6 holiday-baking tips from the pros

It’s the little things that can keep you calm, relaxed and enjoying the holiday baking experience. Sometimes, one sentence in a recipe explains it all. Maybe it’s recalling a piece of advice from a veteran baker.

Better Homes & Gardens has been dispensing advice for decades, and I’ve come to rely on and trust the experts who work in test kitchens and seek out ways to creatively help the rest of us improve the work we do in the kitchen and home. I look at BHG.com daily when I’m working on food-related stories.

I came across some tips on holiday baking, advice that’s good year-round, and thought it should be shared.

▪  SLOW DOWN — The easiest thing you can do to make any recipe better is to set out all of your ingredients, then wait 30 minutes. We know what you're thinking: Baking already takes so much time. Now I have to wait another half-hour just to get started? We get it. But trust us, that 30 minutes allows the butter to get to room temperature, so it's perfectly softened and will smooth into anything. Eggs at room temperature also will result in baked goods with more volume.

▪  CHILL FASTER — You already know it's easier to work with chilled dough when making cookies. But did you know that 20 minutes of chilling in the freezer is equal to one hour in the fridge?

▪  SPRAY THE STICKY AWAY — Baking with liquid sweeteners, such as honey or corn syrup, makes for ooey-gooey deliciousness. The problem? That sticky goodness gets stuck to the measuring cup, then not all of it goes into the mix. Spray the measuring cup with nonstick spray first. Problem solved.

▪  QUIT SIFTING — Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know. Grandma always made you sift cup after cup of flour before you could bake a batch of cookies. No need, friends. That flour was sifted before it was packaged. Sure, it may settle in the bag or in the canister on your counter, but quickly stirring it with a spoon will lighten it up enough for most recipes. You just saved yourself 20 minutes.

▪  BUTTER IS GOOD, SO IS MARGARINE — Rich, delicious baked goods get that yummy-in-your-tummy flavor from butter. Use it. Generously. You can also find success when baking with margarine, but don't use that low-fat stuff. You're making cookies, not a salad — let's do it up right! Check the label: Margarine needs to have at least 100 calories per tablespoon, or your cookies and bars will be flat and difficult to get out of the pan.

▪  REMOVE BUBBLES FROM CAKE BATTER — We're all striving for that soft, dense, dreamy cake. What's preventing your rise to the top ranks of cake-making may be something you can't even see: air. Air pockets interrupt that sweet perfection. To prevent air bubbles (and preserve your status as cake genius), pour the batter into the pan and tap the cake pan on the countertop to release large air bubbles.

This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 6:45 AM with the headline "6 holiday-baking tips from the pros."