Comments on: How to Measure Flour

By: Ruby

Ruby — Sat, 09 Sep 2023 04:08:39 +0000

This was extremely informative. I recently starting baking more things from scratch and I was wondering why the quality of my sugar cookies were not consistent. Thank you!

By: Dorothy Kern

Dorothy Kern — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 14:14:04 +0000

In reply to Susan.

For ice cream yes. If you’re baking it in the middle of a cookie recipe (like a gooey bar or caramelita) then I suggest adding 1/4 cup flour to the caramel – that helps it not melt into the dough.

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 18:48:03 +0000

Can I use your caramel sauce recipe for ice cream, in the cookie recipes that call for caramel sauce, rather than using the caramel recipe that is in the cookie recipe? The cookie recipe calls for store bought caramel candies that is cooked with heavy cream.

Will the homemade caramel sauce survive being baked in the oven?
Thank you!

By: Jan Johnston

Jan Johnston — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 18:56:58 +0000

Well, I guess learning never ends! I’m 72, and just learned I’ve been measuring flour correctly just because it makes sense. I’m looking forward to the next tip!

By: Dorothy Kern

Dorothy Kern — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 13:54:26 +0000

In reply to louis smith.

Replacing baking soda with baking powder can be very tricky because they’re not the same thing, and they don’t act the same. It’s possible to use 2-3x more baking powder in a soda recipe, but results will be mixed depending on the recipe itself.

Baking soda is what gives the spread in cookies. Baking powder would give it a more cakey texture, which is why soda is normally called for. You’ll notice lots of cookie recipes that call for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, resulting in somewhat flatter cookies. That’s traditional, but in most of my cookie recipes you’ll notice I only add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. This results in a thicker, puffier cookie that’s still chewy and not cakey.

If you don’t have baking soda on hand and want cookies ASAP, you’ll have to google for some good recipes or exact substitutions. If at all possible, I’d use baking soda if it’s called for and not bother with the tinkering that is involved with substituting!

By: louis smith

louis smith — Tue, 12 Apr 2016 18:06:52 +0000

Thanks for the quick reply. Here’s another: if I want to replace baking soda with baking powder in a c.c. cookie recipe, thinking powder helps PREVENT spread [I don’t know, just because] and knowing it is not 1:1, what is the general rule? I also know, being a know-it-all, that I’ll need more powder, thanks and enjoy today, Louis

By: Dorothy Kern

Dorothy Kern — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 22:43:35 +0000

In reply to louis.

No that’s perfect. Mainly, it’s just to make sure people aren’t packing it, and your method works!

By: louis

louis — Mon, 11 Apr 2016 16:59:04 +0000

I use a 1/2 cup to spoon the flour into a 1cup measuring cup . Is that too much flour to spoon at a time?

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 16:22:48 +0000

By the way, we have the same scale you do (the one shown in the photo). I used it to test the difference between weighing and spooning 1 cup flour, and could not believe the difference. My spooned-in (non-fluffed-up) flour always weighs a few ounces more than the industry standard 4.25 oz.

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 16:17:58 +0000

AMEN! I have been baking for over 50 years and always spooned flour into the cup and leveled with a knife, and I never fluffed the flour before measuring. Everything came out fine. However, now that we own a digital scale that measures ounces and grams, I weigh the flour and WOW I can’t believe the difference in the amount of flour used! And my cookies turn out great or better! A digital kitchen scale is one of the most-used tools in our kitchen and they are not expensive.