slice of vanilla cake with vanilla frosting - Nata_vkusidey/Getty Images We're all familiar with vanilla extract. It's called for in virtually every baking or dessert recipe, and it's probably the ...

I used to take vanilla for granted. Until the day I made chocolate chip cookies and found I was out of vanilla extract. So I left it out. It was like leaving out salt. The cookies lacked the round, ...

People who love to bake know that what they whip up in the kitchen is only as good as the ingredients they put into it. Reach for baking powder beyond its expiration date or substitute buttermilk for ...

Scones have a reputation for being dry, bland, boring — need I go on? This breakfast treat often gets passed over in favor of moist muffins and buttery croissants (not that I’m speaking from personal ...

Before it became the indispensable baking ingredient we know today, vanilla’s role was to improve the taste of medicines and to treat various ailments, and it was available from apothecaries. In the ...