Ina Garten Uses This Unexpected Baking Tool To Make Soup Cute

When it comes to cooking, sometimes certain tools are a necessity, other times they just make the process smoother. You'll need a wok if you're making stir fry and a grater if you're planning to cook up some hashbrowns. For soup, according to celebrity chef Ina Garten, you'll need a cookie cutter.

In a post shared on Instagram, Garten showcased her Chicken Pot Pie Soup recipe, which features one stand out ingredient: star and heart-shaped croutons. To make these croutons, Garten tapped into her creativity, employing the help of her — you guessed it — cookie cutters.

Of course there's no reason croutons need to look that cute, but presentation goes a long way, especially if you're making a recipe as simple as chicken soup. With the added touch of the star and heart croutons, Garten claims it'll take your meal from basic to "no ordinary chicken soup," and based on how excited people in the comments section are to try it out for themselves, it's safe to say the cute croutons really do make a difference.

Whether it be for a soup or salad, croutons are typically just chopped up bread that's either gone stale or been rebaked to give it a crunchy texture. Ina Garten's croutons, on the other hand, are made with puff pastry to mimic a pot pie topping. "Store bought is fine," as usual.

As per the recipe shared on Barefoot Contessa, you'll start by dusting a cutting board, rolling pin, and puff pastry with flour. After rolling out the puff pastry, you'll use your choice of cookie cutters — Garten recommends the fluted kind. Once you've made the cutouts, place them on a prepared baking pan, and brush with egg wash made with an extra large, beaten egg and a tablespoon of heavy cream. Sprinkle each crouton lightly with salt and pepper, and transfer them to the oven. Once golden, the croutons are ready. When you're just about to serve your soup, top it with the croutons to give it some extra love à la Ina Garten.

While Garten shared this tip for her Chicken Pot Pie Soup, we think it would work with just about any soup recipe you think could benefit from a little something special.