Start with essential baking tools
I am the type of shopper who reads the 4 star reviews to see why that 5th star couldn’t be earned before buying most things. I believe that cakes and cookies can be made using the most basic equipment, but baking is more enjoyable when helpful tools make the experience easier. For this reason, I’ve compiled a list of baking tools that I use in my kitchen.
Kitchen Scale
A scale was the best $20 that I’ve spent in my kitchen. In my early baking years, I was reluctant to change from measuring cup to scale, but now that I have converted, I hardly ever use my measuring cups. I can scoop straight from container to mixing bowl and continue taring without having to wash the multiple measuring cups I’d have to use to measure 1 1/3 cups. I occasionally still use teaspoons and tablespoons, but only when I don’t want to take out the gem scale for such small measurements.
Gem Scale
A gem scale measures to the tenth decimal place per gram and is extremely precise for small quantities, like baking soda and yeast. While I appreciate the precision, I understand that the investment and additional kitchen item may not be worthwhile for many people. For this reason, I provide grams and teaspoon measurements for small quantity ingredients.
Stand Mixer
I love my Kitchenaid stand mixer. Many affordable options are available now and they are constantly on sale around the holidays. This piece of equipment has seen hundreds of hours of mixing cake batter, cookie batter, and dough in my kitchen. I have had my Kitchenaid since 2015 and I haven’t had a need to look for a replacement yet.
Spatulas
As far as essential baking tools, you only need one good silicone spatula to scrape down a mixing bowl. I had one that carried my baking habits through college, and I finally upgraded to a set of 4 in 2018. The long one is useful for scraping the bottom of the honey jar. The short one is good for making a small bowl of fudge. The other two are great for scraping batter and cookie dough from the sides of the bowl.
Timer
I never saw the value in using another timer other than the one on my oven.. until my husband accidentally turned off the timer while I was making chocolate cookies. Needless to say, they were burnt because I couldn’t use visual cues to assess the bake time with the deep cocoa color. Since my hands constantly either sticky or buttery when I’m in the kitchen, I prefer to have timers that I can pick up quickly, throw around, take to another room with me, and wipe up.
Cookie Scooper
A cookie scooper is the most convenient way to portion cookie dough. I use a #16 2.75oz scoop for the perfect cookie. The most convenient part of a cookie scooper is the consistency in size that will result in a consistent bake for every batch.
