper Go in the Oven? It's Complicated
jar of mayonnaise on wooden table
How to Use Mayonnaise Instead of Eggs for Baking, Breading, and More
Orange Almond Cake batter topped with orange and blood orange slices in a springform baking pan
How to Use a Springform Pan for Delicate Desserts Like Cheesecake
Basic Pie Dough for Apple Pie
The 8 Best Egg Wash Substitutes to Use for Pie Crusts, Pastries, and More
Cream of Tartar on spoon
Cream of Tartar Is the Secret to Lofty Meringues and Light, Chewy Cookies
Hazelnut cookies on baking sheet
14 Ways to Use Parchment Paper for Cooking, Baking, Food Storage, and More
close up view of light brown sugar in white bowl with a spoon
How to Make Brown Sugar at Home
5 mins
Slices of pumpkin pie
7 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Baking Pumpkin Pie
powdered milk with a glass of milk
What Is Powdered Milk—And Why Do Chefs Always Have It in Their Kitchens?
baking soda and baking powder
Baking Soda vs. Baking Powder: What's the Difference?
Basic Pie Dough for Apple Pie
Apple Pie Crust Recipe
basic pizza dough
Quick Basic Pizza Dough
1 hr 10 mins
Broccoli Cheddar Quiche
Broccoli-Cheddar Quiche
1 hr 45 mins
Close up of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on plate from above
Why Refrigerating Cookie Dough Makes for Better-Tasting Treats
martha in kitchen holding cake surrounded by desserts
8 of Martha's All-Time Best Baking Tips, According to Our Readers
vanilla-bean sugar cookies
How to Freeze Cookies and Cookie Dough the Right Way
making sugar cookies
Test Your Cookie Skills With Our Cookie Week Quiz
Honey, maple syrup, molasses, coconut sugar
How to Replace Sugar With Honey, Maple Syrup, and Other Unrefined Sweeteners in Baking
Custard Creme Caramel dessert cooked in a bain marie of water
When to Use a Bain Marie—or Hot-Water Bath—When Baking
lemon cranberry meringue pie on table with white tablecloth
Making Meringue Is Easy—All You Need Are 2 Ingredients and Our Expert Tips
cutting board with citrus ginger cucumber beet oranges
30 Cooking Skills to Master Before You Turn 30
Perfect Pie Crust
Perfect Pie Crust
Basic Pastry Dough
Basic Pastry Dough
Bacon Cheese Quiche
Cheese and Bacon Quiche
1 hr 30 mins
woman using spoon to mix butter and sugar
How to Cream Butter and Sugar by Hand
Red stand mixer on kitchen counter
Here's Why You Should Be Using the Reverse Creaming Method for Cakes
nordic ware cookie stamps
Cookie Stamps Are the Quick and Easy Way to Make Decorative Treats—Here's How to Use Them
Hummingbird Carrot Cake Recipe
How to Assemble a Layer Cake
Greasing baking pan with fingers
What's the Best Way to Grease a Cake Pan?
white floral wedding cake
59 Beautiful Wedding Cakes That Are (Almost!) Too Pretty to Eat
Orange-Cardamom Bundt Cake
Our Very Best Tips for Making a Perfect Bundt Cake, Including How to Properly Grease the Pan
3 pizzas
Chris Bianco's Pizza Dough
corned beef egg cups
23 Bite-Size Appetizers and Snacks You Can Make in a Muffin Pan
Cookie press cookies
Cookie-Press Cookies
vanilla extract in small bowl
9 Vanilla Extract Substitutes to Use in a Pinch
Old Fashioned Apple Pie
Old-Fashioned Apple Pie
macaroon vs macarons
Macaroons vs. Macarons—the Differences Between the Two Cookies
Almond Polenta Cake
How to Use Gluten-Free Flour in Place of Regular Flour, According to Experts
Baked Alaska Cake
Baked Alaska
3 hrs 45 mins