Don't Throw Out Paper Towel Rolls — Here's A Hack To Use Them Instead

Paper towels can be used for so many things in the kitchen. They can be used to dry salad greens without a spinner, keep spinach fresh in the refrigerator, and keep tortillas moist when being microwaved. Once you get to the end of the roll, though, there's a big old cardboard tube that takes up space in the recycle bin. You could, however, put it to a different use: You could use it to roll up cookie dough.

Dorie Greenspan, an author of several cookbooks, showcases this helpful hint in her 2006 cookbook "Baking: From My Home to Yours." (It's right there on page 137.) This tip, which she credits to a now deceased cookbook author and food stylist called Jeanne Voltz, involves slitting the cardboard tube down the middle, stuffing the plastic-wrapped dough inside, and rolling the log a few times. This will help to round out the dough log which, in turn, will make for more symmetrical cookies.

Paper towel tubes can be used multiple times for dough rolling, so it's quite possible you'll come to the end of another tube before your new cookie-making tool needs to be replaced. If you're still in the mood to reuse rather than recycle, there are various other kitchen-related uses for these cardboard cylinders. For example, they can be used to safely store knives in a kitchen draw.

If you like to grow your own herbs, paper towel tubes also make ideal seed starters. Simply cut them into four parts, stuff them into a seed tray, and fill them with potting soil before planting the seeds. (If your seed tray is a large one, you may need to wait until you've used up a few rolls of paper towels since the tubes need to be jammed in there in order to stand upright.) Once the seeds have sprouted, you can stick the plants into the ground, cardboard and all. Over time, the paper towel tube will simply break down.