Food & Drink, Holiday
8 Essentials for Holiday Baking
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, with colorful lights, festive decorations and, of course, scrumptious baked goods. Creating the perfect holiday atmosphere in your home is impossible without the smell of freshly baked cookies and treats. To ensure your cookie, pie and cake bakes go as smoothly and deliciously as possible, here are a few products to have on hand.
Sur La Table Gingerbread Cookie Apron
Before you start baking, you have to set the scene! Turn on Bing Crosby, cue up the yule log video to crackle softly on your TV and dress festively. This gingerbread cookie apron from Sur La Table, decorated with stars, sleighs, Santas and more, will put you in the holiday spirit before you even preheat the oven.
5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer
Now that you look the part, let’s move on to kitchen gear. Behold what is perhaps the most worthwhile investment for holiday baking and beyond. Save yourself time and effort with the iconic KitchenAid stand mixer. The incredibly versatile machine is a game changer for baking, since it does all the kneading, mixing and whisking at the press of a button and comes with more than 10 attachments. The red mixer is not only perfect for the holidays, but will also last for many years to come with its unparalleled quality.
Caraway 11-Piece Ceramic Bakeware Set
Whether you’re dreaming up dozens of gingerbread cookies, a pecan pie, pumpkin bread or cranberry muffins, the baking options are endless with this 11-piece bakeware set from Caraway (available at Macy’s). The set comes with two baking sheets, one muffin pan, two circle pans (perfect for cakes!), one rectangle pan, one square pan, one loaf pan and a cooling rack. Best of all? It also comes with two organizers to easily store the set in your kitchen. No more scouring your space for the one pan you need that has conveniently disappeared.
Festive Bistro Tile Measuring Cups
If you’re looking to sprinkle a little holiday magic into all your kitchen tools, these festive measuring cups from Anthropologie are an instant “add to cart.” The set of four cups — ranging from 1/4 cup to 1 cup — will have you feeling merry and bright as you whip up your cookie dough, cake batter or pie filling.
Snowflake Silpat Baking Mat
Silicone baking mats are a great alternative to parchment paper or baking directly on a metal sheet, since they’re reusable and make cleanup a breeze. No more scraping sheets and losing half your cookies in the process! We promise you’ll never bake without it again. Oven-safe up to 500 degrees, the mat provides even heat transfer so your cookies come out perfect every time. Yum!
Gingerbread House Cookie-Cutter Set
Of course you’ll need a set of cookie cutters to go with your snowflake baking mat and delicious sugar or gingerbread cookie dough. This six-piece set from Michaels includes candy cane, gingerbread, ornament, snowflake, house and tree shapes.
Oxo Good Grips Cookie Press
You eat with your eyes first, and beautifully shaped cookies could not be easier with this cookie press from Oxo. Simply place the dough in the device and press it down to create a batch of perfectly and consistently shaped treats. This press comes with 12 stainless-steel patterned disks, including winter-themed designs like a tree, snowflake and wreath, as well as more evergreen (see what we did there?) designs like a heart, flower and butterfly.
The Peanuts Holiday Cookbook
Now that you have all your gear, let’s get baking! If you’re looking for ideas, why not take inspiration from beloved Peanuts characters and this Peanuts Holiday Cookbook. The book is especially great if you’re baking with the whole family, since you’ll find 75 classic comic strips and illustrations interspersed among 50 fun and kid-friendly recipes.
What’s the secret ingredient to the perfect baked good? A dash of Cash Back, of course. Don’t forget to shop through Rakuten for all your baking and cooking needs this holiday season. Cheers and happy holidays!
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