Q. I recently made a batch of shortbread cookies from a recipe from the New York Times magazine, which called for 1 and half cups flour and half cup cornstarch. The cookies left the worst aftertaste ...

Buttery shortbread is not only a favorite holiday treat but it makes a great gift. Our cookie platter would be lonely without it. My husband hails from Scotland, where shortbread is a BIG DEAL.

Cornstarch may not be the most exciting ingredient, but it's utterly essential in so many recipes — from thickening stir-fries to keeping a cheesecake creamy and baking up a fruit pie. So there’s ...

When I was younger, on days I would spend the afternoon with my grandfather, he would brew us afternoon tea (like a ritual) in small tea pots and cups. I thought it was the coolest thing at the time, ...

A slow-food friend of mine likes to drive guests crazy trying to guess just what it is -- maybe it’s a dissolved sliver of Spanish anchovy to deepen that super-meaty sauce, or some microscopically ...

Cultured butter gives cookies and shortbread a gentle, tangy background note. The butter, different from what's labeled ''sweet cream butter'' in the supermarket, is the result of introducing good, ...

High altitudes make cookies spread in the pan, cakes fall, and few baked goods turn out as they do at sea level. This twice-monthly column presents recipes and tips that make baking in the mountains ...

Once spring rolls around, I start thinking about pastels. Thinking of pastels gets me thinking about lavender — not only my favorite color, but also one of my favorite scents. And once lavender is on ...

All-purpose flour, cake flour, arrowroot flour, and tapioca starch serve as excellent thickeners. Tapioca starch, wheat flour, and ground flaxseed are ideal substitutes for baking. When frying, the ...

Betty Webster, one of my mother's dearest friends, made the best shortbread I've ever had. Every year at Christmas, she gifted my family with a tin filled with her shortbread, each piece cut into ...