butter along side a knife that has cut it into small pieces sitting on a black cutting board

21 Brilliant Kitchen Hacks You’ll Wish You’d Known Sooner

/Updated /19 Comments/in , /by Mary Hunt

Regardless of skill level—whether you’re a novice, naturally gifted in the kitchen, or simply blessed with many years of experience—these quick and clever kitchen hacks are sure to change the way you cook for the better. Or, at the very least, make you smile and shout, “Wow! What a great idea!”

1. Super slick

When measuring sticky ingredients like honey or molasses, spray your measuring tool with cooking spray first. It will help the honey slide right out, giving you the most precise measurement. Or, If the recipe includes a large amount of oil, measure that first in a measuring cup. Then, add the molasses or honey right into the same measuring cup with the oil, and voila! No more sticky residue left behind.

kosher salt box on kitchen countertop

2. Forget the built-in spout

Reaching that little metal spout on a box of kosher salt can be frustrating. Who invented that, anyway? Forget the spout. Instead, saw off a corner of the box with a serrated knife. It’s easy and efficient, to say nothing of protecting your sanity.

butter along side a knife that has cut it into small pieces sitting on a black cutting board

3. Soften butter

Did you forget to take the butter out of the fridge, and now it’s hard as a brick? No worries because you can do this: Cut that butter into small pieces. Let it sit on the counter while you get everything else ready, and in about 20 minutes (depending on how small the pieces are), it will be ready to use.

wine bottle wrapped in towel

4. Instant chill

Want to quickly cool a beer, soda, or bottle of wine? Wrap a soaking wet paper towel around the can or bottle and set it in the freezer for 20 minutes. Enjoy an icy cold beverage!

overhead angle of waffle cake

5. Waffled cake

For an almost-instant cakey treat, stir up your favorite boxed cake mix, add it to a waffle iron preheated to medium, and cook until puffed and cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Add some cream cheese frosting or powdered sugar, and serve!

roasted zucchini in skillet

6. Roasted veggies

Put the pan you’ll use to roast the vegetables in the oven as it preheats. When the vegetables hit that hot surface, this kitchen hack gives them a delicious jump-start on browning.

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makeshift DIY pastry brush parchment paper with herb cutting scissors

7. DIY pastry brush

When you can’t find your pastry or basting brush—or don’t have one—make a quick, disposable stand-in: Fold a piece of parchment paper corner-to-corner over and again to make a small rectangle. Cut fringe with kitchen scissors. What a great makeshift brush!

roll of paper towels and cutting board with fresh fruit

8. Tame the cutting board

Isn’t it annoying how a cutting board moves all over the counter when you’re trying to chop, slice, stir, or otherwise use it? You can take control of that naughty board by placing a damp paper or cloth towel under it. It works like magic and puts you, the chopper, back in control.

ice cream carton in ziploc bag

9. Ice cream—it’s in the bag

Ice cream can become rock hard in the freezer, and it takes ages to thaw out just enough to eat. To keep it just the right consistency, put the container in a plastic freezer bag before throwing it in the freezer.

mise en place

10. Mise en place

That’s French for “everything in its place,” a time-honored kitchen hack. In English, it means staying calm in the kitchen! The trick is to play TV chef and get everything measured out, chopped, and otherwise prepped before you start cooking or baking. The time it takes to do that may seem daunting, but no! You’ll save time and potential screw-ups when you have everything ready and in its place. Now you’re ready to get cooking or baking.

verhead view of a single slice of pizza on counter top with knolling of ground black pepper, parmesan, and torn basil

11. Reheat miracle

Revive a cold slice of pizza by adding some freshly ground black pepper, Parmesan, and torn basil. Then, fold it tip-to-crust and cook it on high in a preheated waffle iron for 3 minutes.

asparagus on sheet of foil with lemon slices salt and pepper

12. Tenderness pouch

For perfectly tender asparagus, take a sheet of aluminum and place the asparagus in the middle. Add a drizzle of olive oil, lemon slice (optional), salt, and pepper. Gather the sides, bringing the tops together to create a puffy pouch with some air space to allow for steaming. Seal and gently shake so that everything is incorporated. Bake in a 360 F. oven for 25-35 mins, depending on the thickness and age of the asparagus.

bacon roll in package opposite to freshly cooked bacon

13. Bacon roll

Before opening a new package of bacon, roll it up like a jelly roll and then unroll it. The slices will not stick to one another. 

fresh baked cookies in container with white bread

14. Soft cookies

Some cookies are meant to be crunchy, others soft and pillowy. To keep the soft ones as soft and yummy as they were when they came out of the oven, our friends at Taste of Home say to do this: Store them in an airtight container together with one slice of store-bought white bread. There you go! Best trick ever to keep them soft to the last crumb.

glass casserole lasagna in oven

15. Drop it by 25

Glass bakeware conducts and retains heat better than metal, so oven temperatures should be reduced by 25 degrees when using glass. 

bread dough in proofing basket on countertop

16. Proofing chamber

To create the perfect environment for bread dough to rise (a warm spot away from any drafts), use the clothes dryer! Tumble a clean bath towel on the high setting for 2 to 3 minutes.

