Why You Should Keep A Mesh Ironing Board In The Kitchen
Who doesn't love the smell of fresh-baked cookies wafting through the air around the house? Whether you are prepping some goodies for a bake sale, holiday party, or simply want to have a few homemade snacks on hand for when your sweet tooth starts calling, we can all agree that a baking day is good for the soul.
What is not good for the soul, however, is the annoyance (and maybe even slight panic) you feel after you pull your fourth batch of cookies out of the oven only to find that you have already utilized every inch of counter space, and therefore have no place left to set up a cooling rack to let the piping hot tray of delectable treats cool off. Skipping the step is out of the question, as Bake Or Break explains that the lack of airflow can potentially cause your cookies to overbake on the pan, but you can't stand in the middle of the kitchen holding the tray until it's completely cooled down either. Luckily, there is a simple solution to this dilemma that, thanks to the help of a surprising household tool, will have you whipping up batch No. 5 in no time.
Use a mesh ironing board as a make-shift cooling rack
As we previously stated, a baking day is good for the soul, but not all of us have the luxurious kitchen setups of Ina Garten or Ree Drummond, which are equipped with enough room for 20 batches of baked goods to cool down. The lack of space can certainly be frustrating, though there is no need to call a contractor and start working on a total remodel to get the kitchen counter space you desire. Instead, one ingenious baker suggests keeping an ironing board close by for the days you will be whipping up more than one recipe to give yourself a bit more room.
The hack, which was originally shared on Reddit by user spongespatula, simply requires you to temporarily remove the top cover from the ironing board, which will leave you with a mesh surface resembling a wire cooling rack. The "stripped" tool can then be used to hold your finished baked goods when they are out of the oven — just make sure to put some sort of lining down so the board does not become littered with crumbs or grease (via Taste of Home). The board could even be used as an extension of your kitchen counter to give you a place to set up your mixing bowls and cutting boards. As an added bonus, you can easily fold up the board and put it away when you don't need the extra space anymore!