12 Time-Saving Kitchen Tricks For Cooking And Baking

1. Knead Dough With Ease

Can't stand the feeling of your hands being covered in sticky dough? You don't knead to go through that! Simply combine all of the ingredients in a resealable plastic bag and knead it from the outside until a smooth dough forms. Now you can take out your perfectly kneaded dough, all without getting your hands dirty! 

2. Quickly Cool Drinks

Has it ever slipped your mind to put your favorite soda in the fridge? No worries, all is not lost! Put the bottle in a pitcher and fill with cold water and ice cubes. Add a generous helping of salt to the ice water and you'll have an ice-cold beverage in a jiffy! Salt makes ice water even colder than usual, so your drink will chill much faster than it would in the fridge. 

3. Easily Eat With Chopsticks

Asian cuisine is traditionally eaten with chopsticks. If you haven't gotten the hang of eating with them yet, then this trick is for you. Heat the tip of a screwdriver with a lighter, then carefully melt 4 holes in plastic bottle cap. Slide the chopsticks through the holes and you're ready to chow down without any problems! 

4. Effortlessly Decorate Cupcakes

All too often, cake and cupcake recipes require a piping bag with a star-shaped nozzle to add the finishing touches to your masterpiece. If you don't bake regularly, you might not even have piping bags or nozzles in your kitchen. Instead of begrudgingly using a spoon to spread the frosting, you can use an empty water bottle with a sport cap. Cut 5 slits in the shape of a star into the mouthpiece of the cap. Fill the bottle with frosting, screw on the lid, and you're ready to decorate your cake or cupcakes like a professional! 

5. Reliably Reseal Freezer Bags

Freezer foods like french fries, snacks, and frozen vegetables frequently come in large portions. Usually, you're not going to cook all of that food at once, and it can seem close to impossible to reseal the bag without the risk of fries or veggies spilling all over the place. If you want a fool-proof way to seal up the bag, cut a V in the middle when you first open it. This method will give you 2 sides that can be tied together in a knot. Awesome! 

6. Bake 2 Pizzas At Once

Think you can't fit 2 frozen pizzas on 1 baking tray? Think again! Simply slice both pizzas into quarters, then arrange them all onto the baking sheet. It's that easy!  

7. Perfectly Portioned Olive Oil

Does your salad often end up swimming in olive oil because you accidentally pour too much? Avoid overdressing your salad by filling a spray bottle with olive oil. Next time, you'll be able to control exactly how much comes out!

8. Peel Veggies In A Pinch

Has that pesky vegetable peeler run off again? Don't fret, just pick up the steel wool! We know how weird that may sound, but trust us – steel wool can peel your vegetables just as reliably as that missing peeler.

9. Keep Cookies From Going Stale

In the unlikely event that your homemade cookies aren't eaten within a day or two of baking them, they're at risk of going stale. Save your cookies from such a cruel fate by storing them in a sealable plastic container with a couple slices of sliced bread. The bread helps prevent the cookies from drying out, so you can enjoy them a few days longer! 

10. Slice Hard-Boiled Eggs Like A Pro

What better garnish is there for a salad or breakfast plate than hard-boiled eggs cut into a beautiful zig-zag design? If you want to know how it's done, we've got the perfect trick for you! Tie some unflavored dental floss to a toothpick, insert the side with the floss into the hard-boiled egg, and use the floss to cut through the egg. Remove the toothpick, carefully pull the egg halves apart, and you're done!

11. Protect Your Fingers

Nothing interrupts the flow of cooking like accidentally cutting yourself. It happens to the best of us! To prevent any future accidents, you can quickly craft a finger guard out of a plastic bottle. Cut out a piece of the bottle from below the neck, make a hole on either side, and connect the holes with a rubber band. Slide it over your fingers and they'll be perfectly protected from the dangers of food prep! 

12. Open Jars Without Breaking A Sweat

When a jar is so tightly shut that even a superhero would struggle to open it, there's no need to panic. There's a hack for that! Don't bother with other methods like sticking a knife under the seal or poking holes in the lid. Instead, just turn the jar upside down, place it in a bowl of hot water, and wait 15 seconds. It'll pop open without a problem on your next try! 

Every so often, you can find yourself in a sticky situation in the kitchen, but now that you know these kitchen tricks, cooking and baking will be a lot easier!

Get the instructions for the Food Prep Tricks and Quick Cooking Tips featured in the bonus video.