Ok, so quick tip to save you from frustration every time you cast your eyes upon a recipe that calls for honey, molasses, maple syrup or any other sticky deliciousness.

Grease your measuring cups…

It seems so simple that you’d think it would just be common knowledge, but actually, it took a while for the lightbulb to go off in my brain (I realize I just left myself wide open there, so go easy…).  I thought I’d save you from the irritation of all those years that have been filled with sticky substances left at the bottom of measuring cups and on spatulas, therefore suggesting that the amount that finally made it into whatever I was baking was not accurate!

So…if the recipe calls for a sticky substance of any kind and also oil, measure the quantity of oil FIRST.

Let’s just say that the recipe calls for 1/3 cup oil and 1/2 cup honey.  Pour the oil into the 1/3 cup to get the proper measurement.  And then play ‘musical measuring cups’ and pour the oil in the 1/3 cup into the 1/2 cup.  Swirl it around to get all the sides of the cup nice and greased up.  Pour your oil into a bowl and then measure the honey in the same 1/2 cup that the oil just came out of.

Presto!

Magically, all honey just beads up and plops right into the bowl, with nothing left sticking at the bottom of the measuring cup, forcing you to use your finger to try to get it out, leading you to lick said sticky finger and lose some of the portion that was supposed to be going into the recipe!

And don’t sweat it if your recipe doesn’t call for any oil…you can just use some cooking spray, PAM, and spray the inside of the measuring cup you need to use for your molasses, or actually butter the insides of it.

That’s it!  That simple and saves you from a giant, sticky substance-induced headache that would keep you in bed for the night, leaving your hubby and kids starving at the table and starting a mutiny…