Spent 2 hours trying to soften butter at room temp before my cookies turned into pancakes

I had a batch of chocolate chip cookies totally flop last Saturday because I forgot to pull the butter out ahead of time. I tried microwaving it for 10 seconds and it melted half the stick, then I tried the bowl of warm water trick and it just made a mess. After 2 hours of failed hacks, I finally just cubed the cold butter into the sugar and creamed it longer, and it worked perfectly. Has anyone else wasted way too long on butter softening fads when the simple cube method does the job?

3 comments

3 Comments

emma_baker6114d ago

Oh man, I've been there way too many times. Last month I spent nearly an hour warming butter under my armpit like some kind of crazy person because I was so desperate. The cube method is honestly a lifesaver and I don't know why I ever bother with the fancy tricks. I mean, it takes like 2 minutes to cube it up and then you just cream it a bit longer, no drama. So many recipes online make you think you gotta have perfectly soft butter or your whole baking day is ruined, but that's just not true. idk why we all fall for the complicated versions when the simple one works just fine.

charles_coleman14d ago

Dude right?! @emma_baker61 you're spot on. I actually read somewhere that bakers in like the 1800s used to literally sit on their butter to warm it up, no joke. So the armpit thing is honestly a time honored tradition lol. But yeah the cube method changed my whole baking game once I actually tried it. I remember being so mad at myself for all those years of microwaving butter and ending up with melted pools of sadness. The internet really does make everything seem way harder than it needs to be.

wade_kelly7714d ago

Total agree @emma_baker61. It's like we're all brainwashed into thinking we have to do things the HARD way first before finally realizing the simple trick was right there the whole time. Cube method forever, seriously.