Baking Tip: Get Room Temp Butter in a Jiffy

If you're anything like me, you never know when the urge to bake will strike. And while I try to keep my cabinets well stocked with baking essentials, I don't always have room temperature butter on hand. In the days before I discovered this trick, that could sometimes be a problem that would put a damper on my baking spontaneity and stall the arrival of cookies, cakes, and pies even further.

But then I learned this amazing trick. It's so easy and it works like a charm to soften butter to room temperature. Now my patience is only relegated to the wait time of my naked goods in the oven.

If you need room temperature butter in a snap, all you have to do is boil some water. Once the water has boiled, pour it into a glass that is large enough to fit whatever quantity of butter you need for the baking job. Let the hot water sit in the glass for about 30 seconds, then dump the water out, careful not to burn yourself. Then place the glass upside down over the butter and let it sit there for about a minute. The heat from the glass will warm the butter without melting it.