Tips & Tricks: Room Temperature for Eggs and Butter

You know you've seen those two little words in the recipe and totally disregarded them - Room Temperature. Do they really make a difference?

Room temperature eggs are less viscous and thus make lighter, fluffier baked goods! We all like light, fluffy cakes, right? But who thinks ahead enough to put the eggs out hours beforehand to warm up? Well, here's a tip. Put the eggs in some warm water until they're not cold to the touch any more. Ta-da! Spur-of-the-moment bakers, rejoice!

Now, what about room temperature butter? Having room temperature butter will allow the most amount of air to be beaten into your batter, again, making lighter, fluffier baked goods! When you cream your butter, it creates air pockets that will expand when you add your leaveners (baking powder or soda). Conversely, you'll want to use cold butter for things like pie crusts because the butter won't be absorbed as much and will result in flakiness.

You can quickly get butter to room temperature by cutting it into small cubes and letting it sit for a bit, microwaving it in 5 second bursts, or by grating it.