Pumpkin pies … homemade cookies … cinnamon rolls …

Now that it’s finally Fall, are you itching to pull out your favorite recipes, fire up the oven, and start baking

Fresh baked goods make the house smell wonderful and, of course, they taste delicious. But you might be sabotaging your results without even knowing it.

How?

By using spices that have sat in your cabinet or in your spice rack beyond their prime.

The best chefs and bakers know that the fresher your ingredients are, the better your finished product will be. And this is especially true of the spices you use in baking.

While spices don’t go “bad” — using old spices won’t actually hurt you — they do lose their strength and potency over time. The older they get, the weaker their aroma and flavor.

Generally, ground spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cloves are best when used within a year of opening them.

So as you’re doing your fall cleaning and getting ready for the holidays, get ready for holiday baking by getting rid of the spices that no longer have the taste or smell that they should. Getting and using fresh, better ingredients will give you better results.

And while good ingredients are critical to good results, so is the recipe you use.

Here at Mini Mops, our recipe is to take a fully-insured, supervised crew of workers and add our trademark deep and detailed house cleaning for a result that passes even the “mother-in-law test.” This is a family recipe dating back to 1975. (We’re still family owned and operated!)

And our key ingredient, of course, is our people.

We’ve hired and trained the best to give you the best results. We hope you think so, too.