The weather is heating up, and that means changes to your summer baking. Baking cookies in the summer, frosting summer cupcakes, and making your favorite summer fruit pies can all get complicated with the weather changing. Here are our top five tips for summer baking success:
1. Watch your butter!
Many baked goods rely on our favorite ingredient…BUTTER! But butter and heat don’t always play well together. In the summer your butter will behave differently, especially when you soften it for cookies. It will get softer faster, which you have to watch because butter that is TOO soft will lead to flat cookies. Other desserts, such as pie crusts, also rely on butter for their structure. This leads us to our second important tip…
2. Use your fridge!
When working with biscuits, cookies, and pie crusts, make use of your fridge and freezer. Baking in the summer means you need to cool your dough down more frequently and often for longer. This is especially true for when you are making those delicious summer fruit pies and want a flakey pie crust. Chill it! If you notice your cookies are spreading, chill the dough. If your biscuits aren’t rising, chill the dough.
3. Don’t forget about humidity!
When you are baking, hot weather can really mess with your finished product, especially when you add humidity. If you’re baking something with a lot of liquid in it, you may need to bake it a little longer and check it for doneness instead of just relying on the recipe’s time.
4. Think outside the box…or outside the oven!
Summer desserts don’t have to heat up your whole house! This is a great time to switch up your baking routine to include ice creams, no bake desserts, or instant pot desserts. Take advantage of seasonal fresh fruit and serve it simply with lightly sweetened whipped cream.
5. Take a break and utilize your favorite bakery!
Worried about the perfect treats for a family get together or party? Want to send a treat to a friend but are afraid of it melting? Take the stress out of summer baking and buy treats instead! Some of our favorite summer cookie kits are Under the Sea, Mermaid Mini, and Ahoy, Matey! Pirate kits.
However you decide to enjoy baked goods this summer, you can use these tips to make your summer baking a little easier and more fun!