I’ve always been an avid baker, so baking tools, appliances and cookbooks usually take up the most room on my holiday wish list. And ever since starting my gluten-free baking service, in addition to my years covering kitchen products for Select, my collection of bakeware keeps on growing. Lots of my favorite baking products make great gifts for bakers of all levels and ages — kids who like to get their hands dirty will enjoy using cookie cutters, and those looking to perfect their cake decorating technique will be grateful for a set of piping tips. Below are a handful of gift ideas for the bakers in your life, many of which I use on a weekly basis to whip up desserts at home.
SKIP AHEAD Best baking tools | Best baking storage accessories and displays | Best baking appliances | Best bakeware | Best baking apparel | Best baking ingredients
Best gift for cake decorators$12.74$16.31
Best gift for beginner bakers$undefined$20.99
Best gifts for bakers
To recommend the best gifts for bakers, I relied on my kitchen experience and included a handful of products I own and love. I also added options I think bakers will find useful, some made by brands we’ve previously covered and others with high ratings. To make it easier to navigate the list below, I compiled gifts into the following categories:
- Best baking tools to gift
- Best baking storage accessories and displays to gift
- Best baking appliances to gift
- Best bakeware to gift
- Best baking apparel to gift
Best baking tools to gift
Brown Sugar Bear Sugar Saver
There’s nothing worse than opening a bag of brown sugar to find it dried out and unusable, especially when you already have half your cookie dough made. Prevent that from happening with this sugar saver. You soak the clay bear it in water for about 20 minutes and place it in a container of brown sugar. The bear helps brown sugar stay moist for up to six months, according to the brand, and you can also use it to keep baked goods, marshmallows and dried fruit soft.
Wilton 20pc Beginning Buttercream Cake Decorating Set
When I began learning how to decorate cakes, I bought this set so I had everything I needed (other than frosting) to get started. It comes with 10 decorating tips in different sizes, like round tips, star tips and petal tips — I’ve used these since 2017 and they’re still as good as new. You’ll also get 10 disposable piping bags and an instruction booklet to teach you different icing techniques.
OXO Good Grips Precision Batter Dispenser
Beginner or young bakers who struggle to fill cupcake and muffin molds can use OXO’s Precision Batter Dispenser to guide them. The body holds up to four cups of batter and there’s a valve on the bottom you open and close using the easy-squeeze handle. The dispenser also comes in handy while making waffles, crepes and pancakes.
Escali Primo Digital Food Scale
Measuring ingredients by weight is more precise compared to measuring by volume, and it leads to more consistent results each time you make a recipe. Gift your favorite baker this digital scale to elevate their desserts. It has two buttons — on/off/tare and unit selection — and can hold up to 11 pounds of ingredients at a time. The scale runs on two AA batteries and automatically shuts off after four minutes of inactivity. I own two Escali scales, which I use multiple times a week, and their battery lasts over a year. You can purchase the scale in colors like chrome, pink, black, white, green and more.
Wilton Three-Tier Folding Cooling Grid
Bakers won’t run out of space to cool their baked goods with this foldable three-tier rack. It holds up to three dozen cookies at a time, according to the brand, and stands 16 inches tall when assembled. The rack has a nonstick coating, ensuring that desserts don’t get stuck to it and making it easy to hand-wash, especially if glazes, frosting or syrups drip on the grid. The rack folds flat when you’re not using it.
Silpat Silicone Baking Mat
A silicone baking mat is a coveted kitchen tool for many bakers, including myself; it’s a reusable alternative for parchment paper and provides a nonstick surface to bake cookies, macaroons or other desserts on. Silpat’s Baking Mat — which I own — is made of fiberglass mesh and food-grade silicone, materials that help it distribute heat evenly and promote even baking, according to the brand. The mat is oven-safe and microwave-safe up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and it withstands cold temperatures up to — 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Silpat silicone baking mats come in a variety of sizes to fit half or three-quarter sheet pans, for example. Some also come with measurement grids printed on them, helping you space out cookie dough or pipe macarons.
Joseph Joseph Nest Measuring Cup Set
The handles of Joseph Joseph’s nesting measuring cups snap together, keeping them organized and helping to prevent bakers from losing one. The eight piece set measures from 1/4 teaspoon to 1 cup. Metric and imperial units are printed on each dishwasher-safe cup.
Thirteen Chefs Villa Acacia Marble Cutting Board
While making pie, experts recommend rolling out dough on a marble slab — the material helps keep the butter in dough cold, ensuring a flaky crust once it’s cooked. Thirteen Chefs’ marble board will be a welcome addition to any baker’s kitchen if they’re passionate about making pastries. It’s available in four sizes: 12-by-6 inches, 16-by-12 inches, 18-by-18 inches and 20-by-16 inches. The slab rests on six feet, raising it an inch above your countertop and preventing it from slipping while you’re working atop it. In addition to using it while baking, I use this marble slab as a charcuterie board or serving tray when I’m hosting guests at my apartment.
