Found out my butter temp was way off after 5 years of baking

Was reading a King Arthur blog post last night. Turns out 'room temperature' butter should be around 65 degrees. I had been using butter straight from the counter that felt soft but was probably in the 70s. No wonder my cookies kept spreading flat. Grabbed a thermometer and sure enough my kitchen runs warm. Anyone else check their butter temp and get surprised?

2 comments

2 Comments

flores.emma14h ago

Gotta disagree a bit here. I've been baking for decades and never once checked my butter temp with a thermometer, and my cookies come out just fine.

josephbailey11h ago

Oh man, I feel this one in my soul! I've definitely burned through my fair share of batches where I was too impatient to let the butter soften the right way. The worst is when you think you've waited long enough but the butter is still cold in the middle and your dough turns into a lumpy mess. I've even tried the microwave trick and ended up with half-melted butter that made my cookies spread into one giant cookie pancake. So yeah, I'm with you on the thermometer thing - if you've been doing it long enough, you just know by feel and sight. But I still mess it up sometimes and that's okay, it's part of the fun!