Cooked Just Right

• Baby potatoes, also known as "new potatoes" or "creamer potatoes" according to "Real Simple" magazine, lend themselves to several different cooking methods, but no matter which one you choose, you want the inside cooked just right. The ideal baby potato has lost its crunch and rawness and is soft all the way through, but still holds its shape. You will notice a slight texture difference between the skin and the inner flesh when you bite into it, and they are soft enough to be mashable but firm enough to carry around and eat like popcorn, if you desire.

In the Oven

• Roasting baby potatoes is one common way to cook them, especially with some olive oil, garlic and fresh green herbs. If the potatoes seem particularly small, you can leave them whole, or cut them in half before placing them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Cook them in a 450-degree Fahrenheit oven for about 30 minutes, says "Bon Appetit" magazine, or until they reach the right consistency and are cooked through. Remove one and test it if you aren't sure.

Boiled and Grilled

• The all-time classic way to prepare baby potatoes is probably to cook them in boiling water. For this method, you need a pot and some simmering water. As was the case with cooking them in the oven, halve the potatoes or leave them whole and let them boil for about 10 minutes before draining and serving, according to BBC Good Food. You can also cook them over steam for 10 or 15 minutes for the same result. If you want that smoky grilled flavor on your potatoes, "Fine Cooking" magazine points out a few ways to use your grill. You can parboil them and then wrap them in foil and place the package on a medium grill over indirect heat for an additional 10 minutes. If you don't parboil them first, it may take up to 40 minutes wrapped in foil on a covered grill to have the potatoes you want. With no precooking and no foil, you can skewer your baby potatoes with metal or soaked wooden skewers and cook them over a combination of direct and indirect heat for about 30 minutes until they are cooked through with a slight char on the outside.

Tasty Variations

• If you don't want to serve the baby potatoes as they are, you can add them to a soup, stew or casserole so they are part of a bigger dish. You still want to strive for a soft, but firm, texture, so follow any instructions you receive when adding them to the dish. In some cases, the potatoes will go in raw and cook along with the rest of the dish, and in some they will be parboiled and then added after the fact.