What do you mean to pre-heat the oven? Is there really a need to do so?

To preheat means to heat the oven at your desired temperature before using it. For baking biscuits, muffins, cakes and cookies, it is important that you preheat the oven because batters and dough need to have immediate heat to start expanding the gas that is formed by baking powder or baking soda.

I am making a cake and the recipe calls for shortening. I can’t seem to find shortening in our grocery. Is there anything I can use as a substitute for shortening?

Shortening is a solid fat made from vegetable oils. It is flavorless and may be substituted for other fats in baking and cooking. Some bakers prefer using shortening because it creates a slightly higher and fluffier cake but you can easily substitute butter or margarine for the shortening. The flavor will be richer and for cookies, it will be crispier.

I just made some chocolate marzipan cookies. All my cookies are sticking to the baking sheet. How can I remove it without breaking the cookies?

Most cookies should be removed immediately from the baking sheet after baking unless indicated in the recipe that it should be left on the cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes. However, if this happens by mistake and your cookies are sticking in the baking sheet, just put the cookie sheet back into the oven for 1-2 minutes to reheat the cookies, then the cookies can easily be removed.