Best Gifts for Bakers and Cooks

Whenever providing advice to national magazines and media on gift giving or writing about the topic in one of my 15 books, I always suggest that you choose a personalized present. And I don’t just mean one with a monogram, although that can be a nice touch.

What I mean is you give a gift that will have a personal meaning to the recipient. A gift feels personal when it reflects someone’s lifestyle or one of their hobbies. This roundup of gifts for bakers and cooks is one such example of a personalized present for someone you know who enjoys spending time in the kitchen.

In my family, this includes my older daughter as well as my husband. Both make bread, pasta and pizza from scratch and are known for making delicious chocolate chip cookies, among other desserts. So when writing this article, I kept those family members in mind. I feel confident they would love any one of these gift suggestions.

Must have, best gifts for bakers

I’ve included the best gifts for bakers who make their own bread as well as some unique gifts for bakers and cooks that you may never have heard of before.

Or, maybe you’ve heard the baker in your life talking about something, like an Ankarsrum mixer but you weren’t sure which was the top model or whatnot to buy. This article will help.

Cookie scoops

Giving a baker a set of cookie scoops as a gift is always appreciated. They are handy tools for any baker, ensuring perfectly portioned cookies every time.

We use cookie scoops to effortlessly fill muffin liners with batter, shape meatballs with ease and much more. You can even use cookie scoops to measure ingredients accurately. Finally, if you can’t find your melon baller, a cookie scoop can be a decent stand-in tool.

High-quality baking sheets

Baking sheets are a kitchen staple that proves to be a versatile piece of equipment. Look for heavy-duty rimmed sheets that won’t warp under high heat and will ensure there are no more unevenly cooked treats.

I recommend having baking sheets in various sizes to tackle different recipes, whether a small batch of cookies, a big sheet cake or even sheet-pan dinners. The right-sized sheet on hand makes life so much easier.

Baking pans

Bakers need many types of pans, depending on what they are baking. A fancy bundt pan is always an appreciated gift, but every baker needs the basic pans for cakes, pies, muffins and bread. These are the pans that I keep in my cupboards.

• 8-inch round cake pans. I use these pans for cakes, rolls, and certain bread recipes. Buy two of these pans to make classic layer cakes.
• 9-inch pie plate. Glass pie plates are better for baking pies. Buy a shallow plate for cream pies and a deep dish for fruit pies.
• 9 by 5-inch bread pan. These pans are perfect for most bread recipes, but I also use them to bake a meatloaf or a pound cake. Opt for metal pans for better baking.
• 13 by 9-inch baking pan. A classic-sized pan for cakes, bar cookies, brownies, casseroles and so much more.
• 12 cup muffin pan. Bake muffins, cupcakes and cookie cups in this pan. And it’s perfect for mini tarts, gratins and egg cups. The list is endless.
• Springform pans. These are a must for anyone baking a cheesecake.

Another option is to buy enameled cast iron pots as a baking gift. My husband is always making bread in his small LeCreuset round pot also known as a French oven.

Bread slicer template

Speaking of bread, my husband has started baking our everyday bread, after looking at the ingredients in store bought bread. Also, baking our own is cheaper. We like when things are cheaper.

However, the challenge with baking your own loaves of bread is cutting them into uniform slices. Enter the bread slicer template. We bought ours, shown above, on Amazon.

Boxes of parchment paper

This may seem like a boring gift to give, but parchment paper is super practical in the kitchen. My family never bakes anything without first ripping off a sheet of parchment paper. If you’re gifting for the holidays, a box or two would make great stocking stuffers.

On the other hand, rather than giving rolls of it, you can elevate the parchment paper gift idea for bakers by giving them paper that’s been precut in different shapes. This is a big time-saver in the kitchen — not having to cut paper to fit round cake pans.

Here are a few to choose from that we found on Amazon. Some include a package of round parchment paper liners in different sizes. Even better, you can use some kinds of parchment paper in your air fryer as well.

Mixers

A stand mixer is a game-changer for any baker as it can do the work a handheld mixer can’t. As I wrote in this review of the Ankarsrum mixer, our professional-style KitchenAid mixer was, for many years, a powerhouse in the kitchen. Then, it wasn’t.

So we upgraded to the Ankarsrum mixer and never looked back. Yes, it is a bit more expensive than KitchenAid. However, with the motor on the bottom instead of on the top, we find that it does a better job making dough or mixing other ingredients.

Another option we considered was a Vitamix mixer but I wasn’t sure which one to get. Now I’ve discovered this article that rounds up Vitamix equipment, including the best Vitamix blender.

Digital kitchen scale

Bakers know that using a kitchen scale allows for more accurate measurements of ingredients. Also, with many recipes written in pounds, ounces and grams, a digital scal can help translate one weight measure for another.

Kitchen hack: if you have an old-timey postage scale from back in the days when you sent letters, you can use one of these as your kitchen scale.

Quality baking tools

Every baker needs high-quality baking tools to ensure the success of their recipes, from pastries to pies. I personally rely on these tools for most of my baking recipes and often find that I have duplicates of some items because I use them so frequently.

• Silicone spatulas stand up to high heat and are used for stirring, mixing and scraping.
• A bench scraper comes in handy for moving food, cutting cookie bars and helping to ice cakes smooth. Honestly, I’ve even used our bench scraper in place of a pizza cutter on occasion.
• Pastry brushes are a baker’s friend from brushing on an egg wash to helping grease an intricate bundt pan. I prefer silicone pastry brushes because the tend to clean up more nicely than those made of boar hair. Also, if you’re using the silicone variety for something on the grill, they won’t burn up or melt. Yes, that’s happened to us with a boar hair brush.
• A set of measuring spoons and cups is necessary for almost all recipes to get the correct measurement of ingredients.

Rolling pin

A sturdy rolling pin is essential for rolling out dough for pies, cookies and pastries. There are different types, but I prefer this French rolling pin with tapered ends, making it easy to grip and roll the dough. Also, unlike straight rolling pin with handles, you don’t have to worry about ridges from where the handles might have hit the dough.

However, recently I gifted my husband a set of embossed rolling pins. These are a kind of specialty rolling pin that imprints a design on your cookie dough. Then, you can use a cookie cutter or pasta stamp to cut out shapes for gorgeous cookies. My husband loves his and uses them when making butter cookies or sugar cookies.

Personalized oven mitt

I couldn’t end this article on the best gifts for bakers and cooks without sharing this personalized oven mitt. We bought it for our older daughter as a gift. That’s her dog Walter pictured all over the oven mit. How adorable is that? You can buy this customized oven mitt on Etsy.

Final thoughts

Essential kitchen tools are perfect for the cook, but if you have a friend or family member who is totally into baking, finding the ideal gifts for bakers that complements their baking passion can be a thoughtful gesture. Whether the baker is a seasoned pro or just starting their baking journey, these gifts will help them create even more delicious treats and make their time in the kitchen all the more enjoyable.

Keep this list in mind when looking for gifts for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, bridal showers, birthdays or holidays.

Portions of this article originally appeared on Food Drink Life.