Turn the dryer off, and place the towel in the bottom of the dryer and the bowl of bread dough on top of the towel to steady it. Shut the dryer door to allow the dough to rise Put up a sign or a piece of tape across the door just in case someone decides it’s the perfect time to do a little laundry.

dough scraper bench cutter on wood counter with bread dough and flour

17. Bench scraper

Some call it a pastry or dough scraper, others a “bench scraper,” but it’s not only for baking. Once you chop the veggies on the cutting board, don’t use the knife blade to scrape those ingredients off into the skillet or bowl. That is not good for the knife or the cutting board! Instead, grab your scraper. It works perfectly to move or push food and can handle larger amounts in one scrape than a knife.

baked cake in pan resting on wet towel

18. Perfectly cool

To cool a cake just out of the oven, plate the pan on a wet towel. The cake is less likely to stick to the pan, and once cooled it will come out of the pan more easily.

creamy scrambled eggs with sour cream mixed in.

19. Smooth scrambled eggs

Sour cream is the secret for keeping scrambled eggs creamy for a long time while you hold them warm until time to serve. Once you remove the skillet from the heat, stir in 1/4 cup sour cream for every one dozen eggs. That is the best tip ever!

sheet pan mise en place chicken and vegetables

20. Sheet pans for trays

Sheet pans are not only for baking cookies. They make fabulous “corrals” for your mise en place items. With a single glance, you can see that you are all ready to go. Keeping things organized makes cooking easier—cleanup, too!

moist brownies on parchment paper

21. Extra fudgy

To make extra-fudgy brownies, add 1 tablespoon of light corn syrup to the batter, either a box mix or from scratch. For the oil the instructions call for, use olive oil. Seriously. Bake as usual. Also, don’t assume it always pays to bake from scratch. Brownies, for example, are often cheaper to make from a mix. Know your prices. 

More Excellent Kitchen Hacks

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Question: Got a great kitchen hack you’d be willing to share? Use the comments below for all can learn and enjoy!

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19 replies
Newer Comments »
  1. Lori M McArthur says:

    Slicing the butter does help it come to room temperature faster. I also found it is much faster to slice it the long way (4 cuts) compared with small cuts as you would for a tablespoon. Really adds up when you are making a double batch of frosting.

    Reply
  2. Mindy says:

    I’ve been using the bread-in-cookie container for decades but do NOT let the bread touch the cookies. I found out, quite accidentally, that if you let the bread touch the cookie, it will actually make your cookie wet and soggy. Ick.

    Reply
  3. Marvi says:

    Another way to get chewy brownies is to add 1-3 tablespoons chocolate syrup (Hershey’s or homemade, whatever you have). This also adds a rich chocolatey fudge taste
    My mouth is watering. I’m going to have to go bake a batch now that I’m thinking about it.

    Reply
  4. Nancy says:

    These are great hacks. Another way to proof dough is to place a large cup of water in the microwave and let it come to a boil. Place dough in microwave. Let sit for 30-40 minutes. Dough will be ready

    Reply
    • Cathy says:

      Ooh, love the microwave idea! Never made yeast items because I’ve been too impatient. Now that I’m newly retired, have extra time and going to make yeast items. Thanks for the tip!

      Reply
  5. Cathy says:

    I’ve done the trick of placing a piece of any plain bread item in the container of cookies to get them softer for years. I either toss in half a slice of bread (all that’s needed), part of a burger or hot dog bun (can be past their prime) or half of a Sandwich Thin (rest can be made into breadcrumbs). They all work fine and by the next morning, cookies are nice and soft and bread item is hard. Magic!

    Reply
  6. Gina Stevens says:

    Mary, I LOVE when you write random hacks! Can’t wait to use the bacon tip! I will also try Robin’s suggestion to soften butter quickly. Happy Sunday!

    Reply
  7. Barbara Jackson says:

    I love the clothes dryer-bread dough hack, especially this time of year when my kitchen is too cool for bread dough to rise as it should and I don’t have (or want) a proofing box! I also like the extra fudgy brownie hack. What’s not to love about extra fudgy?! Yummm. Thank you, Mary.

    Reply
  9. Kim Rubin says:

    A bench scraper is a good tool to have. But, if you don’t have one, use the dull, upper edge of your knife to scrape foods off a cutting board to save the blade.
    I’m never going to use my dryer to proof bread, but there are other options. I bought a Breville Smart Oven Air Convection Toaster Oven which comes with a proof setting. But, if you don’t need a toaster oven, you can also use your regular oven.

    Reply
  10. Robin says:

    For an even faster way to soften butter – put the whole stick (or two) in a bowl of room temperature water. Not sure why but it softens up really fast!

    Reply
    • Kim Rubin says:

      Good idea, but I think I’d put the still wrapped butter in a zipper bag to avoid wet butter. A lot of new microwaves also have a ‘soften butter’ setting. The last two microwaves I’ve had have had the setting, which really works. You just have to watch it until you have a pretty good idea of how your particular microwave works on that setting.

      Reply
      • alien18302 says:

        i compared unit prices and retail prices and weights and in weis at least the cost is identical for stick butter and whipped butter. i keep the whipped butter on the counter and it is always ready for my breakfast buttered roll…at no extra cost.

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