Holiday Headstart #4- Baking Essentials

Holidays and food go hand in hand. Today I'm sharing some holiday baking essentials that you can shop for now and have on hand when you are ready to make cookies, cakes or any other special treats.
Believe it or not, baking is easy if you have the right tools.

Parchment paper is key. Not only does it keep your cookies from sticking to your pans, it makes for an easy clean up when you are finished. I am never without this.

All purpose baking sheets are  wonderful tools in the kitchen. They can be used for everything from baking cookies, to making Buche de Noel, to roasting vegetables. I keep a bunch handy and use parchment to keep them clean and in good shape.

Another useful tool for the holidays is a bundt pan. It doesn't matter the size or design, it is just an easy way to make an elegant dessert. Bake, sprinkle with powdered sugar and you are all set! Here is a great recipe to use with your bundt pan!

 Cooling racks are a necessary tool. Many people make cookies and then put all of the warm cookies on top of each other on a plate. You know what happens when you do that? You wind up with soggy, misshapen  cookies that are stuck together. Always cool your cookies on a rack before storing them. These are thin so they store easily and are inexpensive. Trust me, you want to store your cookies AFTER they've cooled down.

 This is a biggie, and you don't have to have one, but if you are in the market for an all purpose mixer, this is the one I recommend. I have the 7 quart because I bake in large quantities, but the smaller versions are great. These mixers can be used to make bread dough, batters, mashed potatoes, you name it, and now they also make a variety of attachments and pretty bowls to go with them. Love mine and truly couldn't function in the kitchen without it.

  This one will mix your batters up just as well at a much lower price point.

If you want something smaller because you don't bake often, their hand held mixer may be a better option for you. I prefer the stand mixer because I can walk away and do something else while it does the work for me, but it is an investment.

 Spatulas are great to have handy whenever you are baking and cooking. They get all the excess batter so waste is minimal. I love these for the holiday season.

A pastry brush is  great for recipes that call for an egg wash on top, like pies,tarts, cookies or even for basting a turkey.. You can find them in almost any home store. I prefer the silicone because the ones with bristles tend to leave those bristles behind on your food and no one enjoys that.

   When I bake for the holidays, I make a lot of cookie dough and either store the dough in the freezer or roll it into balls and store it that way. Either way, I need something to keep the dough fresh. These containers do the trick. They also sell them in a variety of different shapes and colors on QVC.If you don't have a lot of room in your freezer, zip lock freezer bags work too!

 

Naturally, cookie cutters are a must during the holidays! You can find so many shapes and designs in just about every store from now until Christmas. Here is a fun set to begin with.

   

If you plan to decorate your cookies, tipless pastry bags are the way to go. They are disposable, they do not require tips and couplers like most pastry bags do, and the icing does not leak out of the bottom which makes decorating a much neater affair. I use these .

 

I hope these tips help you with your holiday baking plans. I'll be sharing another post this week about pantry essentials that I keep on hand for holiday baking so you can begin to stock up on ingredients as well!

*** Here is the link for the french rolling pin pictured at the beginning of the post. I love mine, it is easy to use and beautifully made. 

Have a sweet day.

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