coconut

Baking Basics, Ingredients

Coconut in Baking: A Pop of Texture & Flavor

Coconut is delish in and of itself, but when added to baking, the possibilities are limitless. You might not have considered this before, but there are a lot of different ways to enjoy coconut. Coconut products are a charismatic combination of flavor and nutrient density, and always make any dish they are added to delicious. With this in mind, what makes coconut a great ingredient for baking?

mascarpone

Baking Basics, Ingredients

What Is Mascarpone?

range of desserts. An Italian cheese like mascarpone, which is often referred to as the “Italian cream cheese,” certainly adds a certain amount of zest and richness to each and every dish it is featured in. But what exactly is mascarpone?

Nilla Wafers

Baking Basics, Ingredients

Nilla Wafers

“Nilla” is a brand name owned by Nabisco that is most closely associated with its line of vanilla-flavored, wafer-style cookies. The name is a shortened version of vanilla, the flavor profile common to all Nilla-branded products. Growing up, vanilla or nilla wafers depending on what these delicious treats were referred to in your household, were always a feature of many desserts. But what are Nilla Wafers and where did they come from?

raw cookie dough

Baking Basics, Learn

Is It Okay to Eat Raw Cookie Dough?

We can all remember licking the batter spoon for cakes and other sweet treats when we were kids. Even though there were some iffy products in the batter, such as raw eggs, it was generally okay to consume small amounts. The same applies to raw cookie dough. Some say eating raw cookie dough is okay, while others advocate against it. So, is it okay to eat raw cookie dough?

cream cheese

Baking Basics, Ingredients

Cream Cheese: The Perfect Food?

Cream cheese is one of the most interesting of all cheeses thanks to its distinctive use in a variety of different dishes. It can be eaten as either a savory delight or just as easily fit perfectly into various styles of desserts like carrot cake. It is easy to see how cream cheese is quite versatile, but what exactly is cream cheese?

Cinnamon

Baking Basics, Ingredients

What Is Cinnamon?

comes to sweets. From sweet cinnamon rolls to spiced cookies to pumpkin-spiced drinks, there is no escaping this warm, sweet spice. Although cinnamon is ubiquitous throughout our lives, it does seem as if this spice is rarely thought about in terms of its origins and how it is made. With this in mind, what is cinnamon?