Thanks to our Better Homes & Gardens Test Kitchen’s years of practice in the cookie-making department, we’ve got some easy tips you should always follow. We’ll help you determine whether you need to bake your cookies on a greased or ungreased cookie sheet and share how to let them cool long enough so they won’t break. Then, come Christmastime, you’ll have dozens of chocolate chip cookies, layer bars, and more flying off the pans....
What Is a Rose Slug? Rose slugs look like caterpillars or even miniature slugs, hence their name. But in actuality, a rose slug is neither a true slug nor a caterpillar (which becomes a moth or butterfly). It’s simply a larva of the rose sawfly. Velvety and yellow-green in color, rose slugs can get up to half an inch long. Signs of Rose Sawfly Damage The sawfly larvae will appear on roses in late spring and begin eating the soft, green tissue of leaves....
Despite the kitchen being the most sought-after room in the home, it’s also one of the toughest spots to keep neat. And corner cabinets are often the most puzzling. The depth and width of corner cabinets, whether upper or lower, make them a challenge to configure. If you find yourself in a similar situation, use the following tips for organizing a corner cabinet complete with a few options depending on the style of cabinet and your budget....
Hostess Tip: Amy’s secret to instant party energy? Music. Amy relies on Sonos wireless speakers ($199, Sonos), which lets her play different music in different parts of her home. The service pulls songs from your iTunes library or online music-mix sites like Rhapsody. Plus, you can control the tunes from your smartphone or tablet, so you don’t miss any table talk. It’s easy to put together a basic party formula that you revise with different food and flowers....
The several different species of pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) are actually viola hybrids. (Johnny jump-ups, or Viola tricolor, and Viola ‘Jackanapes’ are closely related, similarly hardy, and usually sold in garden centers at the same time.) These beloved biennials, often grown as annuals, are perhaps most well known for their “faces”—the distinct markings on their petals that British growers began to breed for in the 1800s. However, pansies can also be single-colored or streaked....
How to Sauté Mushrooms For four side-dish servings, start with about 8 ounces (3 cups) of sliced mushrooms and 2 Tbsp. oil or butter. To sauté mushrooms: Test Kitchen Tip: Make sure not to crowd the mushrooms in the pan, or they’ll steam instead of sautéing. A single layer with space between the mushrooms is ideal. Also, be sure the pan you’re cooking in is large enough. Start with Clean and Dry Mushrooms The steps for cleaning mushrooms are the same for almost every type, except morels (learn more on our page about how to clean mushrooms)....
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We put 34 of the best beach towels to the test in our lab in Des Moines, Iowa, testing each towel’s quality, absorbency, softness, and durability after repeated washes. We also took detailed notes on how comfortable each towel was to lie on, its dimensions, and how much sand remained on the towel after being shaken out. After two days of testing, we chose the Clowood Plush Bamboo Cotton beach towel as the all-around best beach towel because of its thick, luxurious cushioning and how easily it absorbed water....
“The two most important features when looking for a vacuum to clean up after your pets are suction power and filtration,” says Ollie Toogood, senior design engineer at Dyson. We put 37 of the best vacuums for pet hair to the test in our lab in Des Moines, Iowa, to see which ones picked up fur from hard floors and carpets alike while remaining maneuverable and easy to operate. Our team of experts spent an entire day running each vacuum on different flooring types covered in pet hair, dust, dirt, and more....
Test Garden Tip: Build your raised beds so they’re at least 12 inches tall. If the walls are slightly below waist level, you can sit on the edges to work the soil and harvest your bounty without having to bend over. Test Garden Tip: Choose cold-tolerant vegetables in early spring or late fall for successful garden beds. To extend the gardening season, fashion hoops like the ones pictured, then drape plastic over them....
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What is the Difference Between a Kitchen Range, Stove, Oven, and Cooktop? Many kitchen stove parts are used interchangeably in reference to the same appliance, so knowing the difference can be confusing. Kitchen ranges, often used interchangeably with stove, generally combine both burners (a cooktop or stovetop) and an oven in one appliance. Cooktops break out the burners, or cooking surface, into its own appliance. An oven is simply the inner chamber in which food is heated....
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Ahead, shop practical cleaning and organizing solutions, delicate home decor, and plenty of stunning gift ideas for loved ones. The discounts are so good, you can get up to 85% off. Buymax Indoor Plant Pots Set of Four While I believe you can still enjoy a beautiful yard through fall and winter, adding a few houseplants is necessary for any green thumb come snowfall. Before heading to my local garden nursery, I’ve got my eyes set on this four-pack of planters that are just $7....
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Test Kitchen Tip: Put the spicy chicken pieces on a baking sheet in a 300°F oven to keep it warm while you fry the rest of the bird. Test Kitchen Tip: Chicken is safe to eat when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Use our fried chicken guide to find out the optimal temperature for every cut of meat. Related Video
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Buy It: Cuisinart 3.5-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker ($60, Target) Buy It: Cuisinart Stainless 14-Inch Skillet ($50, Bed Bath & Beyond) Test Kitchen Tip: Tilapia not your favorite fish? Red snapper works equally well in this yummy, low-calorie Mexican-inspired recipe. Buy It: Crock-Pot 4-Quart Cook & Carry Slow Cooker ($50, Bed Bath & Beyond) Test Kitchen Tip: If you’re craving more protein, toss in two to four ounces of grilled shrimp, chicken, or cooked beans with the veggies as the filling....
