I bake when I need to feel zen. It’s hard to stay angry at the world when you’re kneading the hell out of some dough, and it’s even harder when said dough is rising in the oven, filling your apartment with sweet smells of home. Learning how to make cakes and cookies teaches you patience, precision, and organization, and it’s one of the most absorbing tasks you can do. Most of all, the results taste great. Here’s some tools to invest in if you feel like getting into it in 2018.
ZING! electronic scales
Literally the first thing you need
Before you can do anything at all, you need to make sure you’ve got the right amount of each ingredient. Perhaps, if you happen to be actual Mary Berry, you can just guess how much flour or butter you need by eye. For us mere mortals, these digital scales are the best at precision measuring.
Designer brand rolling pins
Because your baked goods are worth it
What’s more luxurious than rolling yourself a nice slab of dough, ready to bake into cookies? Rolling yourself a slab of Dior-embossed dough, obviously.
Silpat premium non-stick silicone baking mat
For the slickest baking experience
In baking, the holy grail is getting stuff to stop sticking to other stuff. Silpat is the best when it comes to mats that will bake your cookies evenly, and let them slide right out the oven without crumbling to bits.
OXO good grips adjustable measuring cup
Make accuracy simple
Ever been elbow-deep in flour and whacked your head on the inside of a cupboard while searching for that specific tiny measuring spoon you need to weigh up the next ingredient in your recipe? Well, you don’t need to suffer any more: get one of these adjustable cups. It saves money, cupboard space, and head sores.
Bakelicious crispy corner brownie pan
Live life on the edge
Some people are really into the edges of brownies: the firm, chewy crust that forms around the outside of the pan. So into it, in fact, that a kind soul invented this pan in which the whole brownie is the edge of the brownie. Indulge yourself.
KitchenAid 5-speed ultra-power hand mixer
Because sometimes your arm gets tired
If you’ve been baking for a little while and you think you’re ready to step up your game (or you’re just really tired of mixing everything by hand for like, an hour) then treat yourself to one of these mixers. They’re among the most affordable hand mixers on the market, have five speed settings, and come in cute colors like “majestic yellow” and “hot sauce.”
Custom cookie cutter of your face
It’s actually your face!!!
Why just make a plain old regular degular round cookie, when you could make one that’s literally your face?