Housewife MacGyver: Resourceful Recipe Substitutions from Gwen

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Good morning! I haven't actually dropped off the planet... I'm just enjoying sunny Texas right now! Thankfully, while I'm out, Gwen is here to share some AWESOME recipe substitutions, and Keira will be here later this week, too. You're in good hands! Here's Gwen:

Hey, everybody! It's Gwen from Gwenny Penny again. In April I was here sharing some tips on resourceful stain removal. Today I’m back with a new topic. Ever find yourself all psyched up to bake or cook something only to find that you are out of a key ingredient? Well have no fear! I'm here to share some common (and a few not-so-common) kitchen substitutions. Let’s get started, shall we?
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Butter: To substitute for ½ cup of butter, use ½ cup of shortening plus ¼ tsp of salt.

Sour milk: I have only come across one recipe in my entire life that calls for sour milk. It's my great-grandmother's Ginger Cakes cookie recipe, which is probably my favorite cookie ever. To substitute for ½ cup of sour milk, you have two choices: combine ½ cup of milk with 1½ tsp of lemon juice OR combine ½ cup of milk with 1½ tsp of vinegar (which is how my family does it). Let it stand for about 5 minutes before using.

Sour cream: To substitute for ½ cup of sour cream, use ½ cup of plain yogurt.

Baking powder: To substitute for 1 tsp of baking powder, combine ½ tsp of cream of tarter with ¼ tsp of baking soda.

Cake flour: Occasionally a recipe will specifically call for cake flour. If you don't have any on hand (which is probably a good bet), for 1 cup of cake flour you can substitute 1 cup of all-purpose flour, sifted twice, minus 2 Tbsp. Crazy, huh?

Self-rising Flour: I occasionally come across this one, too, and I don't keep self-rising flour on hand. For 1 cup of self-rising flour you can substitute 1 cup of all-purpose flour plus 1 tsp of baking powder, ½ tsp of salt, and ¼ tsp of baking soda.

Sugar: Run out of granulated sugar? To substitute for 1 cup of granulated sugar, use 1 cup of packed brown sugar OR 2 cups of sifted powdered sugar.

Brown sugar:  To substitute for 1 cup of brown sugar, use 1 cup of granulated sugar plus 2 Tbsp of molasses.
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Molasses: To substitute for ½ cup of molasses, use ½ cup of honey. But...

Honey: To substitute for ½ cup of honey, use 5/8 cup of granulated sugar with 1/8 cup of water. Similarly...

Corn syrup: To substitute for 1 cup of corn syrup, use 1 cup of granulated sugar with ¼ cup of water.

Onion: I use this one a lot. I hate chopping onions! To substitute for 1 cup of chopped onion, use 1/3 cup of minced (dehydrated) onions. Only need ½ cup? Use 3 Tbsp of minced onions. I'll let you in on a little secret. Every once in a while I sneak a little spoonful of minced onions. Kinda gross, but I love them!

Garlic: Don't have any garlic cloves in the house? Substitute 1/8 tsp of garlic powder for one garlic clove.
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Eggs: This one is a weird one, and I've never personally tried it myself, but I thought I would include it because it's so crazy. To substitute for 1 egg, mix 1 tsp unflavored gelatin with 3 Tbsp cold water and 2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp of boiling water. Really?!? I don't think I'd try this out when making something for a special occasion. Send somebody to the store for eggs! Also... In cake batter you can substitute 2 Tbsp mayonnaise for 1 large egg. Ever had mayonnaise cake? It's my dad's favorite!

Lemon juice: To substitute for 1 tsp of lemon juice, use ½ tsp of vinegar.

Wine: If a recipe calls for 1 cup of red wine, use 1 cup of grape or cranberry juice. White wine? Use 1 cup of apple juice.

I should note that I am by no means a cooking or baking expert. Everything you read here came from a family member or a friend or a book as I found a need to make a substitution in a recipe over the years. Hopefully I have given you some new information for when you're in a pinch and need an ingredient that you just don't have.

Please feel free to stop by Gwenny Penny anytime to say hello. I’d love to have you. This was so fun! Thanks for having me here today, Lorene!




This post is part of the Housewife MacGyver series on just Lu. Read more about Housewife MacGyver and see all the posts in the series here.


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