A Better Butterer

In the last tip, I professed my undying love for cooking spray. And that love will stand until the end of time. So imagine my disappointment when I come across a recipe and I can see that cooking spray just won't fit the bill for pan greasing purposes. Quelle horreur!

Well, there are times when a pan really does benefit from being buttered instead of misted with oil, like when a batter or dough is so thick that it will just absorb the sprayed oil or push it all around the pan while its being spread or pressed into place. Or when greasing a pan with butter lends flavor and browning to the crust of the baked good, and that's the recipe writer's intention. Despite the fact that I knew these truths to be self-evident, I still would sigh at the thought of having to mush perfectly good butter all over the place. Until I discovered this little trick.

Look to your butter wrappers, people! They tend to have the perfect amount of butter for greasing still clinging to them after the butter sticks are unwrapped. Especially if the recipe calls for the butter to be at room temperature (which is so often the case). It's a most frugal little trick that not only makes buttering pans easier and faster, it keeps hands clean, too. And I need clean hands to keep a firm grip on things like my beloved can of cooking spray.