Baking Staples

If you wanted to get some baking staples in your pantry and refrigerator, all you'd really need to do is grab a package of chocolate chips and purchase all the ingredients listed on the back to make chocolate chip cookies. You would be off to a great start as these ingredients, used in various combinations, are found in most desserts and baked goods.

Here are a few other items you may wish to consider:

• A baking spray, such as "Pam with Flour." This will help keep your baked goods from sticking to the sides of the pan. If you don't have this on hand, you can take a tablespoon of softened butter and with your fingers rub it all over the inside of your baking pan, cake pan, etc. Add 2-4T flour (or cocoa powder, if you're making something chocolate) to it. Hold the pan over the sink and tip it in all directions to cover the butter with the flour then dump the excess flour out. Do NOT skip this step or it will be very difficult to remove your baked good from the pan without parts of it sticking and breaking away!!

• A neutral oil, such as vegetable oil. Avoid Canola oil as synthetic chemicals are used in the extraction process. You should be cooking with olive oil, though!

• Ground cinnamon. Probably the most common baking spice you'll use. Mix 1t cinnamon with 4T sugar and place in a small shaker to have a cinnamon-sugar blend for toast. You can place 1-2T cinnamon in 4c water (in a pot), bring to boil, then simmer to create a natural home deodorizer. Be sure to watch the pot and add additional water to it so it doesn't run dry. This is a great (and cheap) way to freshen up your home if you burn something in the oven, on the stovetop, or are frying or cooking something stinky like fish or sulfur vegetables.

• Powdered sugar. The foundation sugar for glazes, icing, and frosting.

• Cocoa powder. Many chocolate desserts call for this ingredient. You could even buy a Dutch processed dark cocoa for a smoother, more intense flavor.

• Cornstarch. This is a great thickening agent for gravy, sauces, and soups. I also think it dissolves easier than flour. To thicken a gravy, soup, or sauce, dissolve 1T cornstarch into 1T water, then add to whatever it is that needs thickening. Bring to a boil and stir for 1-2 minutes as the magic of molecular structures change, or form, or whatever....SCIENCE!

• As your baking skills increase, you may also wish to add these to your pantry staples: allspice, vanilla beans, yeast, instant espresso granules, honey, flavored extracts, real maple syrup, baking chocolate, gelatin, and nutmeg. Buy whole nutmegs (they are about the size of little chocolate Easter egg candies) and invest in a microplane so you can grate fresh for each recipe.

• Don't forget the chocolate chip cookie ingredients! Make sure you always have these ingredients on hand, too: unsalted butter, eggs, sugar, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla extract, table salt, and chocolate chips.

Now simmer down and go bake something!! xox