When you want to bring the kids running, there are few things more effective than a pan of cookies fresh out of the oven. Ideally, there will always be a wire rack nearby to cool them on. However, that's not always the case. Sometimes you might be baking in an unfamiliar location, where such niceties aren't available.

Nearly every baker has been there. You've spent hours looking through recipes, grocery shopping and baking a cake, only to find that the finished result is as dry as the desert. Some recipes are bound to turn out drier than others, but there a few universal tips to making, and keeping, your cake moist.

Vegans, people who are lactose intolerant and those allergic to the dairy protein casein can enjoy baked treats that call for cow's milk by replacing it with almond milk, which can be purchased or made fresh at home.

Banana bread, like other fruit-based quick breads, is a sweet, hearty treat that is a nice addition to a snack tray, brunch platter and more. Properly baked banana bread is moist, dense and full of flavor. When you mix the batter properly, the bread bakes with a slight crest in the center where it may crack.

Sugar syrups flavor drinks, top pancakes and sweeten snow cones. They also illustrate a number of fascinating scientific principles such as supersaturation, crystallization and nucleation sites. You might find these scientific concepts less interesting when they ruin a batch of simple syrup you're making, though.

Mousse is meant to have an ethereal, light consistency; in fact, its quality is gauged by its airiness. But tastes differ, and cooks who favor a rich, pudding-like consistency often find classic French mousse a bit light on the palate.

Adding preserves to a box cake mix can create a dessert that resembles a favorite homemade cake. Preserves come in many fruit flavors, offering variations to jazz up plain cake mixes.

Some treasured family recipes prepare a quantity of cake or cookies that made perfect sense in the age of large families. For modern households of two or three, however, heating your oven and preparing massive quantities of baked goods can be overkill.

The dough is mixed to perfection. The baking time is just right. Now, it's time to remove the cookies from the oven and enjoy the bounty. Unfortunately, sticking can instantly spoil even the best batch of cookies.

Cake is a staple dessert for countless traditions, from birthdays and weddings to graduations. But, in recent years, cupcakes have become more popular as crowd-pleasing desserts for fancy occasions or casual treats. The differences between baking a cake and cupcakes are subtle.

Corn starch is often used to thicken pie fillings, gravies and puddings. It blends smoothly with cold water, has no taste and gives a shiny appearance to foods. It is also makes a thin, crispy golden coating on breaded, fried meats.

You probably have all-purpose flour stowed away somewhere in your kitchen. All-purpose flour can be used for just about any recipe and is available as bleached or unbleached. Unbleached flour does not have as nice an appearance as bleached flour, but it has been exposed to fewer chemicals.