A Gift Guide for the Baker

Remember I told you I was working with a few dozen other bloggers to make your Christmas (and really all shopping for 2016) a complete breeze? How you were going to get to sit in your pajamas, with your feet up, drinking wine coffee? Well the day has come. The guides are ready and posted at the bottom of this post. 

But first for me-me-me-me-me! (you remember the tune for that right?)

I'm so excited about this gift guide! Like I said earlier this week, everything on this guide is something that I would love to have.

If you're a reader and don't just look at the pictures, my goal is to let you know what I like about the item and why I think it is important for successful and fun baking. 

If you're not a reader, well - you may just want to look at the pictures. But don't stop not reading until you've entered the giveaway!

All of these items can be purchased on Amazon which I thinks makes things easier. And here is a little tip. If you click the picture or the text it will take you to the item on Amazon where you can see more about the item. If you think you might like to buy it or want to think about it a little, put it in your cart. That way you can go back later and examine more closely and eliminate things without rechecking my blog post. Disclosure: these are affiliate links.

And it begins . . .

Can we talk mixers? Here I have selected the Kitchen Aid Artisan Series 5 Qt Mixer. They make bigger, more expensive ones and some smaller models, but I think 5 qt is a good size. If you want to spend less than $100, I like this hand mixer. I really like that is comes with a storage unit for the attachments. Those things have a way of getting spread out everywhere.

Ramekins. They are just plain fun. Everyone likes getting food in their own little dish! These are 6 oz. That's a good size for creme brulee or chicken pot pie. These ramekins are high quality stoneware by Emile Henry. You can search around Amazon for other colors and other price points.    $30

8" & 9" Cake Pans. This is what I know. The shiny aluminum cake pans are better than the dark ones. Cakes rise better in lighter (colored) pans. And size does matter. If you bake you need to have both sizes.     $6

Food52 Baking The rest of the title is 60 sensational treats you can pull off in a snap! I'm a little obsessed with all things Food52 these days so I couldn't help but put this on the list. I WANT THIS BOOK! Look at how beautiful it is!   $13

Baking by Dorie Greenspan  This book is full of recipes that Dorie developed over 30 years of baking in restaurants, pastry shops and home baking. I have this cookbook and have made several things from it. The best part about it though is all of the things you learn from the stories and from the dessertmaker's glossary.   $26

Best Oven & Grill Thermometer  This is important. Every cook/baker should know what the temperature really is in their oven. This can also be used on the grill. Hmmm . . . now that I think about it maybe you should give someone this before Thanksgiving.   $10

This is the OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop. These are great for helping to make cookies be the size they say they should be in the recipe. So you don't end up with 24 cookies all run together instead of 36 perfectly sized cookies that are actually round. I want one of these for making truffles. Ummmmmmmm . . . truffles . . .  $14

Every baker needs a food scale. This Camry Digital Food Scale Measuring Cup is a measuring cup combined with a food scale. I love this idea. It measures in ml, oz, grams, kg, pounds - no converting grams to ounces.  Yum!  $15

 

The HIC Oblong Rectangular Baking Dish Roasting Lasagna Pan is about the cutest 9"x13" pan I've ever seen. It's way cuter than any roasting or baking pan that will be at any party.    $38

I was over 45 years old when I first needed a souffle pan. But when I needed it, I needed it. If I had had this HIC Porcelain Souffle Dish I wouldn't have had to spend a whole afternoon looking for one. Now I use if for any casserole that calls for a 2 quart dish. And I make an occasional souffle. Don't make your son's and daughters wait 45 years for a souffle pan. That is just mean.    $17

This Millbrook Silicone Non-stick, Non-skid Pastry Mat is so way cool and a hefty improvement over the Tupperware one that I've been using for the last 35 years. And yes, I still need the measured circles to tell how big my crust needs to be. A great gift.    $17

I frosted way too many cakes before I got my first Offset Spatula. Stick one of these in the baker's stocking.  $8

This thing is so cool! Can you guess what it is?          Did you guess Pizza Stone Scrubber Brush? If you didn't you were wrong. A Pizza Stone Scrubber Brush! That's so much better than those plastic scrapers that come with the stones when you buy them.    $10

I really want this Ironwood Gourmet Acacia Wood Pizza Peel more for grilling pizza than for baking. But you can use it for baking so I'm including it. I think you should buy this for someone.    $17

Something else I wish I had discovered in my younger days - the Revolving Cake Stand Frosting cakes is like WAAAAAAY easier when you have one of these babies.  $46

 

Everyone needs a couple of Non-stick Silicone Baking Mats.  That way you don't have to worry about whether you ran out of parchment paper the last time you made cookies.    $10

I'm completely biased toward Stainless Steel Measuring Tools. They are just better. And I like this set of spoons because the long skinny spoon will fit into practically any spice jar.   $30

I'm a bad dough roller. I have no idea how people figure out how to make dough 1/8" thick. These Rolling Pin Spacer Bands are the answer to all of your dough rolling needs.    $15

This last item is a splurge. And completely self-indulgent on my part. I want one of these in my kitchen. It's a Sonos Play:1. A Compact Smart Speaker for Streaming Music.  It connects directly to your home wi-fi. It streams music directly from a free Sonos app on your smart phone or computer.
Music in the kitchen. Heaven.   $199
(this is the lowest priced Sonos - they have many other models with more features as well as wireless TV sound equipment. I have experience with a more expensive version and it has great sound for the whole home)

OH WAIT! One more item. This is a cake tester by One30One Design. You're probably thinking what I was thinking before I had one. Why would this be better than a toothpick or skewer? Well because it is. I promise. It works better. And it's way prettier than a stick and is made with one of a kind handmade lampwork beads. I promise.    $19.50

Now for the good part.

In celebration of gift guides everywhere, 

I'm giving one lucky winner one of these cake testers 

AND a $50 Amazon Gift Card to get you started on your baking purchases!
Enter the rafflecopter at the bottom of the post, the giveaway will run for 1 week and the winner will be notified via email – good luck!

 And all these bloggers - 

each and every one of them has at least one gift guide and giveaway of their own! 

Stop by one.

Or ten.

Or all.

So grab a cup of coffee, find a comfortable chair, put your feet up and SHOP!!!!!

An InLinkz Link-up

 a Rafflecopter giveaway