SUBSTITUTIONS

Baking season is upon us.  Everyone will be making lots of scrumptious goodies.  How many times have you been in the middle of a recipe, and OOPS you are out of something?
It is so aggravating when that happens.

First of all we mentioned earlier that you should inventory all your baking goods and spices NOW, to make sure you have everything you will need.
But there is an alternative.  There are many items that you can substitute other things for.  Using what you have at home, when times get tough, or you can't get to the store, just makes sense.

Here are a few options.  You might want to copy and keep in your nearest recipe book or file.

• Buttermilk - 1 C milk mixed with 1 Tbsp. of white vinegar or lemon juice.  Let it stand for about 10 minutes to sour.  Use in baking as you would store bought buttermilk.  **Not for drinking!     You can also buy dry buttermilk powder and just mix with water.  I always keep this on hand.
• Heavy cream - 2/3 C whole milk mixed with 1/3 C melted unsalted butter
• Evaporated milk - 1/3 C nonfat dry milk with 6 Tbsp. water
• Brown sugar - LIGHT = 1 C sugar with 2 Tbsp. molasses.  DARK = 1 C sugar with 4 Tbsp. molasses
• Powdered sugar - 1 C sugar in a blender and grind till fine powder
• Colored sugar sprinkles for cookies - mix sugar with drops of food coloring and mix till evenly blended.  I have done this often.  Keep extra in a sealed container for use later.
• Sweetened Condensed Milk - 3/4 C sugar, 1/2 C water, and 1 1/2 C powdered milk.   Mix in a pan and bring to a boil, then simmer and stir for about 20 minutes.  This equals 1 can.
• Corn syrup - 2 C white sugar, 3/4 C water and 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar.  Whisk together, boil, cover and simmer for about 3 minutes.  Uncover and heat to the 'soft ball' stage (a drop of mixture in cold water, sinks and forms a ball).  Cool and store in airtight container in pantry for a couple months.
• DARK corn syrup - mix 3/4 C of the above with 1/4 C molasses
• Unsweetened chocolate - 1 oz. = 3 Tbsp. of cocoa mixed with 1 Tbsp. shortening or vegetable oil
• Lemon zest 1 tsp. = 1/2 tsp. of lemon extract or 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice

This should get you thinking.  I will be listing more substitutions tomorrow.  It sure is nice to know that everything is not set in stone when it comes to baking, even though baking is science.
We can still enjoy our baked goods and stay frugal.  There is no need to make special runs to the grocery when out of something.

More tomorrow!