Welcome to my first post in the "Kitchen Tools and Supplies" Category. This post reviews my favorite kitchen tools for baking cookies. All of these products have been extensively tested and used repeatedly in my kitchen. I have included all of my tools that I couldn't live without when I'm baking cookies. Each tool comes along with a brief description of the pros and any cons for each item. I hope that you find this post helpful.
1. EatSmart Precision Pro Digital Kitchen Scale
My kitchen scale is literally the most used item for baking in our house. A scale takes all of the guess work out of measuring ingredients for baking. The scale featured here measures ingredients in ounces, pounds, grams, and kilograms. This scale also has a Tare feature which allows you to zero out the weight of your mixing bowl. I also use this feature to add additional ingredients to the recipe. For example, if I have added butter, sugar, and eggs to a cookie recipe, I can place the bowl with those ingredients on the kitchen scale, zero out the weight, and then add flour or cocoa powder directly to the butter and sugar mixture. This saves me a step, and the dishes from measuring dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
2. Solula Professional 18/8 Stainless Steel Medium Cookie Scoop
This cookie scoop probably sees more action than my kitchen scale. This is an irreplaceable item for baking cookies. The scoop allows you to easily portion out round balls of cookie dough that bake evenly. The scoop is easy to use and cleans up easily as well. My kids absolutely LOVE scooping cookie dough using this scoop. I also use this #40 scoop for filling mini muffin pans, making bite sized pancakes, and for filling cupcake wrappers. You need one of these in your life!
3. Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Sheet Pans
I'm going to talk about two sheet pan sizes here, both from Nordic Ware. The Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Half Sheet Pan is perfect for baking a batch of cookies. The aluminum won't rust, the edges ensure that the cookie stay on the sheet pan (don't even ask me about the one time that the pan didn't save a whole batch of madeleines), and these clean up beautifully when you are finished baking. I also really like the Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Quarter Sheet Pan for a couple of reasons. This pan is the perfect size for baking 4-6 cookies after school for my kids. It is also the perfect size for loading up with scooped cookie dough and then sliding into the freezer for chilling. I highly recommend this brand of sheet pans and I would suggest having two half sheet pans and two quarter sheet pans.
4. Winco 3-Inch Dial Oven Thermometer with Hook and Panel Base
I had a situation a while back where cookies and other baked goods were coming our flat, dry, over and undercooked. It was frustrating, and I have to say this thermometer saved me. I purchased this on Amazon and was able to calibrate my oven using this thermometer. This guy lives on my third rack. I can check the temperature any time that I want or need to, then I am positive that I am baking recipes at their proper temperature.
5. Silpat Premium Non-Stick Silicone Baking Mat, Half Sheet Size, 11-⅝" x 16-½"
This silicone mat is just amazing. I use it for rolling out pie and bread doughs. It prevents cookies and scones from sticking to your baking sheets and everything bakes evenly on this mat. Using the mat means that you don't have to do much more than rinse your sheet pan after baking and the mat eliminates the need for parchment paper. This silicone mat cleans up nicely and you can store it rolled up next to your sheet pans once it is dry. My only recommendation here is to buy a couple of them.
6. Citrus Lemon Zester & Cheese Grater by AdeptChef
I love using fresh citrus when I am baking. This zester is makes it super quick and easy to zest fresh citrus (or cheese or ginger too) for your recipes. I love citrus scented cookies and use this zester all the time in the kitchen. My only warning here is that it's really sharp, so be careful when you are zesting...keep your knuckles out of the way!
7. KitchenAid KSM75WH Classic Plus Series 4.5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer, White
When I was about 20 years old, my dad gave me his KitchenAid Mixer. I still remember it like it was yesterday. He knew that I was making bread dough for dinner and he thought that mixing by hand was a big waste of time, so he dropped of the mixer for me. Would you believe that I am still using the mixer today? I use it for just about everything. I whip cream with it, make bread doughs, and of course I mix up a ton of cookie dough using the mixer. This model featured here is pretty much exactly the mixer I have minus a few dings, scrapes on the bowl, and lots of love.
8. Dinosaur Cookie Cutter Set - 5 Piece - Triceratops, Stegosaurus, T-Rex, Brontosaurus and Pterodactyl - Ann Clark
We have this Dinosaur Cookie Cutter set and love it! Each Dino has a unique shape and they hold their shape when they bake! These clean up easily and haven't rusted like some of the other metal cookie cutters that we have. If you're not into dinos, check out the other cookie cutters from Ann Clark.
9. Mosser Glass Milk White Vintage Mixing Bowl Set
I got this mixing bowl for Mother's Day, (check out my Mother's Day Gift Guide if you haven't seen it yet). I totally love them! They are a little smaller than other mixing bowls that I have but the large bowl does fit a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough or a pan of homemade granola. The glass is thick. The bowls just look beautiful regardless of what you put in them. If you are into food photography these bowls also photograph beautifully! I have them in white, and my sister has the in pink. Both are equally gorgeous!
10. Kootek 42 Pieces Cake Decorating Supplies Kit
We love baking cookies (which is why there is a whole post about cookie baking supplies) but we have recently tried to start making our cut out sugar cookies look more detailed and interesting. This decorating supply kit has allowed us to totally up our game and start making some fun cookies. Our favorite cookies so far were for the Super Bowl. We made footballs and jerseys for all of our favorite players. We couldn't have done it with our this decorating kit.
Please be in touch with any questions or to share your favorite cookie baking tools! Click here to check out all of the Maple and Thyme cookie recipes... Happy cookie making!
Amanda
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