I LOVE lists, so I decided I am going to start blogging about some of my favorite, maybe even least favorite things. As I am making sugar cookies today I will start there.
****My kitchenaid is one of, if not my favorite, all around kitchen tools,
so I am not counting it on this list ***
so I am not counting it on this list ***
So here is my top 5 in no particular order:
Heavy duty cookie sheets- you can get high quality, heavy duty aluminum cooking sheets at Sam's for pretty cheap. I have 6 of the big (1/2 sheet) ones and 3 of the little (1/4 sheet) ones. And yes, I use them all! In fact when I am working on a double batch of sugar cookies, 6 cookie sheets still are enough.
Silpat Mat- or another high quality silicone mat. All silicone mats ARE NOT created equal. These can me pretty pricey ~ $20-25, you can some times get them in sets for cheaper from places like Amazon. I have 4 of them, and use all of them all the time! You no longer have to grease your cookie sheets or use parchment! They are also great for rolling fondant, making thin cakes, or anything else you make need to bake. They are heat resistant to something like 450 degrees. If you don't want to spend the money on these I highly suggest parchment paper over wax paper!
Tiered Cooling rack- Yes, I know I am spoiled when it comes to my baking supplies, but it's taken me years to collect them all, many of them have been gifts. This thing is awesome! Katie gave it to me for my 25th birthday, and I had no idea how useful it would be! You can cool four cookie sheets at once, you don't even have to move the cookies to standard cooling racks (yes, I owe an assortment of those too and they also get used as I often have more than 4 things cooling at once). You can find this awesome tool on amazon, which carries also everything you could ever want/need, for around $20.
Cookie spatula- Another must have, I have given these as gifts several times. This is the best way to move cut out cookies from whatever surface you use to roll out your cookies to the cookie sheets for baking. It also works great move things once they are baked, cutting refrigerated/frozen cookie dough. I also use it to cut brownies, separate cookies when they grow too much and stick together and I am sure I am forgetting other things. These come in all price ranges, but unlike the silicone mats, they all work the same way! It doesn't matter if you spend $3 for one at Target or $18 at william and sanoma.
Scale- we bought our little kitchen scale years ago when we wondered how big serving sizes of things actually were as many of them are done by weight. We didn't use it for that for long, but it has become one of my favorite tools. I make sugar cookies all the time so I written out the amount I need of each ingredient by weight, making it so much faster to get it all together. I just put my bowl on the scale and clear it after I add each ingredient. The scale is also really useful for foreign recipes that are often in grams. As the scale does both it makes figuring out how much you need a breeze.
What are you favorite baking tools??
Silpat Mat- or another high quality silicone mat. All silicone mats ARE NOT created equal. These can me pretty pricey ~ $20-25, you can some times get them in sets for cheaper from places like Amazon. I have 4 of them, and use all of them all the time! You no longer have to grease your cookie sheets or use parchment! They are also great for rolling fondant, making thin cakes, or anything else you make need to bake. They are heat resistant to something like 450 degrees. If you don't want to spend the money on these I highly suggest parchment paper over wax paper!
Tiered Cooling rack- Yes, I know I am spoiled when it comes to my baking supplies, but it's taken me years to collect them all, many of them have been gifts. This thing is awesome! Katie gave it to me for my 25th birthday, and I had no idea how useful it would be! You can cool four cookie sheets at once, you don't even have to move the cookies to standard cooling racks (yes, I owe an assortment of those too and they also get used as I often have more than 4 things cooling at once). You can find this awesome tool on amazon, which carries also everything you could ever want/need, for around $20.
Cookie spatula- Another must have, I have given these as gifts several times. This is the best way to move cut out cookies from whatever surface you use to roll out your cookies to the cookie sheets for baking. It also works great move things once they are baked, cutting refrigerated/frozen cookie dough. I also use it to cut brownies, separate cookies when they grow too much and stick together and I am sure I am forgetting other things. These come in all price ranges, but unlike the silicone mats, they all work the same way! It doesn't matter if you spend $3 for one at Target or $18 at william and sanoma.
Scale- we bought our little kitchen scale years ago when we wondered how big serving sizes of things actually were as many of them are done by weight. We didn't use it for that for long, but it has become one of my favorite tools. I make sugar cookies all the time so I written out the amount I need of each ingredient by weight, making it so much faster to get it all together. I just put my bowl on the scale and clear it after I add each ingredient. The scale is also really useful for foreign recipes that are often in grams. As the scale does both it makes figuring out how much you need a breeze.
What are you favorite baking tools??
I don't have any thoughts on baking tools, but I do like the idea of posting lists. Look forward to reading more...
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