Sur La Table Ultimate Cookie Cutter Set
Baking and decorating cookie cutouts is a fun activity to do with loved ones year round, and it’s something my family does together every holiday season. Sur La Table’s set comes with 14 stainless-steel cookie cutters, including basic shapes like circles, stars, squares and ovals, plus shapes like a bone, flower, dog, cat, gingerbread person and more. To ensure your baker has everything they need to decorate cutouts, the set also includes 10 pastry bags, four stainless-steel piping tips, an icing scribe, offset spatula and coupler.
Material The reBowl
While glass and ceramic mixing bowls look nice, they can easily break if you bang them around (or drop them); meanwhile, stainless steel mixing bowls can’t go in the microwave, which I find challenging when I want to melt butter or chocolate. Material’s The reBowl, however, solves these problems: It’s made from 75% recycled plastic and 25% renewable sugarcane, according to the brand, and can go in the dishwasher and microwave. The bowl is also durable so you don’t have to worry about being delicate with it. The reBowl has a 2.75-quart capacity and measures 10 inches wide and 5 inches tall. It’s available in three colors: Sand (yellow), Clay (light pink) and Azure (blue).
Great Jones Beyond Measure Duo
I love when my baking tools double as decor, and these glass measuring cups from Great Jones are a perfect example. I use them to measure liquid ingredients while baking and once they’re clean, I display them on a shelf in my kitchen, adding a pop of color to the space. The Beyond Measure Duo comes with one 2-cup and one 4-cup vessel, each of which have clearly printed measurements in ounces, cups and milliliters on their exterior. The dishwasher- and microwave-safe measuring cups’ spout also makes it easy to neatly pour liquid into bowls. You can purchase the pair in Broccoli and Butternut (green and yellow) or Blueberry and Taffy (blue and pink).
Crate & Barrel Acacia Wood Cookbook Stand
I used to sit my cookbooks on the counter while baking, which resulted in them getting covered in crumbs, flour and the occasional chocolate drizzle. To remedy this issue, I bought this cookbook stand. It protects pages with a clear acrylic panel and stands the book upright, keeping pages eye-level so I don’t have to look down while reading. When it’s not in use, the beachwood stand folds up for simple storage, but I like to leave it out in my kitchen since it’s beautifully made.
Best baking storage accessories and displays to gift
OXO Good Grips 6-Piece Large Canister Set with Scoops
If you know a baker who needs help organizing their kitchen cabinets or pantry, unwrapping these 4.4-quart containers will make their holiday. I decant baking ingredients like flour, sugar, cocoa powder and chocolate chips into them. Since they’re clear, I can see what’s inside and easily check what I need to buy more of before going to the store. Each container comes with a half-cup scoop that snaps to the underside of the lids — you can measure and pour ingredients directly into your mixing bowl. There are also buttons on top of the lids, which create an airtight seal when you press down on them. You can stack the dishwasher-safe containers as well.
Prepworks by Progressive Collapsible Cupcake and Cake Carrier
Transporting the dessert they spent hours perfecting is often the greatest feat for bakers, myself included. Make traveling with sweet treats easier for your favorite baker with this carrier, which can hold up to 24 cupcakes, a 10-inch round layer cake or a 9-inch square layer cake. It comes with two-tier trays to hold cupcakes, which fold down and nest inside the carrier when they’re not in use. The carrier’s domed cover snaps onto its base, and it collapses to one-third of its height when you’re ready to store it. One of my favorite parts of this carrier is the handle on top of the lid, giving you a place to grasp while bringing it from place to place.
Mosser Glass Cake Stand
Making a cake from scratch is no simple feat, and the product of all that hard labor should be shown off with pride. This vintage-inspired cake stand has been on my wishlist for years. It comes with a colorful glass stand and a clear glass dome to keep pastries fresh. The stand is available in three sizes — 6 inches, 10 inches and 12 inches — and several colors, including Robin Egg Blue, Jadeite and Pink.
Best baking appliances to gift
KitchenAid Variable-Speed Cordless Hand Mixer
When I’m making a smaller batch of desserts, I opt for my hand mixer rather than my stand mixer. KitchenAid’s cordless option is built with a rechargeable battery. It’s easy to move around your kitchen and, since there’s no power cord, you don’t have to worry about being near an outlet. The appliance offers seven mixing speeds, and its soft-start feature brings the dishwasher-safe beaters up to your selected speed gradually to help prevent splashes or splatters.
Dash Express Mini Donut Maker
I usually make donuts in the oven using molds, but if you know a baker who wants to make them quickly, Dash’s Express Mini Donut Maker is a great gift. The machine — which resembles a waffle maker — makes seven mini donuts at once. It has a nonstick surface, so donuts are easy to remove when they’re fully cooked, according to the brand.
