Take a standard stick of butter. It’s 1/2 cup. You need 3/4 cup.
That means one and a half sticks of butter. One full stick, plus half of another.
Now picture that melted in a measuring cup. It comes exactly to the 3/4 line. Not the 1-cup line. Close, but no cigar.
And if you’re baking cookies? That 1/4 cup missing is the difference between chewy and rock-hard. It matters.
The “Almost There” Feeling
Here’s a fun fact: 3/4 cup is exactly 12 tablespoons. A full cup is 16 tablespoons.
So you’re 4 tablespoons short. That’s two shots of espresso’s worth of space.
Or, if you’re a rebel, you can measure 3/4 cup by using a 1/4 cup scoop three times. Scoop, scoop, scoop. Done.
But never try to eyeball it. I once did and ended up with soup that tasted like regret.
