10 Clever Baking Hacks Everyone Needs to Know

These backing hacks will save you a ton of time and money!

Don't waste precious cabinet space with a muffin pan you only use a few times a year. We were happily surprised to discover that the ring part of a mason jar lid (12 for $7, amazon.com) placed on top of a cookie sheet is sturdy enough to support a paper muffin liner (300 for $7, amazon.com) and batter while it bakes.

Make getting frosting in and out of a piping bag (12 for $10, amazon.com) way less messy by using plastic wrap. All you have to do is place the frosting in the middle of a sheet of plastic wrap, wrap it up, cut off the tip of one end of the plastic wrap and drop it into a piping bag fitted with a piping tip (20 for $10, amazon.com). When you're done, all you have to do is pull out the remaining plastic wrap and wash out the tip instead of struggling to wash the inside of the bag itself.

Ever wish you could decorate your cakes and cupcakes with fancy chocolate curls like gourmet bakeries do? It's easier than you'd think! Simply take a vegetable peeler (3-piece set for $9, amazon.com) and run it alongside a bar of chocolate to create delicate little swirls to dress up your next treat.

If you're stumped by how to get your cake from point A to point B without ruining it, you can hack together a cake carrier at the last minute by placing four or five bamboo skewers (200 for $9, amazon.com) around the edge of the cake and covering the whole thing with plastic wrap to protect it from the elements. When you arrive at the party, use the skewer holes to place the birthday candles in.

When the recipe calls for room temperature butter, but you don't have an hour to wait while your cold butter warms up try this: Carefully fill a glass with hot water (but not too hot, you don't want the glass to crack!) and let it sit for a moment. Then, pour the water out and invert the glass over the stick of butter. Boom! Five minutes later you'll have room temperature butter.

Getting broken eggshells out of a bowl of eggs can seem impossible until you try this trick. The next time you find stray shells, dip your clean finger in some water and the piece of shell with easily adhere to your finger and come right out.

Thanks to the magic of suction, separating yolks from egg whites is so easy. Clean out an empty water bottle and use it to suck up the yolks from a bowl full of eggs. This only works if the yolks are intact, so be careful when cracking them so they don't burst.

If you don't have counter space to keep your recipes handy, use a hanger with clips (25 for $19, amazon.com) to hang your cookbook from the knobs on your cabinets. Your recipe will be at eye level and you won't waste any space on your countertop.

 Did you know you can turn a box of cake mix into cookie dough? All you have to do is mix two eggs and a half cup of vegetable oil into any pre-made cake mix — and voilà! You've got cookie dough.