KitchenAid Classic 4.5-Quart Tilt-Head Stand Mixer
Before I added a KitchenAid Stand Mixer to my kitchen, I heard other bakers call it a workhorse — and they were right. I use it to mix ingredients together while making cookies, cakes, breads and more, and it’s especially useful for whipping egg whites into meringue or heavy cream into whipped cream. You can also add attachments to the appliance’s power hub, like a pasta or ice cream maker. This stand mixer has a tilt-head rather than a bowl-lift design, which I find easier to maneuver. You can choose from 10 different mixing speeds, and the mixer comes with a dough hook, flat beater, whisk and stainless steel bowl.
Best bakeware to gift
Great Jones Sheet Show
Great Jones’ sheet pans are some of the most used bakeware in my kitchen. This set comes with one Holy Sheet and two Little Sheets; the Holy Sheet is a half-sheet pan and its Little Sheets are quarter-sheet pans. They’re made from aluminized steel and have a nonstick coating, which I find makes them very easy to hand-wash, although they’re dishwasher-safe. The pans are oven-safe up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and come in vibrant colors, making the pans a fun backdrop for photos or a bright serving platter.
Le Creuset Bread Oven
If you know someone who makes bread in a Dutch oven, they’ll enjoy experimenting with baking in Le Creuset’s Bread Oven. When I use it, my loaves always come out with a soft interior and crunchy exterior. I also find that its low-profile base makes adding and removing dough easier than having to reach into a Dutch oven’s tall walls. The Bread Oven is oven-safe up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and can be used on all stovetops. It also comes with a domed lid to trap and circulate steam.
Caraway Muffin Pan
Caraway’s 12-cup Muffin Pan is made with a nonstick ceramic coating, so you don’t have to use liners while baking cupcakes or muffins, according to the brand. The muffin pan is oven-safe up to 550 degrees Fahrenheit and should be hand-washed.
Nordic Ware Heritage Bundt Pun
With a pan like this one, bundt cakes serve as works of art in your kitchen. Nordic Ware’s cast aluminum Heritage Bundt Pan gives cakes a swirled design and leaves grooves for icing, glaze and ganache to drip down. The pan has a 6-cup capacity and is oven-safe up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The brand recommends hand-washing it.
Best baking apparel to gift
Hedley & Bennett The Essential Apron
Baking can get pretty messy and, depending on the ingredients you’re using, even stain clothes. For that reason, every baker needs a quality apron. Hedley & Bennett — one of our favorite women-owned and Latino-owned businesses — makes machine-washable aprons in a variety of styles and patterns. The Essential Apron is designed with 100% cotton-twill fabric and it has a chest pocket, plus two lap pockets and a utility loop. Its neck strap is adjustable and it has long waist straps.
GIR Oven Mitts
The hand portion of GIR’s oven mitts are covered in silicone, which gives you a grippy surface to grab hot pans with while baking. The inside and sleeve part of the oven mitts are made from a soft, cotton-terry material, and they go up higher on your forearms to protect your skin from heat. The oven mitts are also machine-washable, so you don’t have to worry about getting them dirty.
Jenny Lemons Cake Slice Hair Clip
To avoid getting hair in their eyes (or worse, their batter), bakers can pull it back with this cake-shaped hair clip. It’s made from a plant-based material instead of plastic and measures 2.75-by-2 inches. If the baker in your life isn’t a cake fan, Jenny Lemons also offers pastry themed clips like a croissant, baguette, cinnamon roll and donut.
Best baking ingredients to gift
Maldon Sea Salt Flakes
I believe no chocolate chip cookie, chocolate truffle or brownie is complete without sea salt flakes on top, and Maldon’s are my go-to. They add a little something extra to baked goods and make flavors more pronounced. The crunchy, pyramid-shaped salt flakes come in a 20-ounce tub, which lasts me about a year.
Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract
Vanilla extract can be pricey, so I’m also thankful when I’m gifted this ingredient. I like Nielsen-Massey’s vanilla, which is fragrant and has a rich, sweet flavor. It’s available in 2-ounce, 4-ounce, 8-ounce and 32-ounce bottles.
Supernatural Winter Sprinkle Set
Supernatural — one of our favorite women-owned businesses — sells vibrant sprinkles in unique shapes, all of which are colored with plant-based ingredients instead of artificial dye. The brand’s Winter Sprinkle Set comes with three different bottles of sprinkles: Snowfall, Into the Woods and Starfetti. Bakers can use them to decorate cookies, cakes, cupcakes and more.
The Spice House Cinnamon Collection
Bakers can use the cocoa included in this bundle to make a warm, chocolatey beverage, which is ideal to sip on while whipping up desserts in the winter or serve with treats. The set comes with four types of cocoa: Hot Cocoa, Salted Caramel Hot Cocoa, Masala Hot Cocoa and Mexican Hot Cocoa. To make a delectable drink, just add a couple tablespoons of cocoa to a mug with hot water or milk, whisk and enjoy.
Why trust Select?
Zoe Malin is an associate updates editor at Select who has written gift guides like the best gifts for brothers and the best advent calendars. To write this article, she recommended products she uses in the kitchen while baking, as well as other items from brands Select has previously covered.
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