The Quickest Way To Soften Butter, According To TikTok

We've all been the victims of sweet cravings: Think chocolaty, gooey, hot-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies. (Is it happening right now?) However, when you want a homemade dessert, it's hard to satisfy your sweet tooth instantly. For example, many dessert recipes require softened butter, which is essential to achieve the proper texture and density in baked goods, Sally's Baking Addiction explains. If the butter is too cold, it won't correctly cream with the other ingredients, like sugar. If the butter is too soft, your cookies could spread too much, or your cakes could be dense. So, what can we do when we simply can't wait an hour for our butter to reach room temperature on the counter?

Rest assured, emotional eaters, late-night snackers, teenage babysitters, and beyond: TikTok has come to the rescue. Earlier this year, Food Network shared a butter softening hack on TikTok that has since generated more than 10 million views and 1.5 million likes. Here's how it works.

First, according to Food Network's video, you need to fill a drinking glass with hot tap water. The glass should be tall enough to accommodate the length of a stick of butter, about 7 inches. Allow the glass to get warmed through for approximately five minutes, then pour out the water. Next, take a stick of butter and place it standing up on your countertop. Invert that warmed drinking glass over the stick of butter and allow it to rest for about two minutes. After that, the butter should be soft enough to use in your recipe — in just seven minutes instead of an hour the old-fashioned way.

Some commenters called the trick "genius" and a "life saver," but others felt like seven minutes is still too long to wait for softened butter. One user, @conniesweets, countered the hack with one favored by chef Gesine Bullock-Prado, the host of "Baked in Vermont." Bullock-Prado (yes, she is the sister of actor Sandra Bullock) likes to place the butter in a microwave at a low temperature for 30-second intervals until she has the desired consistency. Similarly, @conniesweets checks on her butter every few seconds while it heats in "defrost" mode. Many like-minded TikTok commenters said they prefer their microwave for the job, though some were concerned about the butter heating unevenly. However you decide to prep your butter for your next baking project, they'll be put to great use in the one thing you can't feel "miserable" eating, according to Ina Garten: her giant crinkled chocolate chip cookies. You'll love them as much as Jeffrey does!